User blogs
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Since I started Gamer+ I have been running the Oxwall social network software. Unfortunately the most recent version of Oxwall was written in 2016 which in internet years means it's an antique.
Not only that it's not working well and I barely got some of the pages working at all after the new sql server update.
So ...
I am going to archive the existing Gamer+ site. All posts, photos, etc. will be available to read but there will be no new members or new posts on the Oxwall vesrion of Gamer+.
I am going to install a new Gamer+ social network site using the federated software, friendica. If you are already on mastodon, peertube, funkwhale, or other federated services you will be able to follow and share with Gamer+ users.
And/or you can start an account at the new Gamer+ and continue posting to Gamer+ just ike you have in the past.
Change is hard but change is good. And this sounds right to me. I'm looking forward to it.
Our 200th Episode Celebration is live!
This episode Sean and I share a special piece of feedback, each share our top 25 games of all time, announce our biggest giveaway ever, spend some time with the chatroom, thank all of our Patreon patrons and more!
Inspired Unreality is held on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord.
Here's more info and a link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
At the last Inspired Unreality we had a nice AI Art show and tell. Alan posted these pictures he generated for his Chronicles Of Ember RPG.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/144
Here's a link to Alan's page.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Alan
TabletopBellhop says, Check out The 199.5 Bonus Episode.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/5060
Vivian and I had a big old time last weekend. We took a short trip to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, to visit Eclectic Geekery and play a set at Beatle's Park.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/EclecticGeekery
Here's a link to my Youtube video edited from my livestream.
https://youtu.be/73vDatM6DSs
Hairy Larry playing Chill Jazz Piano at Beatles Park.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/1011
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Our Latest Podcast Episode Is Live!
Check out "The 199.5 Bonus Episode" where we review Dulce from Stronghold Games, share where we have been, talk about Star Trek Games, the hate for Catan, family games over Zoom and more!
We also set the date for episode 200! Which we will record live on March 8th, which you aren't going to want to miss!
https://tabletopbellhop.com/podcast/ep199point5/
Inspired Unreality is held at 11:00 AM Central on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more info and a link go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
You can't really follow the controversy without some skin in the game so I've been doing some AI Art generation while I continue to read about issues. I even discussed AI music composition at my last lesson and have more to cover next week.
About that controversy.
Generative AI is a legal minefield
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/5046
U.S. Copyright Office Rules A.I. Art Can’t Be Copyrighted
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/5029
Art-istic or Art-ificial?
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/5028
And I've been generating elves.
Two Elves Walked Into A Magic Forest
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/142
Midjourney Dark Elves
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/141
Do you play Diablo? Check out Crucial Tips For A Diablo 2 Ladder Season Start from mmowts's blog.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/1001
Please forward this email to your AI friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/1007
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. There's more info and a link, here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
I wrote a book.
"Lost In The Woods", a readaloud fantasy book by Larry Heyl using AI artwork.
Soon to be a Zine and a Minizine.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/5023
And, speaking of AI Artwork, ain't it interesting how intellectual property rights are being shunted aside by highly mobile fandoms.
Paizo’s Jim Butler discusses ORC, OGL 1.1, and more
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/5024
This artist is dominating AI-generated art. And he’s not happy about it.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/5017
I will say this about AI Art. It certainly is addictive.
Please forward this email to your AI friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/1000
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic. We want to know what interests you.
Caper finished the Harshnag song in our family game, so for an opening topic I will unveil that.
In two weeks the topic will be Fantasy and Science Fiction. We've moved to the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month to give us more flexibility on our trips to Eclectic Geekery in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. Beatles Park here I come. (As soon as it warms up.)
I invented the supernatural 20.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/5004
Did you ever want a really remote monastery on one of your quests?
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/5002
I wrote "Mouse Plural", A Jupiter's Ghost Super Short.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/998
Jupiter's Ghost is a collaborative effort to create a Science Fiction setting that can be used by anyone.
https://intergalactic.computer/
The Jupiter's Ghost creations are licensed CC BY-SA.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Please forward this email to your geeky friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/999
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
If we have houses
Why not mouses
If we have mice
Why not hice
I have done extensive research using an ancient computer program called the Wayback Machine.
The truth is there is no such thing as mouse singular. There is never one mouse, they come in families.
If a group is a nest
What about the rest?
The rest are in another nest.
What we have on the ship is what used to be referred to as a house mouse. Ship mouse doesn't rhyme but it will have to do.
The problem I foresee is their breeding. Mice begin breeding when they are 30 days old. Then they have litters. And then back to breeding. In thirty days all the mice in the litter are breeding.
Computer scientists call this an exponential explosion. Look at the graph of an expoential explosion. It's frightening.
If mice go unchecked on the ship, exponentially exploding and eating and eating, we will soon leave post scarcity behind and we'll all be eating mice.
The Wayback Machine mentioned an ancient predator called cats that were used to keep the mice population under control.
I'm not sure what a cat is but apparently humans like cats more than mice. Cats also have litters of kittens so it's competing exponential explosions.
A clowder of cats
makes kindles of kittens
and they're so cute!
I saw pictures on the Wayback Machine and mice are really cute too.
For some reason there are thousands of pictures of cats for every picture of a mouse.
So maybe they won?
We better find out where we can get cats sometime in the next 30 days.
---
Licensed CC BY-SA
Jupiter's Ghost is free culture collaborative science fiction.
https://intergalactic.computer/
Inspired Unreality open game chat will be held on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month at 11:00 AM to Noon, Central Time.
The Holidays may be over for you but we've got one more Holiday to go. We have a birthday party on January 14, so Inspired Unreality will resume starting on January 28.
If You Play You Win actual play will be held on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays at 1:00 in the afternoon at Eclectic Geekery and on the internet. Some days we will be Cozy Adventuring In Tobbins Shire. Some days we'll have a one off with guest DMs. Some days I'll be livestreaming chill jazz piano in Beatles Park. On those days we will skip the actual play.
We hope to resume If You Play You Win in February depending on the weather and the Covid stats. If You Play You Win is also subject to Eclectic Geekery availability so, as always, we will send a Gamer+ News announcing our events.
In my other newsletter I discuss Bebop Beatniks new album, "Church".
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4998
I also talk about it some on my podcast, From The Archives Of Something Blue.
https://sbblues.com/2022/12/31/dj-hairy-larry-presents-bebop-beatniks-playing-gotta-lotta/
I got a nice Christmas present from my granddaughter, DM Lizard.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4997
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/SearchingForGyphons
Did you ever want to run an adventure in colorful mountains? Here's a photo gallery of free culture and creative commons photos taken right here on Earth.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/138
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/997
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Here's the link to free download and streaming at archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/bebop-beatniks-church
Or if your prefer Youtube Music.
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mf1d0SMAHV60JyGIA-a-i5L0GsFUWfM-Y
I talk about the new album and my song, "Gotta Lotta" on From The Archives Of Something Blue. Here's a link to the podcast on the Something Blue website.
https://sbblues.com/2022/12/31/dj-hairy-larry-presents-bebop-beatniks-playing-gotta-lotta/
Don't miss Something Blue this Saturday, January 7, to hear some more jazz released in 2022 by Joshua Redman, Mary Halvorson, and Wadada Leo Smith.
Something Blue is broadcast on KASU, 91.9 FM and streaming on the internet at kasu.org, every Saturday at 10:00 PM Central.
It got cold in November. And then it got cold again in December. As far as Vivian and I are concerned we've had enough of that for one winter.
We had a great Christmas with most of our family here on Christmas Eve and then a big family Christmas with all of our kids and grandkids on New Years Day.
It don't get no better than that.
Stay in touch. Let me know about your projects and your news.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. There's more info and a link here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
FollowMeAndDie posted a video and a blog.
"In my latest blog post I discuss the Saint Mark Turnip Festival invented by my players."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4962
"My Latest YouTube Video: Mastodon For New Users - Twitter Refugees is live on YouTube."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4961
I post my Mastodon link at the bottom of every Gamer+ news.
My daughter Megan has been giving me advice on new Fantasy and Science Fiction novels. She says, "Readers are the best people because they see the world through many sets of eyes. They know both that their experiences are not unique and that no one sees the world in quite the same way as them."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4965
And I posted the video of Hairy Larry and The Flying Hungarians live at Blues Fest, 2022.
https://youtu.be/YO-_K4y9WIY
Enjoy!
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/995
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. There's more info and a link here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Follow Me And Die posted about his twitch stream called How To Mastodon For Twitter Users - Keep in Touch with fellow TTRPG folks with the possible demise of Twitter.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4945
You may have noted my Mastodon link in the signoff of these emails. I've been communicating in the fediverse for years. Mastodon is open source software run all over the world by businesses and hobbyists. I think it's about to achieve critical mass whether Twitter survives or not.
The fediverse is decentralized so you kind of have to shift gears in your head. Other apps besides Mastodon can communicate with Mastodon users, for example you can share your Peertube videos to Mastodon accounts and the replies somehow end up on your Peertube account.
Very interesting.
I posted 15 brilliant color fantasy illustrations from "The Russian Story Book" drawn by Frank C. Pape. Published in 1916 the illustrations are public domain.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/136
Here's a joke I posted in the Newsfeed.
---
A priest, a pastor and a rabbit entered a clinic to donate blood. The nurse asked the rabbit: “what’s your blood type?”
“I’m probably a type O”, said the rabbit.
---
I get plenty of those.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/994
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Our family is coming in so there will be no Inspired Unreality open game chat in the morning. We will be back in two weeks on November 19. And then December 3 should finish the year. So, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas. Wait! Didn't we just have Halloween?
For more info about Inspired Unreality and Gamer+ go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
We went to Eclectic Geekery last Sunday and I enjoyed playing in Lizard's 5e game. I've never been an Elven Bard before. I lean to halfling.
https://eclecticgeekery.com/
I posted two public domain photo albums of fantasy art.
Etteilla’s Livre de Thot Tarot (ca. 1789)
Selected cards from a full Tarot deck.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/134
The Children Of Odin
The Book of Northern Myths by Padraic Colum illustrated by Willy Pogany 1920.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/135
I also have an interesting music project going, Creative Commons Jazz.
https://jazz.mixremix.cc/music.htm
Make a playlist for your next game. Enjoy!
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/993
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic. We've been enjoying our explorations of Tobbins Shire and personally, I really dig Caper's sketchbook.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/133
Inspired Unreality is held on the first and third Saturdays each month except coming up in November and December we're on Holiday hours, first Saturday only.
For more info and a link go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Caper's sketchbook was actually drawn across 42 years by a female mycologist named M. F. Lewis. Now public domain.
Blues Fest was a blast with Hairy Larry and The Flying Hungarians opening the festival. We had more than a few of us who are Related To Geeks on stage and several guests as well.
https://relatedtogeeks.com/
I added an audio player to my Creative Commons Jazz library and it made all the difference. It's handy being able to enqueu and play entire albums.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4905
Please forward this email to interested parties and share this link!
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/992
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
It's a big topic and one we love to talk about. If you're into novels, short stories, movies, television series, or games, if it's fantasy and science fiction it's on topic. Let us know what you think about the new stuff or the old stuff. For more info and a link go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
I write super shorts. The thing I like about super shorts is that you can finish a story in one sitting. Here's one of my favorites.
Hegel, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein
by Larry Heyl
It was my brother Jeff who was the doer. Always making things, working on this or that, good at math and physics in school.
I was the thinker. Always gazing off into the distance pondering the big questions. What is life? What is death? What is man? What is woman?
It’s that last one that really puzzled me. Jeff got married, started his own business, got rich. I got tongue tied around girls, took a philosophy degree, and had an income commensurate with my degree. I check the want ads daily. Never have I seen Philosopher Needed - Top Dollar.
So I never understood why the aliens abducted me. It was Jeff they wanted. They must have got their wires crossed.
Now I’m not gay but I didn’t mind the anal probe so much. Learning the alien language wasn’t too bad either. They put a silver disc on my forehead and I started talking to them. It was the interview that really got them.
They kept asking about stuff I didn’t know, technology, armaments, rocket ships, manufacturing. I wasn’t much help. But I gave them a good dose of Hegel, Nietzsche, and Wittgenstein. I don’t think they were ready for that. They started babbling. They sent me up the ladder. I kept expounding and their confusion deepened. Evidently philosophy wasn’t their strong suit. Like I said they got the wrong guy.
They could only deal with me for so long. Before I knew it they had beamed me back home and departed Earth post haste. And that’s how I saved the world with philosophy.
https://sffshortstories.com/?x=entry:entry190110-110731
Click the link to see the great public domain art I found to illustrate this story.
I had a composition recital last Monday. It was great to perform with Bebop Beatniks again. I livestreamed the show and made a movie.
https://youtu.be/1SbuCbEu1v8
We will be playing at Blues Fest at the Craighead Forest Bandshell on October 9. Here's the schedule.
2:00 PM Hairy Larry and The Flying Hungarians
3:00 PM Bebop Beatniks
4:00 PM In The Gray
5:00 PM Anna and the Tanks
Pics here too.
https://deltaboogie.com/bluesfest2022/
Please forward this email to your gaming friends. Or maybe they like jazz or science fiction.
Share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/991
Thanks
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Jazz In The Forest
Craighead Forest Bandshell
Monday, September 26, at 6:00 PM
Free and open to the public
Repertoire
---
African Violet
The Blue Crane
Low Earth Orbit
Sail Boats
Malaysia
All songs by Larry Heyl
Personnel
---
Bebop Beatniks
Joseph Curtis - trumpet and flugelhorn
Jeremy Jackson - bass
Alex Washam - drums
Conley Hunt - auxiliary percussion
Larry Heyl aka Hairy Larry - piano and vocals
And here's the Blues Fest schedule for October 9.
Blues Fest 2022
Craighead Forest Bandshell
Jonesboro, Arkansas
October 9, 2022
2:00 PM
Hairy Larry and The Flying Hungarians
3:00 PM
Bebop Beatniks
4:00 PM
In The Gray
5:00 PM
Anna and the Tanks
Picnics permitted.
Free and open to the public.
Bring yard chairs and blankets for your comfort.
There are photos at this link.
https://deltaboogie.com/bluesfest2022/
So this is really big news for me. I'm as excited as a podcaster.
Please let me know what you've been doing. I love hearing from newsletter readers.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
When we started doing Inspired Unreality open game chat every week we were younger. And yet, somehow, even though we're retired, we now have more responsibilities. So we're going to have to scale back.
Instead of weekly we are moving to twice a month. On the first Saturday we will discuss fantasy and science fiction. On the third Saturday we will continue questing in Milyagon or Tobbins Shire.
So, tomorrow is the third Saturday and we will be questing. Please join us to play or just stop on by to say hi and chat for a few minutes. We're always glad to hear from you.
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. There's more info and a link here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Eclectic Geekery has changed their hours. And, starting in November they will have Holiday hours and be open every day except Monday.
https://eclecticgeekery.com/
You may have noticed that they are opening on Saturdays at noon now instead of 10:00 AM. So, Inspired Unreality will no longer be hosted at Eclectic Geekery for our quests.
We will, however, do other projects with them in the future. What exactly that will be, we shall see. Our daughters run the store and I am committed to resuming our visits after the current surge dies down.
FollowMeAndDie posted about the Gateway To Adventure Trilogy For Old-School Essentials Kickstarter.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4888
And Blues Fest is back. On October 9 at the Craighead Forest Bandshell my friend Doug Butler is continuing the Blues Fest tradition. We don't have a full schedule yet but I will be playing chill jazz piano as well as with my family band, Hairy Larry and The Flying Hungarians. I will post the full schedule and more details in the next Gamer+ News.
Which will be in two weeks. Because Gamer+ News is going on a twice a month schedule too. We will continue to remind you of Inspired Unreality on the Friday before we gather together to chat and play. So, see you there. Saturday September 17, at 11:00 AM. This is your reminder.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/989
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
So. This week on Inspired Unreality our topic will be fantasy and science fiction kicked back one week. Please join us to discuss this niche that now dominates popular entertainment.
Inspired Unreality is held every Saturday morning at 11:00 Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more info and a link go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
While browsing tumblr I found some more great fantasy artwork. Here's a link to a link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4885
Even though we missed last week we did discuss science fiction. My daughter read a column she had written about a generational shift away from personal contact where younger people prefer to order for themselves in an app rather than call in an order and talk to a person.
That reminded me of my super short.
AI Autocomplete
by Larry Heyl CC-BY
In the future everyone will have AI Autocomplete, first for writing, then for talking. The AI will be so good that it soon starts guessing right 100% of the time. People select the Just Say It For Me option since their AI Autocomplete always guesses right.
This is the future of humanity, packhorses for AI Autocompletes talking to each other.
Or is it already happening now?
https://sffshortstories.com/?x=entry:entry180208-201254
Click the link for some great artwork that really fits the story well.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/988
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
It's still in the planning stages and we don't have a firm date or band list yet but Doug's band is going to play, I'll be opening, playing chill jazz piano, and, hopefully, a couple more acts will fill out an afternoon of music.
I am helping but this is Doug's project. I think it's great. I've been playing at the bandshell but I've missed Blues Fest. Vivian and I are just to old to put on that kind of show anymore but you know I will be helping out however I can.
More details to come in the next Delta Boogie Newsletter and on Delta Boogie.
https://deltaboogie.com
Even though I graduated last December with my second degree I'm back in school again taking composition lessons. I am rehearsing for a jazz recital where I will play five of my songs with Bebop Beatniks.
Here's a link to me livestreaming my recital repertoire.
https://youtu.be/kjVh_VR7vPo
I wrote two woodwind quintets last term and I am working on getting them read, rehearsed, and performed. Maybe by The Howling Winds, a student woodwind quintet with a bari sax instead of a bassoon. That will take a slight rewrite.
And the composition studio is writing for the trombone studio this term so I'm going to arrange "Bunnies" for a jazz band with a trombone front line.
All of this is really exciting to me.
Please let me know what you've been doing, musically or otherwise.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
I finished "Gideon The Ninth" and while I'm waiting for "Harrow The Ninth" I'm reading "The House In The Cerulean Sea" by TJ Klune. Megan recommended it and she also recommended a beautifully written book, "This Is How You Lose The Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar. She's reading it with the Eclectic Geekery fantasy/sf book club.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/EclecticGeekery
Join us tomorrow for more fantasy and science fiction.
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more info and a link go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Here Lies The Hatchet. Vivian said the words that inspired this meme. I found the public domain photo by Linnaea Mallette at publicdomainpictures.net. Megan created the engraved effect in GIMP. It was a family effort.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4875
It's a little early for Halloween but Megan disagreed. Please share.
Here's some great fantasy illustrations by Donn P. Crane published in "Journeys Through Bookland" in 1922. All illustrations are public domain.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/130
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/986
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unrealiy is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Go here for more info and a link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Next Saturday the topic will be fantasy and science fiction.
We had family game last Saturday with DM Carl, Courtney, Emily, Connor, Hairy Larry, and Vivian. I was having too much fun gaming with my grandkids to follow Vivian's lead into a much more creative ending. She was Clair the Cleric and she was converting the Spider Monsters. But we killed them first.
Not really my style. I find dice marathon combat boring but like I said I was right in there with the rest of the fighters. I do have to say the spiders had kidnapped the farmers son. They weren't really good spiders. But I need to pay closer attention to Vivian's lead. She comes up with the best stuff.
I'm back in school with three projects under way.
I am rehearsing for a jazz recital with five of my original songs. Bebop Beatniks at the Craighead Forest Bandshell. We will be livestreaming the band rehearsals and the performance plus videos and an album. At least that's the plan.
I wrote two woodwind quintet pieces last term and the Astate woodwind quintet, the Howling Winds, is going to play them. They have a bari sax instead of a bassoon so that will take a few adjustments.
We are working with the trombone studio this term as part of our composition lessons. I'm going to do an arrangement of "Bunnies" for a jazz band with a trombone front line.
Exciting!
Talking to Megan she told me many indie authors are doing audiobooks of their own work and posting them on Youtube. So I thought I could do that with my stories. I could even take some printouts along when we're Guerilla Livestreaming Scenic Northeast Arkansas and Guerilla Livestream some audiobooks.
Fun!
What have you got in the oven? Inquiring minds want to know. My contact info is below or better yet post to Gamer+.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/984
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
So, Saturday morning in the best tradition of DMs everywhere, we're winging it. We may play. We may chat. We will be there. Come and join us if you can.
We are planning on resuming actual play at Eclectic Geekery and on the internet next month.
Sometimes you don't get to do things exactly the way you planned. But there is a silver lining. Our son, DM Carl, is coming to visit. We always have a good time visiting with his family and playing old school D&D. I even cleaned the back porch aka the family room aka the new twitch studio. So that will be great.
Later this weekend we'll have a big family gathering with DM Kier, DM Carl, and DM Hairy Larry all getting together with our families over at Gretchen's house. She's not a DM but both of her sons are. We've got a lot of DMs in our family.
I'd like to say that they're a chip off the old block except they were all DMing way before I took it up. I just love playing too much to want to be the DM. Actually it was creating the Milyagon locale and the Just Quest RPG system that led me to become a DM. And then that led me to Tobbins Shire and our current campaign.
Everyone's going to level up after solving the mystery of Mister Mistmeister. Not only did we save the shire from the mist we found a new home for the acorn people. I wrote this first Tobbins Shire quest up in a booklet including extremely cute acorn people artwork by Dubanci.
You can download the booklet pdf or view it flat at this link.
https://hairylarryland.com/milyagon/
On the music front, school starts next week and I am already rehearsing for a jazz recital. I wrote two woodwind quintet pieces last term and I hope to get them played too. Stay tuned for links to the recordings.
Here I am practicing my recital repertoire, five original jazz songs.
https://youtu.be/kjVh_VR7vPo
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/983
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Next week we'll be adventuring in Tobbins Shire again at Eclectic Geekery in Walnut Ridge. This is a hybrid game played around the table and on the internet. Turns out the technical side of this may be easier than I thought. We shall see.
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more information and a link go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last week we discussed fantasy and science fiction, mostly fantasy. This week I've been reading Science Fiction, "The Calculating Stars" by Mary Robinette Kowal, winner of the Hugo and Nebula best novel awards in 2019. It's an alternate history based on space exploration and it is also an experiment in writing old school science fiction assuming that the novel is contemporaneous with the story. It's been very interesting and like all great science fiction it deals with a lot of difficult social questions concerning America then and now.
I continue working on "The Story Of Mister MistMeister And His Many Transformations" proofreading for typos and doing minor rewrites for clarity. Here's the link to the pdf files.
https://hairylarryland.com/milyagon/
I timed it last night and it takes a half hour to read aloud. Great story with a lot of humor and you can clearly see the game behind the adventure.
Saturday NEA Gamers Guild is holding a library game day in Jonesboro and Sarah and Kier will be helping with that while Megan holds down the fort at Eclectic Geekery. I am looking forward to visiting with family both this Saturday and next when we'll take the drive to Walnut Ridge for more visiting and Just Quest.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1176261366287803
https://www.minizines.cc/flat/?x=entry:entry200105-065552
https://eclecticgeekery.com/
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/982
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
And then they hit me with a free Brandon Sanderson Wayne and Wax novel, "The Alloy Of Law". And coming out in November, "The Lost Metal" will conclude the Wayne and Wax series.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4862
Inspired Unreality is held every Saturday morning at 11:00 Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more info and a link go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
I also want to mention that "The Sandman" by Neil Gaiman is on Netflix.
Vivian and I started our Tobbins Shire campaign in February and it was so much fun it turned into a monthly feature on Inspired Unreality. In May we moved our table to Eclectic Geekery while still maintaining our presence in the gamerplus chat rooms. And last month we finished our first story arc.
So I took all of the session summaries and background info and turned it into a 16 page booklet, "The Story Of Mister Mistmeister And His Many Transformations". It's a hoot!
Just today I added Acorn People illustrations by Dubanci. Here's his website.
https://dubanci.cz/
And here's a link to the pdf files for the booklet and, if you can't print duplex or want to read online, to an 8 1/2 x 11 version.
https://hairylarryland.com/milyagon/
Please share "The Story Of Mister Mistmeister And His Many Transformations" by forwarding this email to your gaming friends and sharing this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/981
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
My grandson, Conley, joined me at Craighead Forest Park on July 13, 2022, to Guerilla Livestream Craighead Forest Lake. We played behind the bandshell with the lake behind us. We didn't get any ducks or geese swimming behind us but you can here them on the recording.
https://youtu.be/y6U2L5qSn3o
Thanks to Robin and Jerry for coming out to enjoy the music.
Since then I played two solo shows.
Hairy Larry Guerilla Livestreaming The Big Pines July 18, 2022
https://youtu.be/oyp6QZ2HkGk
Hairy Larry Guerilla Livestreaming In The Sun July 26, 2022
https://youtu.be/hBPwcTXbuNc
Enjoy!
The Story Of Mister Mistmeister And His Many Transformations
Starting last February Ari and Caper have been adventuring in Tobbins Shire, west of Milyagon, through Wilken Woods, and across the river. We've been campaigning once or twice a month, sometimes with more PCs, and in July we finished a story arc.
I turned all of the session summaries into a booklet that can be downloaded here.
https://hairylarryland.com/milyagon/
My daughters, Sarah and Megan, have opened a books, games, and hobby store in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, and the last three sessions were played at their store.
https://eclecticgeekery.com/
So it's been a good month for us in spite of the heat wave. I hope you've been staying cool and staying busy. Please let me know about your projects, music, and art.
Thanks,
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held every Saturday at 11:00 AM Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more information and an invite link go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Next week is the first Saturday in August so we'll be discussing Fantasy and Science Fiction.
For an opening topic this week I am turning to "The Wizard and the Djinn", a setup for a D&D one off that I wrote almost 2 years ago.
https://sffshortstories.com/?x=entry:entry201125-112710
I don't really write modules. I do a setup, then goals, and I try to have assets ready, like pregens, NPCs, monster stats, maps, and pictures, to keep the gameflow smooth. I think it's more fun if the PCs determine the arc of the quest with their decisions in game.
So, we can chat about this awhile and then move right along to your favorite prepared or unprepared topic.
Here's a nice painting of Neil Gaiman and a link to his free short stories on the internet.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4856
And I found some acorn illustrations for "The Story of Mister MistMeister and his Many Transformations". I think I've got everything I need but we'll see when I do the layout. In addition to my blog post I'm going to do a PDF file that will print a pamphlet with all the text and illustrations.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/127
I love this stuff.
Please forward this email to your friends that love this stuff and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/979
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/968
I used this last week when the party had an impromptu picnic with two farmers working beside the road. Turns out, one of the farmers was an idiot.
Inspired Unreality is held every Saturday morning at 11:00 in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Go here for more information and an invite link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
We also finished my first extended campaign, a low combat adventure in and around Tobbins Shire on the other side of Wilken Woods west of Milyagon. We started the campaign last February and enjoyed it so much we added it to our regular schedule on the third Saturday of the month. For the last three sessions we have been gaming around the table at Eclectic Geekery. Last week DM Carl joined us and we had a hybrid game, around the table and on the internet.
I took all the session summaries and turned them into "The Story of Mister MistMeister and his Many Transformations". Here's some spoiler free excerpts from last weeks game. (By spoiler free I mean I'm not giving away any of the jokes.)
...
On our way we saw two farmers taking a picnic break from their toil. Wyleth hailed them and asked if we could join them. They said, "Sure." and asked about the ale so Caper poured a round. Clairen was happy to have an impromptu picnic with new friends.
Snurgi was inspired to compose a poem on the spot.
We was walking along and found some farmers
We knews they was safe, they wore no armors
Our friend sat down plop, to eat a potluck
And we was confident, no one would harm her
One of the farmers was an idiot but they were both really nice and we enjoyed their company.
...
The Read Headed Rascal said, "Look." and he looked up the valley. When the party followed his gaze they saw a large circle colored green and yellow and some colors they didn't know. In the circle was the valley, fully populated by sentient oak trees. And when they looked under the trees their was a village of acorn people with houses, roads, and carts pulled by beetles. The sentient oaks did so well growing in the valley that the acorn people lived lives of their own before finding a final resting place where they could lay down and wait to be an oak tree.
And looking up to the top of the hill they saw four giant sentient oaks that must have grown from the acorn people they had carried across the river. They decided to name them the sentinel sentient oaks.
...
For the whole adventure go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/977
So, join us tomorrow for open game chat. In two weeks the topic will be Fantasy and Science Fiction. And then on the third Saturday in August we'll be back in Tobbins Shire seeing where the dice lead us.
We've been having a heat wave in Arkansas and I know we aren't the only ones so Stay Cool!
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/978
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Mr. MistMeister
---
Ari and Caper run across Mr. MistMeister, a dangerous water elemental, on a hike outside of Caper's Shire.
Before he was Mr. MistMeister he was a water sprite. One day when he was flying a potion maker, greatly afraid, threw a potion of gaseous form on the sprite. The combination of magicks locked the elemental into it's gaseous form and Mr. MistMeister was born.
He used to enjoy coralling loads of fish into fishermen's nets so they became so heavily laden that they would break or even capsize the fishing boat. In his mist form he has been corraling people by showing them abandoned houses from the past and luring them into his misty form. He is not evil. He just does what he does because he doesn't know what else to do. He could be convinced to take up another avocation but he can only be destroyed with very high level magic that counters both the potion and fey magic at the same time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:August_Malmstr%C3%B6m_-_Dancing_Fairies_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Pictured is Dancing Fairies painted in 1866 by the Swedish painter August Malmström. Unlike the faires pictured Mr. MistMeister cannot return to the water but is locked above ground as a mist.
Background material above was written by Larry Heyl aka DM Hairy Larry
Cast Of Characters
---
Ari is a human healing sorceress who is bossy and good at reading people.
Caper Tobbins is a halfling bard who is likable.
Tude is Ari's pet wildcat who is protective and obnoxious.
Clairen is a friendly bouncy dwarf.
Edge Bravestone is a cautious, friendly fighter.
Wyleth is a soldier who was raised on a farm.
Snurgi Snurgison is a dwarf who is a fighter and a poet.
---
Ari is Vivian's PC
Tude is Ari's pet wildcat and also Vivian's PC
Caper is a Larry's DM PC
---
At Inspired Unreality Ari and Caper visit the Shire. So now we have a Milyagon Shire and we'll have to place it on the map. Probably through Wilken Woods and across the river.
We used Shire friendly dice tables found in the Hearth & Hillside Home.pdf, a name your own price download.
https://weirdandblue.itch.io/hearth-and-hillside-home
First we rolled up elevenses from the Sweet Treats table. Caper rolled Tart rhubarb pie with clotted cream and an extra flavour that everybody either loves or hates and Ari rolled Sticky honeycomb fresh from the tallest oak this side of Woolshod Hill which Caper had recently rescued from the bees.
As a good hobbit would, Caper suggested they follow up on elevenses with Breakfast for Dinner. Caper rolled Spicy sausages with flavours from the distant empire of Man and Ari folllowed up with a still-twitching boiled crab that always goes for the nose. So sausages and crabs it was after Caper detwitched the crab with a single blow.
Unable to eat any more Caper suggests a walk through the woods to enjoy the sun. Before they get out of town they meet weary halfling travellers trekking into town wearing the scandalous fashions of a distant March. In fact their garb is brightly colored and entirely inappropriate for the shire. They said some fairies had played a trick on them changing their sensible clothes for this rubbish.
Ari escorted them into a second hand clothes shop where, Mr. Muffen, the owner assured them all he could arrange an exchange for more suitable attire knowing that the brightly colored clothes would sell well when caravans of humans passed through town. No accounting for the tastes of humans. Brightly colored scarves just assure that you'll be seen in the woods.
After walking a short way out of town Ari and Caper met A well-groomed pony with courtly ribbons, plodding under the weight of a pompous Shirrif and his tall feathered hat.
The Shirrif was complaining about the fairies who he said, "Tied the ribbons to my pony and gave me this stupid hat. Caper said Mr. Muffen will trade that hat for a better one and he probably knows where you could trade the pony for a sturdier horse. They talked on for a while, as one does well met in the woods, and then Ari and Caper continued their hike while the Shirrif plodded on to town.
The Rescue
---
Ari is Vivian's PC
Tude is Ari's pet wildcat and also Vivian's PC
Caper is a Larry's DM PC
---
Last week the Shirrif was plodding on to town and Ari cast detect magic on him. All the ribbons on his pony as well as his hat and the feathers in his hat glowed with fey magic. Caper thought, "Interesting" and he also thought the Shirrif's stout little pony might make a good gift for the Jenkins kids.
Ari explains aura colors to Caper. Red means blood, white means blind or a child, no aura means the human doesn't care about colors. Ari said the Shirrif had no aura which didn't surpise her.
They continue along the trail and coming to the top of a ridge they see mist filling a field that opens up before them, evening light glinting off the dewy roof of a distant cottage. (from Scenery On Your Long Treks d12 table)
They walk through the field towards the cottage and Ari, feeling like something might be wrong here recommends caution. Tude's fur ruffles up on the back of his neck, a sure sign of danger.
Caper suggests they drink some farseeing tea so they can see through the windows from a safe distance. He quickly gathers twigs and builds a fire boiling water in the teapot from his hiking pack. Ari sprinkles in some of the tea and Caper tends the pot while Ari looks around, wondering.
Caper pours two small cups and Ari without thinking stirs her tea with the silver wand from the fairy, King Groad, that enhances teas and potions. After putting out his fire Caper is quickly running about exploring the house through the windows and open door from a distance of about 100 feet. He can tell the house is empty and in some disrepair.
Ari, however sees something completely different. Lost in the mist are human men, women, and children. Ari starts making notes in her notebook for future reference.
She glances up and notices Caper sneaking into the house with Tude following ready to protect him. In the cottage Caper finds a lavishly illuminated tome chronicling a time when the Commonwealth was a wild land of barrow-kings and bigfolk. (from the Heirlooms Of The Estate d10 table)
He can't wait to show Ari the book and rushes out to her. Ari glances at the book but she is more concerned right now with the lost souls in the mist. She describes them to Caper who can't see them.
Ari suggests that Caper finishes the tea and gives it a stir with her silver wand. Caper chugs tea straight out of the cold pot and now Caper sees the people too. Ari asks if Caper has brandy and Caper grins tapping his hiking pack.
Ari thinks the minimal amount will help Caper move the people out of the mist and away from here. Caper says he'll take the minimal amount which is usually one good chug followed by another. Ari says take half the minimal amount and then lead the women and children out because we don't want a lot of dead bodies which is where this could go.
So Caper takes a wee nip and then starts playing his flute and dancing with the children in the mist. When he leads them across the field they follow enchanted by his flute. The women follow the children and the men follow the women and soon Caper has them all heading across the field toward the path with Ari and Tude bringing up the rear.
There are seven kids, five women, and six men that follow them out of the mist. Some of the men are younger, without whiskers yet, but full grown.
Ari now sees from the trail another even bigger cottage across the road that is also unlived in.
The people still have no clue about where they are. Some of them gripe and complain about the people running a village. They all calm down and start to get along after fussing awhile. Caper says the fussing is a good sign that they have returned to normal. Big folk are always fussing.
Ari is determined to make sure that the people she's with go a different direction. She's afraid of danger to them. They could be hurt, killed, or locked up.
Caper wants to examine this bigger cottage on the other side of the path. He can't wait to see if there are more books for Ari stuck up on a shelf somewhere. He still feels the effects of the farseeing tea and he's checking out what he can see from here on the trail.
Fey Enigma
----
Ari is Vivian's PC
Tude is Ari's pet wildcat and also Vivian's PC
Caper is a Larry's DM PC
---
After the eighteen people who had been trapped in the mist recovered their senses Caper and Tude looted the big house across the road and (after rolling another one on the Heirlooms table) he found another book. This looked to be a book of Kings with pictures of Kings surrounded by text. It's very fancy. Caper grabs it and takes it back up the hill to Ari. Tude nuzzles Ari's hand.
Caper shows Ari the Book of Kings and Cyndre, the lady boss of the rescued humans, pops over to look. She says, "Oh, aye! I ken him. Old King Cartyr, he died last year."
Ari and Caper look at each other and Caper says, "King Cartyr is legendary. He died 400 years ago."
Cyndre looks up noticing details in Ari's clothing she hadn't see before. Finely woven cloth with rows of silver buttons. She also notices Caper's well made boots, made by the cobbler at Tobbins Shire. She bows to Ari and says, "Sorry, my lady, but I worked in King Cartyr's Castle and he died just last year.
400 years ago, Cyndre and her party left Tobbins Shire and when they crested a ridge they saw a beautiful field covered in mist with an abandoned farmhouse. When they went to see the farmhouse they walked through the mist and that's the last they remember until Ari, Caper, and Tude led them out of the mist and back up to the road.
Ari and Caper have a short confab and decide that there's nothing for it but to take these people back to the shire.
Caper shouts, "Time to eat", thinking they must be hungry if they haven't dined in 400 years and he takes off down the road back to Tobbins Shire singing a merry tune. With Ari's encouragement they follow and Ari and Tude bring up the rear being careful that no children stray from the path.
When they get to the shire Caper takes them all to the Inn where they have a hearty stew. The rescued people still don't believe 400 years passed but they can tell that things are much different then they were when they left Tobbins Shire, as it seems to them, just this morning.
Caper arranges for rooms and breakfast. The Inn only has five man size rooms so the two families take a room and the others bunk up 2 or 3 to a room.
Caper takes Ari aside and says, "It's not too late. Let's check Muffens Used Clothes and see if he bought that hat."
They enter the shop and Caper makes inquiries. "Yes, indeed,' says Muffens, "the Shirrif did come by and I bought his hat." Caper asks the price and pays 4 silver without bartering which kind of bothered Muffens. He's never know a Tobbins to pay asking price once in his life.
Caper also asks about the pony. "Ah yes," said Muffens, "I directed him to Old Took on the south road not a mile from the shire. He may have sold it there. I tell you he looked a sight on that poor little pony."
Caper, thinking of the Jakobs kids and those magic ribbons decided to check on the pony in the morning. Ari and Caper continued on to Caper's Hobbit Hole where they had a nice repast of crab, mutton, and vegetables and decided to end their adventure for the day.
Caper's Pony
---
Ari is Vivian's PC
Tude is Ari's pet wildcat and also Vivian's PC
Caper is a Larry's DM PC
---
At Inspired Unreality Ari and Caper once again adventured around Tobbins Shire. Ari enlisted the help of Dood a th Wood (pronounced Dude ah th Wude) to divine the spells on the hat and the feather. The feather is a large owl's feather, probably from Wilken Woods and it is enhanced with fey magic to be a magic augmenter. The hat makes the wearer lighter. The hat takes 25% off and with the feather 50%.
They went to see old Took where Caper bought the pony with the magic ribbons and also bought some light tack for the pony.
Then back to the Inn to see the people they rescued. They now realize they have been thrust 400 years into their future and are at a loss. Ari suggests they make furniture since antique furniture from their era is valued. Turns out a couple of the men are furniture makers and most of them have carpentry experience. They decide to go into business making genuine reproductions with the slogan, hands from the past.
The Ghost Of The Shire
---
Ari is Vivian's PC
Tude is Ari's pet wildcat and also Vivian's PC
Caper is a Larry's DM PC
Clairen is Liz's PC
---
Adventuring in Tobbins Shire at Eclectic Geekery
Our granddaughter Liz joined Vivian and myself at Eclectic Geekery to play Just Quest. She's playing a dwarf, Clairen, who is friendly and bouncy.
We woke up in Caper's hobbit hole and had a fine breakfast. Roughly-chopped turnips, baked crispy brown and served with a selection of chutneys. Also Beastie-shaped roast veggies that create visions of long-forgotten magic.
Then Caper served a sweet treat, A suspensefully swaying tower of sponge cake, liqueur, orange pieces and custard, topped with a layer of syllabub cream. (Now if I just knew what syllabub is)
Clairen wanted to head to town and make new friends so off we went. On the way we met Pogbert Piper blowing spectacular smoke rings in his garden. His smoke looked like soot from a roaring black hearth.
We all heard the ghost of the shire making smart ass comments about the game. (When we are playing in Tobbins Shire and a non player kibitzes they are providing the voice of the ghost of the shire.)
Not to be outdone Caper asked Pogbert for a pinch of bacca and he started blowing smokerings resembling long-gone monsters. He blew a huge ring which floated above their heads and then he blew a Gryphon that flew through the center of the ring.
Caper played a merry jig on his flute and every one was tapping their feet or hoeing in time to the music except Clairen who was bouncing up and down.
Then on to town and a visit to Mr. Muffen's second hand store. Clairen bought a yellow headband. Caper bought a black saddle for his pony. Ari looked at a brown saddle for her brown horse streaked with white but she wasn't convinced she needed it. Then back to the hobbit hole to try out the saddle. When they passed Pogbert Piper's garden he was nowhere in sight. Probably inside for elevenses, which made Caper start to think about what they would eat for elevenses when they got back home.
Acorn People
---
Ari is Vivian's PC
Tude is Ari's pet wildcat and also Vivian's PC
Caper is a Larry's DM PC
Clairen is Liz's PC
Edge Bravestone is Anthony's PC
---
Acorn People and Mister MistMeister
Adventuring in Tobbins Shire at Eclectic Geekery on June 18, 2022
On their way back from Mr Muffen's Second Hand Store Ari, Caper, and Clairen met Edge Bravestone, a cautious fighter. Caper said "Well met" and invited him to his hobbit hole for elevenses. They had a floral mix that, when steeped, thickens the air with love and tea infusing aromas from across the Four Marches.
Caper mentioned that he had heard of an interesting tree across the river in Wilken Woods and when everyone said they were up for a hike anyway off they went.
They took a short cut along the riverbank and soon were crossing the bridge and entering Wilken Woods, a magic forest. Ari and Caper had been to the tree before so Caper led the way, a little over a mile on the road and then a slight veer to the north following a barely used woods trail.
Soon they came to a large oak tree with some owls perched in the upper branches and acorns covering the ground. Caper gathered a bunch of acorns in a pile and stirred them with his finger and up popped an acorn man who said, "We are acorns from the sentient oak. When met with intelligent interest we wake up and talk. The sentient oak can talk too but time runs slow for him. We acorns can understand him but other living creatures cannot."
Caper continued talking to the acorn man and Ari, Clairen, and Edge gathered acorns together. Soon they were all talking to acorn men.
After talking about the tree, the owls, and everything (including fairies) Caper's acorn man stepped to the fore. He said, "We need your help. There is nothing we would like more than to lay on the ground and wait to be an oak tree. But acorns lying in the shadow of a sentient oak cannot grow. The owls sometimes help by carrying acorns or acorn men to other parts of Wilken Woods but they never cross the river. We would like to expand our horizons and answer our constant conundrum, which came first, the magic forest or the sentient oak trees?"
Caper said, "I know just the spot.", turning to Ari, "Remember the hill above the mist where we rescued those people from the past?"
Ari agreed that the hill would be more than suitable. Caper said, "We have some unfinished business there too and maybe we can make the misty valley safe with the help of Clairen, Edge, and our new friends, the acorn people.
So each of them carried an acorn man on their shoulder and trekked back to Tobbins Shire and then up the road leading to the misty valley.
When they got to the top of the hill they could see the mist in the valley below and the two ancient houses on either side of the road. The acorn men loved the spot and they jumped onto the ground and ran in different directions looking for a nice place to lie down and wait to be an oak tree.
Caper filled everyone in on the danger of the mist while he started boiling water for tea.
"Ari and I drank this tea before and then we braved the mist and pulled about 20 humans out and guided them to the top of the hill. They wandered into the mist 400 years ago and when we brought them out it was still the same day to them. It wasn't until the next morning that they began to believe they were 400 years in the future."
Everyone wanted to solve the mystery of the mist and dispell the danger.
Ari pulled out a bag of tea and four cups. Caper made the tea and poured it. Ari stirred each cup with the silver wand King Groad had given her in feyland. Caper added a drop of Brandy.
"So drink this down." said Caper, "It's not safe in the mist and we don't want to be waking up 400 years in the future, if we're lucky enough that someone comes to rescue us."
Ari said, "The tea protects against fey magic and when enhanced by the fey magic in the silver wand it is very powerful protection, indeed."
When the party entered the mist it was Edge Bravestone that started a conversation, calling out to the mist believing there was a persona involved.
The mist was soon showing multiple faces and waving hands. Although his conversation was disjoint and punctuated with oooos and ahhhs here's the essence of his story.
"I was a water elemental and one night I took to gaseous form to explore the dry land near the river. I got in a fight with a mage and his magic crossed my fey magic wrong and I got stuck in gaseous form. That's how I became Mister MistMeister."
"Time doesn't mean much to me so I don't know how long ago this happened. Later a party of humans wandered into the mist. They were lost and distressed. I liked them and I didn't want to hurt them so I froze time for them."
"Later on two of you came into the mist and took them off. I don't know why you weren't lost and distressed. I tried to freeze you in time anyway but it didn't work."
"And now here you are back again with two others. I like you and I'd like to keep you but my magic isn't working on you again."
Caper kept an eye on Mister MistMeister while Ari, Clairen, and Edge tried to come up with some ideas to fix things. Disperse the mist? Turn it back into water? What kind of spell could do something to a water elemental?
Ari said, "Ah, but you forget, I am Arimeth, and I am not new to this game." She picked up a D20 brandishing it in front of us and then she made it disappear. It reappeared on the floor and it was a 5.
Checking the Entirely True Tales From Beyond The High Hedge dice table we read.
The Dwarf-King’s royal artisan has a secret technique for brewing molten metal into heavenly spiced mead.
Clairen the friendly bouncy dwarf is still a dwarf and she could read between the lines. Maybe we need to get Mister MistMeister drunk. That seems to solve most problems for dwarves.
That got Caper's attention. He tipped his hat to one of Mister MistMeister's many faces and said, "I believe we're going to help you out in a bit."
Then he led the party out of the mist, to the top of the hill, past the resting acorns, and on towards Tobbins Shire to get a keg of ale.
Mister MistMeister Gets A New Name ... Twice
---
Ari is Vivian's PC
Tude is Ari's pet wildcat and also Vivian's PC
Caper is a Larry's DM PC
Clairen is Liz's PC
Wyleth is Conley's PC
Snurgi Snurgison is Carl's PC
---
Tobbins Shire July 16, 2022
Session summary (with some additions for narrative flow (or jokes))
The party went to town for a keg of ale to get Mister Mistermeister drunk. In town Edge Bravestone got called away and Wyleth, a soldier who was raised as a farmer and Snurgi Snurgison, a dwarf who is a fighter and a poet, joined us. We carried the ale in our pony cart back up the hill towards the valley.
On our way we saw two farmers taking a picnic break from their toil. Wyleth hailed them and asked if we could join them. They said, "Sure." and asked about the ale so Caper poured a round. Clairen was happy to have an impromptu picnic with new friends.
Snurgi was inspired to compose a poem on the spot.
We was walking along and found some farmers
We knews they was safe, they wore no armors
Our friend sat down plop, to eat a potluck
And we was confident, no one would harm her
One of the farmers was an idiot but they were both really nice and we enjoyed their company.
And then off we went to the top of the hill overlooking Mister MistMeister in the valley. Caper quickly brewed some tea that protects against fey magic and after Ari stirred it with her silver wand and Caper added a drop of brandy we all drank the tea.
Then we filled buckets of ale and tankards for ourselves. Mister MistMeister was quite curious about the buckets. Caper called out, "We brought you some ale." and everyone set the buckets down on the ground. Mister MistMeister liked it and he made a face for every bucket and then some smaller faces started trying to steal the ale from our tankards. Caper covered his with his hand but everyone else just chugged their ale down. Snurgi emptied his whole tankard in one quaff with most of it going down his throat but some spilling onto his beard. Mister MistMeister made a dozen little faces to drink the ale from his beard.
After drinking nearly a keg of ale Mister MistMeister was drunk. Pretty soon the mist started thinning revealing a yellow rivulet cascading down the valley towards the river. The party decided to follow him down to the river to see how he was doing.
When they got to the river his face popped up out of the river as yellow as can be. He said, "I used to be Mister MistMeister but now I'm Mr. PissMeister. Clairen suggested that he could try some cranberries. Nobody had any cranberries but Ari had some Panacea Berries which look like cranberries and have general healing properties. She tossed one to Mister PissMeister and he turned pink. Everyone thought it was an improvement. He certainly smelled better. Mister PissMeister said, "I used to be Mister PissMeister but now I'm The Red Headed Rascal." He did a series of swoops and dives all the time remaining careful not to take his gaseous form and become mist again.
He asked if he could do something to repay us. Caper said, "I know time is different for you and you don't think in days and years like we do but when those people wandered into the mist that was 400 years ago for us. Can you show us this valley 400 years in the future?"
The Red Headed Rascal said, "Easy as pi. In fact I can take you there if you want."
Caper demurred, "Oh please no, I just want to look, I'm happy enough in my own century."
The Read Headed Rascal said, "Look." and he looked up the valley. When the party followed his gaze they saw a large circle colored green and yellow and some colors they didn't know. In the circle was the valley, fully populated by sentient oak trees. And when they looked under the trees their was a village of acorn people with houses, roads, and carts pulled by beetles. The sentient oaks did so well growing in the valley that the acorn people lived lives of their own before finding a final resting place where they could lay down and wait to be an oak tree.
And looking up to the top of the hill they saw four giant sentient oaks that must have grown from the acorn people they had carried across the river. They decided to name them the sentinel sentient oaks.
After bidding fare thee well to the Red Headed Rascal the party climbed to the top of the hill and looked around. No more mist. And no more houses either. When Mister MistMeister returned to his liquid form he must have lost all connection to the time when he captured the humans in the mist.
On the way back to town they saw the same portly shirrif wearing a hat with a feather and riding another pony all bedecked in ribbons. Caper talked to him for a while but he told Caper he was the shirrif and he could ride a pony if he wanted and it wasn't any business of his. The shirrif said, "The last pony I had wouldn't carry me after I sold my hat to Muffen. I'm keeping this pony and the hat." After the shirrif passed Ari detected magic and sure enough the hat, the feather, and the ribbons glowed with fey magic. Caper shook his head and said, "Those fairies have been having fun with the shirrif again.
They made it back to town before dark and returned the empty keg to the tavern. They saw some of the people they rescued in the tavern and they decided to join them, have a drink, and fill them in on The Story of Mister MistMeister and his Many Transformations.
---
We played using the dice rolling tables in Hearth & Hillside Home, Being a book of pastoral pleasures for Halflings and Bigfolk alike.
https://weirdandblue.itch.io/hearth-and-hillside-home
During play at the last session dice were rolled against the Idioms For Idiots D20 table for all conversation from Farmer 1. He was the idiot.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/968
Thanks to DM Kier for the Mister PissMeister joke.
Thanks to Eclectic Geekery in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, for providing gaming space.
Ari and Caper have been campaigning together for over 30 years.
---
Illustrations
Gamer+ Photo Gallery
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/127
Capers Hobbit Hole
by jawajeziorski - Pixabay License
https://pixabay.com/zh/photos/the-land-of-the-hobbits-new-zealand-6314749/
Caper's Pony
from FREE*SVG
https://freesvg.org/cartoon-pony-color-drawing
Dancing Fairies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:August_Malmstr%C3%B6m_-_Dancing_Fairies_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Eclectic Geekery is my daughters book, hobby, and game store located in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. Their relaxed atmosphere is perfect for sitting around a table and enjoying an RPG.
https://eclecticgeekery.com/
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Saturday at 11:00 AM Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. First Saturday - Fantasy and Science Fiction. Third Saturday - actual play. All other Saturdays - bring your own topic. For more info and an invite link click here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Tobbins Shire is part of the Milyagon locale created by Larry and Vivian. I will be the DM running Just Quest, my own rules light OSR RPG. If you can't make it to Eclectic Geekery join us online.
Last week Vivian and I discussed a variety of topics while I built the Idioms For Idiots D20 dice table. Whenever either of us said an idiom or reminded me of an idiom I would write it down in the text chat. When I finally stopped to count I had 19 of them so I added one more and Hooray!
Idioms For Idiots
A d20 dice table
1. I bit my tongue
2. a stitch in time saves nine
3. butter side up
4. stupid is as stupid does
5. a rose is a rose
6. I let him have it
7. has the cat got your tongue?
8. don't look a gift horse in the mouth
9. the squeaky wheel gets the grease
10. live and let live
11. if it ain't broke don't fix it
12. it's the singer not the song
13. young and in love
14. let it slide
15. an apple a day keeps the doctor away
16. if you don't play you can't win
17. the cow's in the corn
18. closing the barn door after the horse is out
19. you don't want to know how the sausage is made
20. winners never quit and quitters never win
The idea is when the party is collecting information at the local tavern or at the fair the DM designates one of the NPCs an idiot. He might look all wise and ancient but whenever a PC asks him a question he replies with one of the idioms on the dice table. The DM can scan the table to find an appropriate idiom or just do it the old fashioned way and roll a D20.
It could be a girl too. I'm for Equal Rights! Girls can be idiots too.
What I'm wondering is if the party will get value from these conversations in pursuing their quest. I mean, let's face it, we all know someone like this. Whatever comes up they've got some idiotic saying to add to the conversation.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/968
My grandson, Conley Hunt, is related to geeks and he joined me Wednesday morning Guerilla Livestreaming Craighead Forest Lake, part of my Hairy Larry Guerilla Livestreaming Scenic Northeast Arkansas project. I played piano and Conley played cajon. Some geese sang along. You can see the video here.
https://deltaboogie.net/
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/972
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
1. I bit my tongue
2. a stitch in time saves nine
3. butter side up
4. stupid is as stupid does
5. a rose is a rose
6. I let him have it
7. has the cat got your tongue?
8. don't look a gift horse in the mouth
9. the squeaky wheel gets the grease
10. live and let live
11. if it ain't broke don't fix it
12. it's the singer not the song
13. young and in love
14. let it slide
15. an apple a day keeps the doctor away
16. if you don't play you can't win
17. the cow's in the corn
18. closing the barn door after the horse is out
19. you don't want to know how the sausage is made
20. winners never quit and quitters never win
Inspired Unreality is held every Saturday in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more information and a link to Tenkar's Tavern go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last week was the first Saturday in July so our topic was Fantasy and Science Fiction. We discussed how difficult it is to write children's fantasy and how difficult High Fantasy RPGs are. And Duca posted some good links about the High Fantasy game Eberron.
Inspired Unreality Summary
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4734
Order of the Emerald Claw
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4735
Eberron Timeline
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4736
The funny thing is that in "Malazan Book of the Fallen" the Empire's assassins are also called The Claw. Are there other Assassin's Guilds called The Claw?
Inquiring minds want to know.
On the 4th of July we had family game day at Eclectic Geekery. Here's the link to their new website.
https://eclecticgeekery.com/
Before that I Guerilla Livestreamed Beatles Park.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4737
Youtube link
https://youtu.be/q2n6n5y1y9M
They say that word of mouth advertising is the best. That's good because it's all we can afford. So ... please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/967
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Here's a teaser. I watched the first two episodes of the new "Wheel Of Time" series and I have some issues. Everything goes so fast. The visuals are great but the story is only a sketch. There are 14 books in the "Wheel Of Time" and they are all long and they all have substantial stories to tell across multiple points of view. I don't think the source material fits the tv series format.
You may disagree. That would be great. I have opinions and you have opinions too. We are both free to opinionate at Inspired Unreality.
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Saturday at 11:00 AM Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. There's more information and an invite link here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Duca joined us last Saturday on Inspired Unreality. He's been playing a dragon in Eberron, a high fantasy RPG. We've been discussing "Malazan Book of the Fallen" by Steven Erikson a ten book high fantasy series and just how difficult it is to write high fantasy. I imagine that's true for RPGs too.
Duca also mentioned Keith Baker, a game designer and fantasy novel author who worked on Eberron. Here's a link to his blog.
https://keith-baker.com/
Have you done any high fantasy gaming? Turns out that discussing high fantasy games is on topic when we discuss Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Now, Vivian and I are readers. We talk about books. You may enjoy games, television, or movies. Let us know what you like and why you like it? What has your attention right now?
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/965
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Ureality is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkars Tavern on Discord. Here's a link to more info and an invite.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last week on Inspired Unreality. Actual play at Eclectic Geekery.
Acorn People and Mister MistMeister from hairylarry's blog
On their way back from Mr Muffin's Second Hand Store Ari, Caper, and Clairen met Edge Bravestone, a cautious fighter. Caper said "Well met" and invited him to his hobbit hole for elevenses. They had a floral mix that, when steeped, thickens the air with love and tea infusing aromas from across the Four Marches.
Caper mentioned that he had heard of an interesting tree across the river in Wilken Woods and when everyone said they were up for a hike anyway off they went.
They took a short cut along the riverbank and soon were crossing the bridge and entering Wilken Woods, a magic forest. Ari and Caper had been to the tree before so Caper led the way, a little over a mile on the road and then a slight veer to the north following a barely used woods trail.
Soon they came to a large oak tree with some owls perched in the upper branches and acorns covering the ground. Caper gathered a bunch of acorns in a pile and stirred them with his finger and up popped an acorn man who said, "We are acorns from the sentient oak. When met with intelligent interest we wake up and talk. The sentient oak can talk too but time runs slow for him. We acorns can understand him but other living creatures cannot."
Caper continued talking to the acorn man and Ari, Clairen, and Edge gathered acorns together. Soon they were all talking to acorn men.
After talking about the tree, the owls, and everything (including fairies) Caper's acorn man stepped to the fore. He said, "We need your help. There is nothing we would like more than to lay on the ground and wait to be an oak tree. But acorns lying in the shadow of a sentient oak cannot grow. The owls sometimes help by carrying acorns or acorn men to other parts of Wilken Woods but they never cross the river. We would like to expand our horizons and answer our constant conundrum, which came first, the magic forest or the sentient oak trees?"
Caper said, "I know just the spot.", turning to Ari, "Remember the hill above the mist where we rescued those people from the past?"
Ari agreed that the hill would be more than suitable. Caper said, "We have some unfinished business there too and maybe we can make the misty valley safe with the help of Clairen, Edge, and our new friends, the acorn people.
So each of them carried an acorn man on their shoulder and trekked back to Tobbins Shire and then up the road leading to the misty valley.
When they got to the top of the hill they could see the mist in the valley below and the two ancient houses on either side of the road. The acorn men loved the spot and they jumped onto the ground and ran in different directions looking for a nice place to lie down and wait to be an oak tree.
Caper filled everyone in on the danger of the mist while he started boiling water for tea.
"Ari and I drank this tea before and then we braved the mist and pulled about 20 humans out and guided them to the top of the hill. They wandered into the mist 400 years ago and when we brought them out it was still the same day to them. It wasn't until the next morning that they began to believe they were 400 years in the future."
Everyone wanted to solve the mystery of the mist and dispell the danger.
Ari pulled out a bag of tea and four cups. Caper made the tea and poured it. Ari stirred each cup with the silver wand King Groad had given her in feyland.
"So drink this down." said Caper, "It's not safe in the mist and we don't want to be waking up 400 years in the future, if someone comes to rescue us."
Ari said, "The tea protects against fey magic and when enhanced by the fey magic in the silver wand it is very powerful protection, indeed."
When the party entered the mist it was Edge Bravestone that started a conversation, calling out to the mist believing there was a persona involved.
The mist was soon showing multiple faces and waving hands. Although his conversation was disjoint and punctuated with oooos and ahhhs here's the essence of his story.
"I was a water elemental and one night I took to gaseous form to explore the dry land near the river. I got in a fight with a mage and his magic crossed my fey magic wrong and I got stuck in gaseous form. That's how I became Mister MistMeister."
"Time doesn't mean much to me so I don't know how long ago this happened. Later a party of humans wandered into the mist. They were lost and distressed. I liked them and I didn't want to hurt them so I froze time for them."
"Later on two of you came into the mist and took them off. I don't know why you weren't lost and distressed. I tried to freeze you in time anyway but it didn't work."
"And now here you are back again with two others. I like you and I'd like to keep you but my magic isn't working on you again."
Caper kept an eye on Mister MistMeister while Ari, Clairen, and Edge tried to come up with some ideas to fix things. Disperse the mist? Turn it back into water? What kind of spell could do something to a water elemental?
Ari said, "Ah, but you forget, I am Arimeth, and I am not new to this game." She picked up a D20 brandishing it in front of us and then she made it disappear. It reappeared on the floor and it was a 5.
Checking the Entirely True Tales From Beyond The High Hedge dice table we read.
The Dwarf-King’s royal artisan has a secret technique for brewing molten metal into heavenly spiced mead.
Clairen the friendly bouncy dwarf is still a dwarf and she could read between the lines. Maybe we need to get Mister MistMeister drunk. That seems to solve most problems for dwarves.
That got Caper's attention. He tipped his hat to one of Mister MistMeister's many faces and said, "I believe we're going to help you out in a bit."
Then he led the party out of the mist, to the top of the hill, past the resting acorns, and on towards Tobbins Shire to get a keg of ale.
---
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/956
Dice tables from Hearth & Hillside Home
https://weirdandblue.itch.io/hearth-and-hillside-home
And I posted some photos of Wilken Woods. (Taken in our yard.)
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/40
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/957
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Adventuring in Tobbins Shire at Eclectic Geekery on June 18, 2022
On their way back from Mr Muffin's Second Hand Store Ari, Caper, and Clairen met Edge Bravestone, a cautious fighter. Caper said "Well met" and invited him to his hobbit hole for elevenses. They had a floral mix that, when steeped, thickens the air with love and tea infusing aromas from across the Four Marches.
Caper mentioned that he had heard of an interesting tree across the river in Wilken Woods and when everyone said they were up for a hike anyway off they went.
They took a short cut along the riverbank and soon were crossing the bridge and entering Wilken Woods, a magic forest. Ari and Caper had been to the tree before so Caper led the way, a little over a mile on the road and then a slight veer to the north following a barely used woods trail.
Soon they came to a large oak tree with some owls perched in the upper branches and acorns covering the ground. Caper gathered a bunch of acorns in a pile and stirred them with his finger and up popped an acorn man who said, "We are acorns from the sentient oak. When met with intelligent interest we wake up and talk. The sentient oak can talk too but time runs slow for him. We acorns can understand him but other living creatures cannot."
Caper continued talking to the acorn man and Ari, Clairen, and Edge gathered acorns together. Soon they were all talking to acorn men.
After talking about the tree, the owls, and everything (including fairies) Caper's acorn man stepped to the fore. He said, "We need your help. There is nothing we would like more than to lay on the ground and wait to be an oak tree. But acorns lying in the shadow of a sentient oak cannot grow. The owls sometimes help by carrying acorns or acorn men to other parts of Wilken Woods but they never cross the river. We would like to expand our horizons and answer our constant conundrum, which came first, the magic forest or the sentient oak trees?"
Caper said, "I know just the spot.", turning to Ari, "Remember the hill above the mist where we rescued those people from the past?"
Ari agreed that the hill would be more than suitable. Caper said, "We have some unfinished business there too and maybe we can make the misty valley safe with the help of Clairen, Edge, and our new friends, the acorn people.
So each of them carried an acorn man on their shoulder and trekked back to Tobbins Shire and then up the road leading to the misty valley.
When they got to the top of the hill they could see the mist in the valley below and the two ancient houses on either side of the road. The acorn men loved the spot and they jumped onto the ground and ran in different directions looking for a nice place to lie down and wait to be an oak tree.
Caper filled everyone in on the danger of the mist while he started boiling water for tea.
"Ari and I drank this tea before and then we braved the mist and pulled about 20 humans out and guided them to the top of the hill. They wandered into the mist 400 years ago and when we brought them out it was still the same day to them. It wasn't until the next morning that they began to believe they were 400 years in the future."
Everyone wanted to solve the mystery of the mist and dispell the danger.
Ari pulled out a bag of tea and four cups. Caper made the tea and poured it. Ari stirred each cup with the silver wand King Groad had given her in feyland.
"So drink this down." said Caper, "It's not safe in the mist and we don't want to be waking up 400 years in the future, if someone comes to rescue us."
Ari said, "The tea protects against fey magic and when enhanced by the fey magic in the silver wand it is very powerful protection, indeed."
When the party entered the mist it was Edge Bravestone that started a conversation, calling out to the mist believing there was a persona involved.
The mist was soon showing multiple faces and waving hands. Although his conversation was disjoint and punctuated with oooos and ahhhs here's the essence of his story.
"I was a water elemental and one night I took to gaseous form to explore the dry land near the river. I got in a fight with a mage and his magic crossed my fey magic wrong and I got stuck in gaseous form. That's how I became Mister MistMeister."
"Time doesn't mean much to me so I don't know how long ago this happened. Later a party of humans wandered into the mist. They were lost and distressed. I liked them and I didn't want to hurt them so I froze time for them."
"Later on two of you came into the mist and took them off. I don't know why you weren't lost and distressed. I tried to freeze you in time anyway but it didn't work."
"And now here you are back again with two others. I like you and I'd like to keep you but my magic isn't working on you again."
Caper kept an eye on Mister MistMeister while Ari, Clairen, and Edge tried to come up with some ideas to fix things. Disperse the mist? Turn it back into water? What kind of spell could do something to a water elemental?
Ari said, "Ah, but you forget, I am Arimeth, and I am not new to this game." She picked up a D20 brandishing it in front of us and then she made it disappear. It reappeared on the floor and it was a 5.
Checking the Entirely True Tales From Beyond The High Hedge dice table we read.
The Dwarf-King’s royal artisan has a secret technique for brewing molten metal into heavenly spiced mead.
Clairen the friendly bouncy dwarf is still a dwarf and she could read between the lines. Maybe we need to get Mister MistMeister drunk. That seems to solve most problems for dwarves.
That got Caper's attention. He tipped his hat to one of Mister MistMeister's many faces and said, "I believe we're going to help you out in a bit."
Then he led the party out of the mist, to the top of the hill, past the resting acorns, and on towards Tobbins Shire to get a keg of ale.
---
Dice tables from Hearth & Hillside Home
https://weirdandblue.itch.io/hearth-and-hillside-home
For more information about Inspired Unreality and for a link to Tenkars Tavern go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Tobbins Shire is the home of Caper Tobbins, Ari's sidekick. Caper, Arimeth, and Tude, Ari's wildcat have been adventuring together for over thirty years. If you include The Ghost of Tobbins Shire this will be a three generation RPG game at Eclectic Geekery alone. Come and join us and we'll see how this works.
Last month our granddaughter Liz joined Vivian and myself at Eclectic Geekery to play Just Quest. She's playing a dwarf, Clairen, who is friendly and bouncy.
Clairen wanted to head to town and make new friends so off we went. On the way we met Pogbert Piper blowing spectacular smoke rings in his garden. His smoke looked like soot from a roaring black hearth.
Caper played a merry jig on his flute and every one was tapping their feet or hoeing in time to the music except Clairen who was bouncing up and down.
Then on to town and a visit to Mr. Muffin's second hand store. Clairen bought a yellow headband. Caper bought a black saddle for his pony.
And that ain't all ...
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/929
Eclectic Geekery is a book and hobby store with a focus on sci-fi, fantasy and all things geeky. Here's a link to their Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/eclecticgeekerystore
And on the music side of my life Vivian and I were joined by Carl and his family for my Guerilla Livestream of the Black Oak, Arkansas, mural in Black Oak Arkansas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyCaMnt39As
And I have a new album out, Hairy Larry Livestreams, available for streaming everywere and soon to be available in CD form at Eclectic Geekery. Listen or download here.
https://archive.org/details/hairylarrylivestreams
Please share.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/950
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
This is not that game. Or, rather, it is that game. It is that game as it existed before Lou Zocchi published it under the Gamescience umbrella. Published under the subtitle "THE CAMPAIGN OF SUPERPOWERED CRIMEFIGHTERS IN THE YEAR 2044" in 1977, it's an odd duck of a game that's somewhere between a skirmish level wargame and a role-playing game.
It's from humble seeds like these that the hobby grew into what it is nowadays.
Origin Story
Donald Saxman played in a "medieval fantasy campaign" under Mike Ford, an apparently very creative gamer who would have assault guns as often as dragons in his fantasy games, not to mention "over two dozen alternate universes, each with its own natural laws and historical motif". One of those alternate worlds was a world populated by comic and pulp novel heroes. Rules for this latter one were a pastiche of rules adapted willy-nilly from other games since at the time there were no rules specifically for that genre. Saxman, inspired by Ford's campaign, embarked upon a course of making his own set of rules for the superhero genre.
The Book
Superhero:44 is a self-published 48-page booklet printed on plain white paper with a pale brown cover made of light, matte card stock. It is so much a DIY labour of love it hurts: the text is obviously typewritten and pasted into place for reproduction. The art—which is surprisingly good for the era and budget!—is all black-and-white line art which ranges from barely-better-than-doodling to quite impressive set pieces, with more toward the latter. (About one page in three has some kind of art on it.) One nice touch is that each artist is individually credited for each work on each page.
Reproduction of the text is imperfect (to put it politely) and can be a bit of a strain to decode. (The later, expanded, Gamescience publication of this game as Superhero:2044 is much easier to read despite being in smaller text.)
There is a one-page foreword, sixteen pages of background, eight pages of "player setup" rules (character generation and coverage of character planning), six pages of combat rules, eleven pages of "handicapping and patrol" rules (for which q.v.) and four pages of costs and salaries.
The Rules
Being, as it is, a game made by early gamers who still hadn't quite sussed that role-playing games and wargames are different breeds of games, this game has many of the flaws of early games (like the original Dungeons & Dragons, as a matter of fact). Concepts are introduced in an order that seems a little quirky to people who are used to modern game writing, and there is a focus on things which have been deprecated or fallen entirely by the wayside in modern games.
That being said, it also has quite a few innovations which people today might find surprising coming out in 1977. This is, after all, a year before which there were only three published RPGs: Dungeons & Dragons, Metamorphosis Alpha, and Empire of the Petal Throne. In this year Chivalry & Sorcery was first published, as was Traveller. This is when the first book for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was published, as was the original "blue box" of Dungeons & Dragons. This game predates Runequest and Gamma World! (Which is to say that there is a reason why this game has some oddities when viewed by the modern reader.)
So lets dive in and look at both the innovations and oddities, shall we?
Background
While not really counting as an innovation at this point, it is still unusual that Superhero:44 has a (for the time) detailed setting. Before this only Metamorphosis Alpha had a (very sketchy) setting, and Empire of the Petal Throne had a(n extensive) setting. Many games published after this one, well into the 1980s, had no setting provided, or one that was so sketchy (like Metamorphosis Alpha's) that it made little difference.
The setting for Superhero:44 is Earth in the year (unsurprisingly) 2044 in the fictitious city of Inguria, "the city of the future". This setting is intentionally kept small as an introductory set from which borders a campaign can spring out into a broader world as desired. To cite the author's intent:
Superhero '44 can be played on many levels. The handicapping scenarios can be enjoyed as short games in themselves. With the use of weekly planning sheets and patrol result calculation Superhero ' 44 can be maintained as a campaign over a long period of time. It is also possible to use the combat system to play specially designed scenarios, commando raids, or situations actually taken from comics or novels. In the ultimate form it can be successfully combined with other similar games and inject novelty into other campaigns.
The island (Shanter Island) holding Inguria is located in the west Pacific in the area of Korea. It's "future" history includes an Indian-Australian war and a six-day war in 2006 that's strongly hinted at being nuclear in nature. In 2032 first contact with aliens from "Formalhaut" ...
You know what? This is too much information to pack into a review. Basically Inguria became the centre of "Formian" presence on Earth and also a hub of "uniques" and other crime-fighting (and criminal) types' activities. In a few short pages the background covers history, technology, psychology, economics, politics (both earthly and with the aliens), and geography. It's very densely packed with overview information: quite a shock for a game self-published in 1977!
Player Setup
Characters in Superhero:44 are defined by seven "prime requisites": Vigor, Stamina, Endurance, Mentality, Charisma, Ego, and Dexterity. As a capsual summary, Vigor measures health; Stamina measures ... a lot: "offensive and defensive hand-to-hand righting ability, as well as the ability to run fast, hold one's breath, etc."; Endurance measures resistance to injury from various sources; Mentality covers intelligence and education; Charisma covers looks and strength of personality; Ego is the mental version of Endurance; Dexterity covers speed, reaction time, balance, hand-eye coordination, etc.
Huh. No measurement for strength. What an odd oversight. It probably shows up in the powers or such, right? (Foreshadowing: nope.)
Further, characters are members of one of three groups: Uniques (think Superman or the X-men), Toolmasters (think Batman or Iron Man), and Ubermensch (think Tarzan or, if you squint right, maybe Captain America).
To make a character, first a background has to be written up (!), and a character type selected. Then the prime requisites are done up. By point assignment.
This is, to my knowledge, the very first published RPG with a purely point-assigned character generation system.
There are three steps in assigning points.
1. Each character gets 140 points to distribute over the 7 prime requisites. Each prime requisite must have at least 1 point after all the steps are gone through, but there is no upper limit.
2. Each character type gets modifications to prime requisites. Uniques get +20 Charisma, for example, while an Ubermensch gets +20 to Endurance, Vigor, Stamina, and Dexterity, but -20 to Mentality.
3. At the discretion of the referee, a single, very specific +50 bonus can be given in a limited area. For example a character may be given a +50 bonus to Vigor, but only vs. firearms.
And here, too, not only do we have the innovation of a point-assigned character generation. We have the vestigial beginnings of full-blown advantage and disadvantage systems:
Some powers do not adapt well to this system, and alternate ways of representing abilities are certainly allowed if they can be quantified in some manner and do not unbalance the game. Plus and minus additions on attacks may be given. Characters who accept weaknesses or disabilities (kryptonite, for instance) should be rewarded with extra power.
This is in 1977!
In case this onerous task of coming up with a background and 7 numbers is too much for the player to comprehend, the book helpfully provides three sample characters, one of each type.
Then it ... goes a little weird. It goes straight into the "weekly planning sheet". No introduction of the concept. There's no game system talk yet aside from some tables showing the effect of (some!) prime requisites at various levels. It just jumps from character generation (and prime requisite levels) into:
Each week each character must submit a planning sheet to the referee. This sheet should tell the status of a hero at the beginning of the week. The referee uses this information to calculate how many and what kind of crimes are encountered during the week. He determines the result of each encounter, totals the rewards and bonuses, and notes any lawsuits, injuries, or captures before returning the sheet to the player.
And in the introduction the writer posits this as the default play, recall. The planning sheet (which also doubles as a character sheet) is literally a schedule of when the character works, goes on patrol, changes in pecuniary circumstances, health issues, crime stats and ... well ... everything that in a more modern game would be played out live, not once a week by paperwork. Very odd.
Then, finally, it gets to what we would consider the main body of rules (and entire point of the game!) these days.
Combat
OK, I'm being a little bit sarcastic. Obviously the point of RPGs isn't just combat. It is telling, however, that in most RPGs the rules for combat are long and detailed and the rules for social interactions or other non-combat forms of conflict are sketchy (if present at all) and vague.
This game doesn't have that problem. It has no rules for anything that's not combat, really. Combat is detailed and everything else is basically non-existent except in passing, like a drive-by shooting of rules only using whiffle balls instead of bullets.
So let's deal with what's actually in the rules before we look at what's not there except in very brief passing.
Combat is divided into turns. Each turn has one round for each player or group. In each round, a player (or group) may move twice, attack twice, or move once, then attack once. (Never attack once, then move once.) Attacks are one of four kinds: direct physical attack, transformation (?), mental attack, or projectile attack. Mental and physical attacks are resolved using a universal combat matrix where a 3d6 roll must exceed or equal a target number, but transformation attacks are resolved using their own procedure on their own table.
The rules on initiative and ordering are confusing and contradictory. Each turn has a round for each player or group. Movement is simultaneous, but people with higher dexterity go first. And then the sudden introduction of "phases" in the middle of a sentence changes the nature of the system entirely. Damage is supposed to be applied at the end of all players' rounds, but the phases are such that someone is guaranteed at least one move before they're injured. Despite damage applying at the end of all rounds.
The rules are not clear and not well thought-out, I'm trying to say. (And I haven't even yet addressed the way powers are addressed or—foreshadowing!—aren't...)
Intermission: The full combat sequence is documented (for want of a better term) in a half page of badly-written and inconsistent rules plus a small handful of simple tables. The total rules for this section (including damage, healing, and movement) amount to six pages, equally lacking in rigour. This is very much a disease of old school rules, traditional dating back to the original 1974 Dungeons & Dragons rules. As with that venerable rules set, instead of offering the oft-derided "rules for everything" it offers "rules for almost nothing, but what it does supply rules for is inconsistent and baffling".
Physical damage is done to vigor, to endurance, or to both. Losing vigor represents actual injury while losing endurance represents pain and shock. Different classes of attacks have different mixes of vigor or endurance loss and offer different modifications to stamina for the attack chart. Projectile damage has the added minor complexity of dealing with locations hit.
Mental attacks don't do damage: they're instead illusions, mind control, etc. and once successful just continue being successful until circumstances change.
Transformation attacks are a catch-all category that includes actual transformation (like into stone, say), making lighter, heavier, or phased out or such. (There is no real guidance given as to what that entails.)
Movement is dirt simple: you have a number of "inches" you can move per phase. An inch is either 2 metres (10 second turns, the usual), or 500m (30 second turns, larger scale). Your movement comes from a combination of your stamina, your species (if applicable), and any tools you may use to perform movement.
Oversights
While we should cut the game some slack, seeing as it is the first game of its kind ever, it needs to be pointed out how little this game actually provides in its rules. I mentioned earlier that we saw vestigial advantages and disadvantages, but I glossed over just how vestigial, reserving this for when the rules got introduced.
There are no powers listed. At all. Any references to powers are mentioned only in passing. They're mentioned, for example, in the sample characters:
Apollyon is a master of disguise and of computers. (His 50-point bonuses are gained in these areas.) His favorite disguise is that of some master criminal he has recently thrown into the power screens. (This MO raises his To Locate handicap somewhat and helps to balance out his high Prevention score.)
West has developed a weapon that disrupts matter and can be set to stun or completely disintegrate . It almost al ways works, so he is sued only aoout once a week.
Charmer uses her fifty charisma points as a mental attack and can force humans (only) to follow her vocal commands. Obedience is always literal and immediate. She uses this power to get money to hire investigators.
They're mentioned in passing in some rules:
Certain special powers may alter the sequence of combat. For instance, Super-speed will allow multiple attacks in one round. Some projectile weapons are capable of more than one shot per round. Players with high dexterity may be able to attack in more than one manner in a single round. Some kinds of attack require more than one turn to take effect.
This is an attempt to change the defender into some different object through magic, supertechnology or some unique power. Transformation may be to stone, ice, an animal, or may mean "phasing out ." It also may include making heavier, lighter, etc.
There is nothing systematic in coverage of these. There's not even any words of guidance for how to assess impact and balance of these. It's almost all Referee fiat (which is another disease of the old school gaming world).
And I can't really cut the game slack for this since there have been better rules written before this set. Yes, RPGs as a concept were new. Game rules, however, are game rules. We've done better before this one by over a century.
Handicapping & Patrol
This forms the bulk of the actual rules of the game, and it is very telling what that signifies. The default mode of play is something more reminiscent of GDW's 1975 proto-RPG En Garde. In the handicapping and patrol system, the handicap is a score from "10 to 80" formed by adding together eight values ranked from 1 to 10. (I'm seeing math problems here...)
The scores are in prevent, locate, stop, capture, convict, leads, damage, injured/captured. Prevent is a measure of the character's patrols preventing crime from taking place at all, locate is a measure of finding crimes, capture is a measure of capturing criminals, damage is the tendency to cause collateral damage, etc.
These scores are used to design handicapping scenarios in which all eight areas are to be "tested".
Note, that this is the very first mention of handicapping scenarios and it offers no definition of what that is. It's an adventure. Probably. How do we know? There's an example of one and by inference...
"By inference" is a lousy way to deliver rules, in my opinion. This is, again, a disease of the old school game seen time and again in the era.
Handicapping scenarios, however, are only the lead-in to patrols, which is a paperwork-intensive system (the paperwork having already been introduced, recall) in which the handicapping scenario is used to set the flavour of overall patrolling based on the handicaps the scenario set to determine the outcome of the character's patrolling. The recommended rate is one weeks' worth of patrolling calculations per one week real play time. The outcomes of this system include monetary expenditures and income, injuries sustained, lawsuits, etc. In brief what would be the goal of actual RP in modern designs is relegated to a few dice rolls and calculations in the background, rather like En Garde's campaign system.
Unlike the slipshod, inconsistent, incomplete combat and "handicapping scenario" rules, however, I cut the patrol system some slack. This is an early RPG and was written at a time when RPGs were still largely considered a branch of miniatures wargaming. The systems provided are not to my taste (and likely not to the taste of many modern RPG players), but they are well-written, well-communicated, and do what they were intended to do.
Costs & Salaries
The rules close off with the traditional-for-the-times obsession with equipment lists and monetary costs. Some of this builds up on the patrol system (salary, litigation, etc.) and some of it is just said lists. It's a mercifully short section with simple, comprehensible rules.
Final Thoughts
And this brings us to the important part of the review: the one that answers the Three Questions:
1. What was the author trying to accomplish?
2. Did the author accomplish this?
3. Was it worth accomplishing?
The author was trying to write a set of rules for a specific style of half-skirmish level miniatures, half-old-timey RPG game that covered a genre that had not yet been covered. And in this, once you filter for the times (where the entire notion of an RPG hadn't yet solidified!), he was largely successful.
It was not an unmitigated success, however.
While many of the "flaws" of the game can be accounted for by virtue of time-and-place filters, the complete lack of any kind of sensible guidance for superpowers in a game of superheroes is largely inexcusable. I'm not looking for Champions-esque hyper-detailed book-keeping (oh GOD no!), but it would not be out of place, in a game about superheroes with superpowers, to have a few pages devoted to discussions about superpowers and how they might impact game play.
And then there's the bizarre omissions! They name-drop Superman ... but the rules don't have anything related to strength. Even back in 1977 the notion of "strength" wasn't an unusual one. The three prior-published games had the notion and the game published the same year (Chivalry & Sorcery) also did. How did the author overlook this?
And the fact that the rule are internally inconsistent or outright wrong (1×8=8, not 10!) in many places is also a pretty big red flag.
So was it worth the effort?
Superhero:44 has an important place in the history of RPGs, being first in an important genre, but its place is marred by the poor delivery of the rules and a design decision that put it out of the path of where the hobby eventually grew. In my opinion the first really usable superhero role-playing game was 1980s Supergame. (I'll bet you thought I was going to say Champions!)
Inspired Unreality is held every Saturday at 11:00 AM Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more information and a link, go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last week we discussed Fantasy and Science Fiction. Viv and I started with author recomendations and then went on to discuss the problems with making Fantasy and Science Fiction blockbuster movies and TV series. And then I totally went off on my idea of how to produce a very low budget youtube D&D series. It was great.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4627
Next Saturday we'll be gaming at Eclectic Geekery playing a hybrid game around the table and on Discord. If you're up for a relaxing morning exploring Tobbins Shire with Ari and Caper plus Tude the wildcat and Clairen, the friendly bouncy Dwarf join us. It literally takes less than two minutes to roll up a new character in Just Quest and join the fun. We've decided that any kibitzing heard over the wall is The Ghost Of Tobbins Shire.
More here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4637
And if you're in the area here's a link to Eclectic Geekery.
https://www.facebook.com/eclecticgeekerystore
Vivian and I have started a new project, Guerilla Livestreaming Scenic Northeast Arkansas. Saturday afternoon we'll be streaming from Black Oak, Arkansas. If you're as old as me that name might ring a bell.
I'll be livestreaming from in front of the High On The Hog mural painted on brick. I've been a fan since their first album came out and I finally got to meet Jim Dandy at the KASU Arkansas Roots Festival. Now I get to play in Black Oak, Arkansas, in front of a mural memorializing the band.
Here's the website for our Guerilla Livestreaming Scenic Northeast Arkansas project. All of our new videos will be posted here.
https://deltaboogie.net/
Please forward this email to your gaming/livestreaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/944
Let me know what you've been doing, gaming or otherwise. Join us at Inspired Unreality, post on Gamer+, or contact me directly. We have so many creative people on Gamer+. I want to know what you're doing.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Now Viv and I are old, so we came to Fantasy and Science Fiction reading books and magazines. Some of the authors we read were Isaac Aasimov, Robert Heinlein, Fritz Lieber, Arthur C. Clark, Clifford Simak, and Andre Norton. If none of these names are familiar to you perhaps you need to spend some time with us.
There's a whole new world of the future out there in the past and there's not much new under the sun that wasn't predicted by some author 50 years ago.
I still read a lot of these golden age authors and none of them age as well as Jack Vance. In my opinion. Maybe you have an opinion too. Bring it with you to Inspired Unreality, open game chat, where, this week, all Fantasy and Science Fiction is on topic.
Inspired Unreality is held every Saturday at 11:00 AM Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. There's more info and a link here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Sarah and Megan have got the ball rolling at Eclectic Geekery with multiple events every weekend. They say "Join us for Dungeons & Dragons Sundays at 1 p.m." Sounds like a plan to me.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4622
In two weeks we'll be adventuring in Tobbins Shire at Eclectic Geekery on Inspired Unreality. This will be a hybrid game with some players on Discord and some players sitting around a table. I'm always up for a challenge.
Everyone is welcome at Inspired Unreality. Come tomorrow, come to adventure in Tobbins Shire, come any Saturday at 11:00 AM Central. It's a blast.
And now, veering off topic, I've got a new project, Guerilla Livestreaming from scenic Northeast Arkansas. The idea is we take a short trip for a picnic and some chill jazz piano with plenty of nature in the background. Here's my Twitch link.
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
And my Youtube link.
https://www.youtube.com/hairylarryland
Do me a favor and click on the Youtube link and subscribe. I have a goal of reaching 1000 subscribers this year and I need your help.
Please forward this email to your gaming and livestreaming friends. Share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/937
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@gmail.com
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. There's more info and a link here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Next week is the first Saturday in June so our topic will be Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Last week we were adventuring in Tobbins Shire around a table at Eclectic Geekery.
Our granddaughter Liz joined Vivian and myself to play Just Quest. She's playing a dwarf, Clairen, who is friendly and bouncy.
We woke up in Caper's hobbit hole and had a fine breakfast. Roughly-chopped turnips, baked crispy brown and served with a selection of chutneys. Also Beastie-shaped roast veggies that create visions of long-forgotten magic.
Then Caper served a sweet treat, A suspensefully swaying tower of sponge cake, liqueur, orange pieces and custard, topped with a layer of syllabub cream. (Now if I just knew what syllabub is)
Clairen wanted to head to town and make new friends so off we went. On the way we met Pogbert Piper blowing spectacular smoke rings in his garden. His smoke looked like soot from a roaring black hearth.
We all heard the ghost of the shire making smart ass comments about the game. (When we are playing in Tobbins Shire and a non player kibitzes they are providing the voice of the ghost of the shire.)
Not to be outdone Caper asked Pogbert for a pinch of bacca and he started blowing smokerings resembling long-gone monsters. He blew a huge ring which floated above their heads and then he blew a Gryphon that flew through the center of the ring.
Caper played a merry jig on his flute and every one was tapping their feet or hoeing in time to the music except Clairen who was bouncing up and down.
Then on to town and a visit to Mr. Muffin's second hand store. Clairen bought a yellow headband. Caper bought a black saddle for his pony. Ari looked at a brown saddle for her brown horse streaked with white but she wasn't convinced she needed it. Then back to the hobbit hole to try out the saddle. When they passed Pogbert Piper's garden he was nowhere in sight. Probably inside for elevenses, which made Caper start to think about what they would eat for elevenses when they got back home.
---
We played using the dice rolling tables in Hearth & Hillside Home, Being a book of pastoral pleasures for Halflings and Bigfolk alike.
I posted the Just Quest character sheets to Gamer+.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4565
I met someone on Mastodon who works at Calisphere, a library resource. I searched around and found some public domain posters.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4567
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/930
Thanks
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Our granddaughter Liz joined Vivian and myself at Eclectic Geekery to play Just Quest. She's playing a dwarf, Clairen, who is friendly and bouncy.
We woke up in Caper's hobbit hole and had a fine breakfast. Roughly-chopped turnips, baked crispy brown and served with a selection of chutneys. Also Beastie-shaped roast veggies that create visions of long-forgotten magic.
Then Caper served a sweet treat, A suspensefully swaying tower of sponge cake, liqueur, orange pieces and custard, topped with a layer of syllabub cream. (Now if I just knew what syllabub is)
Clairen wanted to head to town and make new friends so off we went. On the way we met Pogbert Piper blowing spectacular smoke rings in his garden. His smoke looked like soot from a roaring black hearth.
We all heard the ghost of the shire making smart ass comments about the game. (When we are playing in Tobbins Shire and a non player kibitzes they are providing the voice of the ghost of the shire.)
Not to be outdone Caper asked Pogbert for a pinch of bacca and he started blowing smokerings resembling long-gone monsters. He blew a huge ring which floated above their heads and then he blew a Gryphon that flew through the center of the ring.
Caper played a merry jig on his flute and every one was tapping their feet or hoeing in time to the music except Clairen who was bouncing up and down.
Then on to town and a visit to Mr. Muffin's second hand store. Clairen bought a yellow headband. Caper bought a black saddle for his pony. Ari looked at a brown saddle for her brown horse streaked with white but she wasn't convinced she needed it. Then back to the hobbit hole to try out the saddle. When they passed Pogbert Piper's garden he was nowhere in sight. Probably inside for elevenses, which made Caper start to think about what they would eat for elevenses when they got back home.
---
We played using the dice rolling tables in Hearth & Hilside Home, Being a book of pastoral pleasures for Halflings and Bigfolk alike.
Cast of characters:
Arimeth (Ari) - A human healing witch who has been working with the Milyagon witch brewing teas.
Tude - Ari's wildcat. A pet, not a familiar, Tude comes to Ari's waist and is a formidable defender. Tude only speaks cat but is very intelligent, possibly more intelligent than most humans.
Caper Tobbins - Ari's sidekick, a halfling bard and the DM PC.
Insert your character here. It literally takes 2 minutes to create a character in Just Quest. Honestly, the most time consuming part is making up the PC's name.
Get your character sheet here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/124
We are going to try a hybrid game, around the table and on the internet. If you can't make it to Eclectic Geekery join us on Inspired Unreality.
Inspired Unreality is held every Saturday morning at 11:00 AM Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. More info in the right sidebar here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Here's a link to the Just Quest rules minizine.
https://www.minizines.cc/flat/?x=entry:entry200105-065552
Here's a link to the Gamer+ Group, Tales Of Milyagon, including some session summaries from recent games.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/4
And one more Milyagon link, "Yon Rogar’s Hat" a short story I wrote about Wilken Woods, the magic forest that lies between Milyagon and Tobbins Shire.
https://sffshortstories.com/?x=entry:entry190818-150004
Enjoy!
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/918
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
More info including a video and a poster here.
https://www.facebook.com/eclecticgeekerystore
There will be RPG games; D&D 5e, Chronicles of Ember, Dungeon Crawl Classics, and All Outta Bubblegum; and a Miniature Paint and Take. Special thanks to Alan Wortman, Kier Heyl, Will Hose, and Liz Brown for running events!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Inspired Unreality open game chat will continue as usual. This week is bring your own topic so if you can't make it to Eclectic Geekery on Saturday at least you can join us chatting about games online.
Inspired Unreality is held every Saturday at 11:00 AM Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. More info and a link here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Next week on Inspired Unreality we will have Actual Play live from Eclectic Geekery. I will be running my game, Just Quest, a rules light system with an OSR feel and we will be adventuring in Tobbins Shire. Everyone is welcome and if you can't sit around a table with us you can play online.
Thanks to ZDL for sending an error report. By the time I checked on it Gamer+ was running fine again. I am still committed to upgrading Gamer+ to better software and running it on my own server. That's just the kind of project I love and I'm looking forward to working on it this summer. The old Gamer+ will remain with all the content we love so much. It will become a static history of the first years on Gamer+ without accepting new posts or gamers.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/ZDL
On a personal note I am planning on recording with my band, Bebop Beatniks, Monday night. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/915
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held every Saturday morning at 11:00 AM Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more info go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last Saturday we chatted from the RPG room at Eclectic Geekery and we enjoyed that so much we decided to add it as a monthly event. We will be playing Just Quest in Tobbin's Shire, on the other side of Wilken Woods from Milyagon. I've been using the Hearth & Hillside Home dice tables for some low combat, explore the shire gaming and it's been great fun.
Free Hearth & Hillside Home dice table pdf
https://weirdandblue.itch.io/hearth-and-hillside-home
Tales Of Milyagon
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/4
Just Quest is a rules light OSR style game and Milyagon is our environs. We're going to try a hybrid game with some players sitting around the table and others on Discord. We'll see how that works. Sound exciting? Well that's in two weeks.
Sunday is Mother's day and the family is coming to visit. In case your forgot this is your reminder from Gamer+.
And next weekend is the Eclectic Geekery grand opening. Here's their facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/eclecticgeekerystore
If you're in Northeast Arkansas be sure to go. And then come the following Saturday to to play Just Quest in Tobbins Shire.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends. And share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/913
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://www.facebook.com/eclecticgeekerystore
Inspired Unreality is held every Saturday in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Everyone is welcome. For more info and a link go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Next week will be the first Saturday in June so our topic will be fantasy and science fiction. Books, TV, Movies, Games, all on topic. It's a broad topic but we'll hone in on your interests. I've been reading "Malazan Book of the Fallen" by Steven Erikson. And it looks like I'll be reading it for quite a while.
https://steven-erikson.org/malazan-book-of-the-fallen/
Last week we answered the important question, Do Hobbits Drink Hot Chocolate?
After several discouraging searches concluding that Middle Earth has no chocolate I finally found the result I was looking for.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4548
I mean after all how could the hobbit mommys get all their little hobbits home for elevenses without serving a nice mug of chocolate?
In case you've been noticing twitter in the news lately that mastodon link below is a twitter alternative.
I hope you've enjoyed the Gamer+ News. Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/912
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. There's more info here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last week Alan and I perused a few of the spell books he generated with his bash script. I added three of them to Gamer+.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4542
Follow Me And Die has a new blog post on Random Research in games.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4545
Here's a super short I wrote in 2018.
AI Autocomplete
by Larry Heyl CC-BY
In the future everyone will have AI Autocomplete, first for writing, then for talking. The AI will be so good that it soon starts guessing right 100% of the time. People select the Just Say It For Me option since their AI Autocomplete always guesses right.
This is the future of humanity, packhorses for AI Autocompletes talking to each other.
Or is it already happening now?
---
See the illustration here.
https://sffshortstories.com/?x=entry:entry180208-201254
If you have any short fiction you would like to feature get in touch!
Weather permitting I will be livestreaming chill jazz piano from the Twitch Porch with Bebop Beatniks on Monday at 5:00 pm Central.
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/911
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tankar's Tavern on Discord. More info here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Everyone is welcome. All gaming is on topic. We look forward to chatting with you.
Last week Duca schooled me in the arts of EU4. He's into historical role playing too. A history buff playing down through the centuries.
Lately I've been posting some of my writing and session summaries so I thought I would feature another Gamer+ gamer today.
Call To March
Follow Me And Die
I had this idea for a short story. I started it about an hour before the Wednesday night game I play in. This is a first draft with minimal editing for the most grievous typos. I’m curious what you think of it.
The youth, slim of build and lean, not yet muscled from long marchings with pack and armor looked to the grizzled veteran. Young Jaran idolized the aged veteran, survivor of many battles, who bore a white scar over his sightless left eye.
Hurry lads, grab your packs and cinch them well before the call to march ends!
How far today, Goram? came the call in unison from the youthful members of the company.
Continue reading
https://followmeanddie.com/2022/04/13/call-to-march/
And here's the Follow Me And Die Gamer+ page.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/FollowMeAndDie
Please forward this email and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/909
We are looking forward to getting together with our family.
Happy Easter,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Saturday morning at 11:00 Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. This week it's actual play in and around Tobbins Shire, home of river halflings and even some humans!
As we do on the first Saturday of every month we discussed fantasy and science fiction last week. We are also good with bring your own topic. As long as its games.
If you are interested in hosting a game on Inspired Unreality let me know. I'd love to play in one of your games.
As Spring weather arrives we are at a wane in the ebb and tide of covid so we are looking forward to playing music in the park, playing games at Eclectic Geekery, and spending time with our family.
What are your plans? Let us know.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/907
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://www.facebook.com/eclecticgeekerystore
I livestreamed the show using only battery power and my phone hotspot so this should work anywhere the phone has good signal. I made an audio and video playlist and I have been uploading the best songs to Youtube.
Audio playlist
https://archive.org/details/hl2022-03-27
Video Playlist
https://archive.org/details/hl2022-03-27.video
Sunbathing In "Low Earth Orbit"
https://youtu.be/mfRIxCOc3Xw
Twitch - please follow
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
Youtube - please follow
https://www.youtube.com/hairylarry
Also, Saturday morning at 11:00 Central, we will be in the Inspired Unreality open game chat in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. This week our topic is Fantasy and Science Fiction. There's more info and a link here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Please forward this email to your music loving friends and share this link.
https://hairylarry.rocks/writes/permalink.php?fname=Delta_Boogie_Newsletter_-_April_2022_-_Chill_Jazz_Piano_at_Beatles_Park.txt
Thanks,
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held every Saturday in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tenkar's there's a link for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
We had a couple of days downtime on our main page again. This time I was able to figure out the problem and repair it. Thanks to FollowMeAndDie for helping me solve this issue.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/FollowMeAndDie
Last weekend I visited Eclectic Geekery, Sarah's and Megan's bookstore, and I played chill jazz piano at Beatles Park.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Sarah
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Megantopia
I livestreamed over twitch using my phone hotspot. The entire rig, piano, pa, phone, and streaming equipment runs on batteries. So I can go anywhere where my phone gets good signal and livestream without an extension cord.
Way cool.
Gamer+ post with photo (Thanks Carl).
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4526
HairyLarryLand Twitch Stream (please follow)
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
Sunbathing In "Low Earth Orbit" on Youtube (please follow)
https://youtu.be/mfRIxCOc3Xw
I don't want to forget about family game last Saturday. My son Carl was DM playing Castles and Crusades. Around the table was my grandson Conner playing a thief, my son Kier playing a fighter, I was a dwarven cleric, my Foster grandson, Simon, played a wizard, and my Foster grandnephew, Luke, played a wizard. Game highlights are at this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4524
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/905
Thanks,
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Last week at Inspired Unreality Ari and Caper once again adventured around Tobbins Shire. Ari enlisted the help of Dood a th Wood (pronounced Dude ah thah Wude) to divine the spells on the hat and the feather. The feather is a large owl's feather, probably from Wilkin Woods and it is enhanced with fey magic to be a magic augmenter. The hat makes the wearer lighter. The hat takes 25% off and with the feather 50%.
They went to see old Took where Caper bought the pony with ribbons and also bought some light tack for the pony.
Then back to the Inn to see the people they rescued. They now realize they have been thrust 400 years into their future and are at a loss. Ari suggests they make furniture since antique furniture from their era is valued.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4521
So Saturday, for us, it's family game and visiting my Foster family. Then Sunday, off to Walnut Ridge to see Sarah and Megan's new book store, Eclectic Geekery, and to play a couple of short sets at Beatles Park, right around the corner on Abbey Road. I say short because it's supposed to be chilly.
I am really looking forward to warmer spring weather so I can enjoy playing music outside with my friends.
Please let me know what you've been doing and what you have planned for this spring. Send me an email or message or post on Gamer+.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been there's a link for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Thanks to Ducatislo for joining Alan, Vivian, and myself last Saturday. Ducatislo is from Slovenia and he plays a low fantasy historical RPG using Low Fantasy Gaming Deluxe Edition as the core rules for his game. Really sounds interesting.
He shared this link to a Youtube review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhNcgrCPAJc
Low Fantasy Gaming Deluxe Edition is from Pickpocket Press and here's the DriveThruRPG link.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/265388/Low-Fantasy-Gaming-Deluxe-Edition
Next week we will not have Inspired Unreality because we have family coming in and Vivian and I are going to be busy visiting and possibly playing in a family game.
And on next Sunday we'll be going to Walnut Ridge to visit with our family, see the new Eclectic Geekery book store, and play chill jazz piano at Beatles Park.
https://www.facebook.com/eclecticgeekerystore/
https://www.beatlesattheridge.com/attractions/beatles-park/
I'm really looking forward to that. Let me know what your plans are now that Sping has sprung and Omicron is waning. And join us Saturday morning for Inspired Unreality.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/903
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you need a link, go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
From last weeks Inspired Unreality discussion about Fantasy and Science Fiction.
It seems that horses are the most common animal in fantasy while science fiction authors prefer cats. And also, of course, there be dragons, not just in fantasy but in science fiction as well.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4495
Check out this fantastic Year Of The Tiger art by Kim Herbst.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4497
I filled in a few blanks on the now named Tobbins Shire.
In Tobbins Shire there are Tobbins and Mubbins and Muffens plus an occasional Baggins or Took. It is a trading Shire, on the river, with docks, warehouses, and stores. On one street there are big houses for biguns whose kids like swimming in the river off the docks. Some of the Tobbins, Mubbins, and Muffins join them but you won't catch a Baggins or a Took in the water.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4513
And Ari and Caper rescued the people only to find a big bad wrapped in a fey enigma.
Caper shows Ari the Book of Kings and Cyndre, the lady boss of the rescued humans, pops over to look. She says, "Oh, aye! I ken him. Old King Cartyr, he died last year."
Ari and Caper look at each other and Caper says, "King Cartyr is legendary. He died 400 years ago."
Cyndre looks up noticing details in Ari's clothing she hadn't see before. Finely woven cloth with rows of silver buttons. She also notices Caper's well fitted boots, made by the cobbler at Tobbins Shire. She bows to Ari and says, "Sorry, my lady, but I worked in King Cartyr's Castle and he died just last year.
400 years ago, Cyndre and her party left Tobbins Shire and when they crested a ridge they saw a beautiful field covered in mist with an abandoned farmhouse. When they went to see the farmhouse they walked through the mist and that's the last they remember until Ari, Caper, and Tude led them out of the mist and back up to the road.
Ari and Caper have a short confab and decide that there's nothing for it but to take these people back to the shire.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/900
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/901
Stay in touch and Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Caper shows Ari the Book of Kings and Cyndre, the lady boss of the rescued humans, pops over to look. She says, "Oh, aye! I ken him. Old King Cartyr, he died last year."
Ari and Caper look at each other and Caper says, "King Cartyr is legendary. He died 400 years ago."
Cyndri looks up noticing details in Ari's clothing she hadn't see before. Finely woven cloth with rows of silver buttons. She also notices Caper's well made boots, made by the cobbler at Tobbins Shire. She bows to Ari and says, "Sorry, my lady, but I worked in King Cartyr's Castle and he died just last year.
400 years ago, Cyndre and her party left Tobbins Shire and when they crested a ridge they saw a beautiful field covered in mist with an abandoned farmhouse. When they went to see the farmhouse they walked through the mist and that's the last they remember until Ari, Caper, and Tude led them out of the mist and back up to the road.
Ari and Caper have a short confab and decide that there's nothing for it but to take these people back to the shire.
Caper shouts, "Time to eat", thinking they must be hungry if they haven't dined in 400 years and he takes off down the road back to Tobbins Shire singing a merry tune. With Ari's encouragement they follow and Ari and Tude bring up the rear being careful that no children stray from the path.
When they get to the shire Caper takes them all to the Inn where they have a hearty stew. The rescued people still don't believe 400 years passed but they can tell that things are much different then they were when they left Tobbins Shire on what seems to them, just this morning.
Caper arranges for rooms and breakfast. The Inn only has five man size rooms so the two families take a room and the others bunk up 2 or 3 to a room.
Caper takes Ari aside and says, "It's not too late. Let's check Muffins Used Clothes and see if he bought that hat."
They enter the shop and Caper makes inquiries. "Yes, indeed,' says Muffins, "the Sherrif did come buy and I bought his hat." Caper asks the price and pays 4 silver without bartering which kind of bothered Muffins. He's never know a Tobbins to pay asking price once in his life.
Caper also asks about the pony. "Ah yes," said Muffins, "I directed him to Old Took on the south road not a mile from the shire. He may have sold it there. I tell you he looked a sight on that poor little pony."
Caper, thnking of the Jakobs kids and those magic ribbons decided to check on the pony in the morning. Ari and Caper continued on to Caper's Hobbit Hole where they had a nice repast of crab, mutton, and vegetables and decided to end their adventure for the day.
I just started Gardens of the Moon, the first of ten novels in Canadian author Steven Erikson's high fantasy series the Malazan Book of the Fallen. I'm barely into it but I can say wizardry abounds.
Also of interest is the "The Rings of Power", a new Middle Earth fantasy that everyone seems to have an opinion about. Do you? What's your opinion?
And I don't want to skip over "The Wheel Of Time". I've read the books but remain in the dark about the series.
So, plenty to talk about on our Fantasy and Science Fiction Inspired Unreality open game chat.
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been there already we have a link here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
And now, looking forward to next week when we may be adventuring in Milyagon, here's some game prep.
Mr. MistMeister
Ari and Caper run across Mr. MistMeister, a dangerous water elemental, on a hike outside of Caper's Shire. Before he was Mr. MistMeister he was a water sprite. One day when he was flying a potion maker, greatly afraid, threw a potion of gaseous form on the sprite. The combination of magicks locked the elemental into it's gaseous form and Mr. MistMeister was born.
He used to enjoy coralling loads of fish into fishermen's nets so they became so heavily laden that they would break or even capsize the fishing boat. In his mist form he has been corraling people by showing them abandoned houses from the past and luring them into his misty form.
He is not evil. He just does what he does because he doesn't know what else to do. He could be convinced to take up another avocation but he can only be destroyed with very high level magic that counters both the potion and fey magic at the same time.
Pictured is Dancing Fairies painted in 1866 by the Swedish painter August Malmström. Unlike the faires pictured Mr. MistMeister cannot return to the water but is locked above ground as a mist.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/view/797/latest
We are always interested in hearing about your games. Send an email, join us on Inspired Unreality, or, best yet, post to Gamer+.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/895
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
Please follow and chat to boost my stats.
If the weather holds I will also be on the twitch porch Thursday. I am exercising my rig trying to get everything ready to play at the Craighead Forest Bandshell in Jonesboro and Beatles Park in Walnut Ridge this Spring.
My twitch schedule is Tu-Th-Su at 2:00 PM Central. When the weather is bad I play inside from the HairyLarryLand Twitch Studio. When weather permits I'll be outside. When I play a gig on the weekend that will be instead of Sunday at 2:00, not in addition to Sunday at 2:00. I also do video and audio post production on my livestreams. Here's a couple of links where you can view or listen.
https://www.youtube.com/hairylarry
https://kgpl.org/
My daughters, Sarah and Megan, have opened a bookstore, Eclectic Geekery, in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. Those of you who remember Blues Fest will remember Megan, she was our photographer and she also sang with Hairy Larry and The Flying Hungarians. They are both active in the NEA Gamers Guild and NEA Game Fest. Besides books they will also sell games and geek miscellany. The shop looks great. Here's their facebook page where you can see some photos.
https://www.facebook.com/eclecticgeekerystore
If you're in the area you will want to give them a visit. Right now it's weekend hours only. Keep up to date on their facebook page.
And if you're wondering when I'll be playing at the bandshell or Beatles Park you are on the right list. These gigs will be short notice because I have to schedule around the weather. I will send notifications to this email list so I have gone from a monthly to a monthly plus gig announcements.
Vivian and I also host Inspired Unreality, open game chat Saturday mornings at
11:00 Central. Here's a link with more info.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
So keep an eye open and stay tuned for more chill jazz piano news. Let me know what you've been doing whether it's music, games, or books. I'm eclectic too.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Saturday morning in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tankar's Tavern before there's a link for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
This week is bring your own topic. Next week is March 4, the first Saturday, and the topic will be Fantasy and Science Fiction. Which segues right into.
Eclectic Geekery ready for business.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4473
Check out the photos on their Facebook. Really looks great.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4475
Another thing we do at Inspired Unreality is some non-combat game play in the area surrounding Milyagon.
They continue along the trail and coming to the top of a ridge they see mist filling a field that opens up before them, evening light glinting off the dewy roof of a distant cottage. (from Scenery On Your Long Treks d12 table)
They walk through the field towards the cottage and Ari, feeling like something might be wrong here recommends caution. Tude's fur ruffles up on the back of his neck, a sure sign of danger.
Caper suggests they drink some farseeing tea so they can see through the windows from a safe distance. He quickly gathers twigs and builds a fire boiling water in the teapot from his hiking pack. Ari sprinkles in some of the tea and Caper tends the pot while Ari looks around, wondering...
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/889
And, finally, here's a bit of eye candy by an artist I found on the Gamer+ Tumblr.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4476
That's right. Cat pics on Gamer+. Of course, it's a Cabbat.
And here's that tumblr link.
https://gamerplusdotorg.tumblr.com/
They say that word of mouth advertising is the best which is a good thing because that's all we can afford anyway. Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/890
Thanks,
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Ari explains aura colors to Caper. Red means blood, white means blind or a child, no aura means the human doesn't care about colors. Ari said the Shirrif had no aura which didn't surpise her.
They continue along the trail and coming to the top of a ridge they see mist filling a field that opens up before them, evening light glinting off the dewy roof of a distant cottage. (from Scenery On Your Long Treks d12 table)
They walk through the field towards the cottage and Ari, feeling like something might be wrong here recommends caution. Tude's fur ruffles up on the back of his neck, a sure sign of danger.
Caper suggests they drink some farseeing tea so they can see through the windows from a safe distance. He quickly gathers twigs and builds a fire boiling water in the teapot from his hiking pack. Ari sprinkles in some of the tea and Caper tends the pot while Ari looks around, wondering.
Caper pours two small cups and Ari without thinking stirs her tea with the silver wand from the fairy, King Groad, that enhances teas and potions. After putting out his fire Caper is quickly running about exploring the house through the windows and open door from a distance of about 100 feet. He can tell the house is empty and in some disrepair.
Ari, however sees something completely different. Lost in the mist are human men, women, and children. Ari starts making notes in her notebook for future reference.
She glances up and notices Caper sneaking into the house with Tude following ready to protect him. In the cottage Caper finds a lavishly illuminated tome chronicling a time when the Commonwealth was a wild land of barrow-kings and bigfolk. (from the Heirlooms Of The Estate d10 table)
He can't wait to show Ari the book and rushes out to her. Ari glances at the book but she is more concerned right now with the lost souls in the mist. She describes them to Caper who can't see them.
Ari suggests that Caper finishes the tea and gives it a stir with her silver wand. Caper chugs tea straight out of the cold pot and now Caper sees the people too. Ari asks if Caper has brandy and Caper grins tapping his hiking pack.
Ari thinks the minimal amount will help Caper move the people out of the mist and away from here. Caper says he'll take the minimal amount which is usually one good chug followed by another. Ari says take half the minimal amount and then lead the women and children out because we don't want a lot of dead bodies which is where this could go.
So Caper takes a wee nip and then starts playing his flute and dancing with the children in the mist. When he leads them across the field they follow enchanted by his flute. The women follow the children and the men follow the women and soon Caper has them all heading across the field toward the path with Ari and Tude bringing up the rear.
There are seven kids, five women, and six men that follow them out of the mist. Some of the men are younger, without whiskers yet, but full grown.
Ari now sees from the trail another even bigger cottage that is also unlived in.
The people still have no clue about where they are. Some of them gripe and complain about the people running a village. They all calm down and start to get along after fussing awhile. Caper says the fussing is a good sign that they have returned to normal. Big folk are always fussing.
Ari is determined to make sure that the people she's with go a different direction. She's afraid of danger to them. They could be hurt, killed, or locked up.
Caper wants to examine this bigger cottage that appeared on the other side of the path. He can't wait to see if there are more books for Ari stuck up on a shelf somewhere. He still feels the effects of the farseeing tea and he's checking out what he can see from here on the trail.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
This week is Bring Your Own Topic. All gaming is on topic. Have you had a few ideas rolling around in the back of your head? Feel free to join us and talk about them. Board games, card games, RPGs. They're all on topic.
And as for last week! Did you know Milyagon was near a Shire? If you can make it safely across Wilken Woods and cross the river there be Hobbits.
We used Shire friendly dice tables found in the Hearth & Hillside Home.pdf, a name your own price download.
https://weirdandblue.itch.io/hearth-and-hillside-home
First we rolled up elevenses from the Sweet Treats table. Caper rolled Tart rhubarb pie with clotted cream and an extra flavour that everybody either loves or hates and Ari rolled Sticky honeycomb fresh from the tallest oak this side of Woolshod Hill which Caper had recently rescued from the bees.
As a good hobbit would, Caper suggested they follow up on elevenses with Breakfast for Dinner. Caper rolled Spicy sausages with flavours from the distant empire of Man and Ari followed up with a still-twitching boiled crab that always goes for the nose. So sausages and crabs it was after Caper detwitched the crab with a single blow.
Unable to eat any more Caper suggests a walk through the woods to enjoy the sun. Before they get out of town they meet weary halfling travellers trekking into town wearing the scandalous fashions of a distant March. In fact their garb is brightly colored and entirely inappropriate for the shire. They said some fairies had played a trick on them changing their sensible clothes for this rubbish.
Ari escorted them into a second hand clothes shop where Mr. Muffin, the owner, assured them all he could arrange an exchange for more suitable attire knowing that the brightly colored clothes would sell well when caravans of men and women passed through town. No accounting for the tastes of men. Brightly colored scarves just assure that you'll be seen in the woods.
After walking a short way out of town Ari and Caper met a well-groomed pony with courtly ribbons, plodding under the weight of a pompous Shirrif and his tall feathered hat.
The Shirrif was complaining about the fairies who he said, "Tied the ribbons to my pony and gave me this stupid hat."
Caper said, "Mr. Muffin will trade that hat for a better one and he probably knows where you could trade the pony for a sturdier horse."
They talked on for a while, as one does well met in the woods, and then Ari and Caper continued their hike while the Shirrif plodded on to town. As he left, Ari cast detect magic and all the ribbons as well as the hat and the feathers glowed with fey magic.
Maybe we'll find out more on Inspired Unreality tomorrow. Or maybe you have something to talk about or a game you'd like to play. Or both? Could be.
Please forward this email to your game playing friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/887
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been to Tenkar's we have a link here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last week Alan joined us and we discussed how RPGs follow trends in fantasy and science fiction literature. It turns out that Alan, like Vivian and myself, is a big Roger Zelazny fan. And Zelazny has had his influence in the gaming world.
And it's not just about fantasy and science fiction books. Many gaming trends follow major media franchises. Join us Saturday morning to continue this discussion or, as always, bring your own topic.
Work continues on Eclectic Geekery, a book store and gaming place in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, where my daughters are bringing both SF and fantasy books and games to Northeast Arkansas. I put up a photo gallery and I have to say I love the ambience especially the exposed brick. Go here to see.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/117
I can't wait until I can see it in person. Here's their facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/eclecticgeekerystore/
I am continuing in my project to livestream from anywhere whether busking or playing in a park. I got a nice little battery powered PA, the Samson Expedition Express+, so that along with my Roland GO:Piano and my Acer laptop provide the core functionality for livestreaming off the grid. I have played with this rig at the Craighead Forest Bandshell in Jonesboro and I look forward to streaming from Beatles Park, just around the corner from Eclectic Geekery, in Walnut Ridge. I'm bringing chill jazz piano to the great outdoors as soon as it warms up and the Omicron surge wanes.
Here's my Twitch link.
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
And my Youtube page.
https://www.youtube.com/hairylarry
Please follow at both links and give my stats a bump.
Help me grow Gamer+. Forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/886
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unrealty is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been to Tenkar's we have a link for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
I just finished rereading the Lyonesse Trilogy, a fantasy classic by Jack Vance. This trilogy includes some of the best descriptions of fairies in feyland I've ever read and I've read so much fey literature that feyland is like a second home to me. Highly recommended. Please post your recommendations today and we'll discuss them on Inspired Unreality Saturday morning.
I have been winnowing our home library by donating books to Eclectic Geekery, a new books and games store soon to open in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. My daughters, Sarah and Megan, are following their dream and I am supporting them any way I can.
ZDL sends New Years greetings. It is, in fact, The Year of the Tiger. Babies born in The Year of the Tiger show strength, bravery, and courage, ready to play a warrior in the RPG of their choice.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/ZDL
While posting to the Gamer+ Tumbler I found this amazing animation of Beth Fuller creating "in the cracking dusk" a beautiful piece of fantasy artwork. I posted the link on Gamer+.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4460
It's a few minutes long and well worth the watch.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/885
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Join us in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. You can find a link to Tenkar's here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Next Saturday will be the first Saturday in February so our topic will be Fantasy and Science Fiction. The opening topic next week will be Why do RPGs parallel fantasy and science fiction literature?
Eclectic Geekery
Books, Games and More!
My daughters are opening a book shop in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. You can expect regular updates.
Great poster art here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4453
Shop Eclectic Geekery. You'll be glad you did!
I was scrounging around in some of the back rooms at Delta Boogie and I found some wizard artwork Kier drew for me in 1996.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4452
Please welcome austin_grafx to Gamer+. He drew his own avatar.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/austin_grafx
Forward this email and share this link to Gamer+ News.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/884
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tenkar's there's a link here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last week Viv and I were joined by Alan and Peaktime for our Inspired Unreality open game chat. We mostly talked about computer programming, discussing recent projects and looking at what programming languages are hot in game development.
Peaktime is working on a character generator for BX, Alan is compiling a list of 2nd Edition wizards spells, and I am working on the Plain Text Blog. I think we enjoy programming as much as we do gaming.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4437
I am glad to report that the Main page has stayed up all week. Sure is fun not having to worry about Gamer+ errors.
When we last left Ari and Caper in Milyagon they were talking to the Jakobs, a family of seven, Jake and Liz, and their five kids, baby Ameira, Will, Bill, Cassie, and Sandra. In keeping with my contention that every NPC deserves two sentences we did a little writing so I'll have something to work from the next time we play. Not only did we capture all seven family members we also described a lot of the interactions that make a family work.
Here's some of it.
Sandra seems restless, always shifting her feet about. In spite of Liz's careful plaitwork Sandra's braids remained unruly. She is constantly active, grooming the horses while talking and jesting.
Cassie was her sister's shadow but she couldn't be more different in her pretty blue dress and her braids falling over her shoulders. Her eyes dart about keeping up with everything that's happening.
Bill and Will were often mistaken for twins. Will was big for his age and almost Bill's size. They were both healthy, ruddy, and husky with a glint of wit in their eyes. Bill is headstrong and doesn't understand why he can't do everything his sisters do. Will is more likely to heed his parents strictures partly because he sees the trouble Bill gets himself into.
Ameira, the baby, is almost a year old. She is a beautiful baby with blue eyes and golden curls. She is not, however, an easy baby to care for, her troubled nights have kept both Liz and Jake awake in the campgrounds.
There's more but overall it's as compact as what you read here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/882
ZDL joined Discord! And when she updated her profile I noticed she is also on Mastodon. You may have noticed my Mastodon link in my signature at the end of Gamer+ News. Like Gamer+, Mastodon is an alternative social network. Highly recommended.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/ZDL
Please forward this email and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/883
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Jake and Liz named their first child Cassandra hoping to call her Cassie but everyone called her Sandra instead. So they named their second child Cassie.
Sandra seems restless, always shifting her feet about. In spite of Liz's careful plaitwork Sandra's braids remained unruly. She is constantly active, grooming the horses while talking and jesting.
Cassie was her sister's shadow but she couldn't be more different in her pretty blue dress and her braids falling over her shoulders. Her eyes dart about keeping up with everything that's happening.
Jake and Liz named their first boy William hoping to call him Will but everyone called him Bill instead. So they named their second boy Will.
Bill and Will were often mistaken for twins. Will was big for his age and almost Bill's size. They were both healthy, ruddy, and husky with a glint of wit in their eyes. Bill is headstrong and doesn't understand why he can't do everything his sisters do. Will is more likely to heed his parents strictures partly because he sees the trouble Bill gets himself into.
Ameira, the baby, is almost a year old. She is a beautiful baby with blue eyes and golden curls. She is not, however, an easy baby to care for, her troubled nights have kept both Liz and Jake awake in the campgrounds.
Jake tends horses and he hopes to start a breeding business with the herd of seven horses he has brought north to Milyagon. He wears a knit cap he can pull down over his ears and he meets everyone with a grin. He's lean but muscular enough that you can tell he work's hard caring for his horses.
Liz's countenance radiates a composure that is remarkable in light of the chaos that surrounds her. She controls her girls with a look or a hand sign that Ari quickly learns to copy. A wave, a nod, or a flip of the hair is all it takes to tell the girls what to do next.
So great? But also ???. I am still looking into migrating to Open Source Social Network which is being currently maintained, has a better mobile app, and offers paid support. When I get a test version up and running I will post a link here in the Gamer+ News for anyone interested in helping me test it.
I am glad that Gamer+ fixed itself because that takes the pressure off and I can take some time with the migration. My music composition lessons start next week so once again I will be a little bit too busy.
Saturday, January 15, at 11:00 AM Central, Inspired Unreality continues in it's new day and time. Some of the regulars are noticing the transition. Last week it was just Vivian and I so we continued in our Ari and Caper adventures in Milyagon. They have left the witch's cottage and are back in Milyagon where Ari and Caper are visiting with the family they met on the road. We named all the kids and Mom and Dad too so now it's my job to write a couple of sentences about each.
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Saturday morning at 11:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tankar's there's a link here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Today is Vivian's birthday. I'm just adding this here to rub it in. Vivian has been role playing longer than I have in fact she was a DM before there was D&D. As Arimeth with her cat, Tude, she and Caper are building out the Milyagon locale. By cat we mean mountain lion. Tude comes up to Ari's waist which means shoulder high on Caper the halfling. It's kind of cool having a mountain lion nuzzling me in the face.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/sound
I love Gamer+ which has chat and messaging. I am also active on Discord at Tenkar's Tavern, Megantopia, Family Chat, and on my music server, hairylarryland. Here's a link to the HairyLarryLand Discord server.
https://discord.gg/MgnZC464YS
But if you want to get in touch with me email is the thing. I check my email several times a day and I check everything else several times a week and I don't always get every message then.
So, forward this email. Share this link. And send me an email.
Thanks
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Everyone is welcome to come chat about games.
Last week was Fantasy and Science Fiction and I did some short readings from the Lyonesse Trilogy by Jack Vance illustrating my idea that every NPC deserves at least two sentences. There is nothing like short descriptive text to help the DM portray the NPC in a believable manner. Jack Vance is a master.
Thanks to Ducalisto for joining us at Inspired Unreality open game chat. We discussed fantasy and scifi gaming systems.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4414
The main page at Gamer+ is down. I have been working on it trying to resolve the issue. I've also been adding occasional posts trying to scroll the issue off the screen. So far no luck. Somebody needs to roll luck for me.
All the other pages are working fine. You can still post and read other people's posts, comment, etc. It's just the Main page that's not working.
So as well as trying to fix Gamer+ I have also been looking into changing platforms for Gamer+. Oxwall is a good platform for computers but the mobile app is poor at best. In today's world most people prefer to use their phone so I would like to upgrade to a platform with good mobile support and good tech support too.
Any suggestions? I have been looking into the Open Source Social Network. I have also used Elgg but I don't know how good the mobile support is on Elgg. It will be work to change platforms so I want to do my research up front.
We got a domestic robot. I for one look forward to serving our robot overlords. But until then scrub that floor.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4416
Vivian and I played an Ari and Caper in a Milyagon game yesterday. The brownies made Ari a wreathed hat out of wildflowers that acts like a love charm. The Milyagon witch gave Ari a basket to keep it in so it's not "on" all the time.
Vivian also filled in a lot of back story about Ari and Tude and set us up for an encounter with a family she met on the road.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4420
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
I wrote a new program called Plain Text Blog and it is what it says.
Install the program and put your text files into the text directory and it all becomes a blog with permalinks, rss feed, table of contents, and automatic link detection.
It's cool.
Here's Hairy Larry Writes using Plain Text Blog.
https://hairylarry.rocks/writes/
I rely on it.
Tomorrow, Inspired Unreality open game chat at 11:00 AM Central is in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. It's the first Saturday of the month so this week our topic will be Fantasy and Science Fiction.
If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern there's a link for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
I am re-rereading The Lyoness Trilogy by Jack Vance and in this rereading I am getting a lot of tips for DMs as well as for writers. Join us to discuss your favorite Fantasy and Science Fiction books, games, movies, etc.
What I got for Christmas.
Carl gave a stack of magazines to each family. I also got two nice carnivorous plants from Kier. I'll post pics of those after I paint them.
I added a photo gallery with the magazine covers.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/115
In with the magazines were five copies of Swords & Wizardry Light, written by Tenkar, a Gamer+ gamer and proprietor of Tenkar's Tavern home of Inspired Unreality.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/tenkar
Bembo the Barbarian.
Questionable Content is a rom com webzine with robots. But for the last several days Jeph Jacques has been drawing Bembo The Barbarian and it's a hoot.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4403
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/875
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://mastodon.social/@hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
I will be changing the time for Inspired Unreality to earlier in the day on Saturdays. Probably 10:00 AM or 2:00 PM. Please weigh in. January 1 is right around the corner. Here's a link to Gamer+ and my email is below.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
I am also looking for DMs interested in hosting a one off with only me as the PC. This can be in any game system and doesn't have to be, but could be, at the time specified for Inspired Unreality. I would record these actual play sessions for the DM and possibly for a Gamer+ podcast. Since there's only one PC, character creation can be quick. If the game hosted has unusual rules or other quirks the DM can explain them as we go. I like to set goals so.
Goal 1 - have fun
Goal 2 - Gamer+ podcast
Goal 3 - Introductory material for the DM and the game
Let me know if you're interested. I have several DMs in mind. If this happens on Inspired Unreality it will be monthly at most. If you prefer another time I'll work with you.
I have been enjoying ZDL's series of posts based on Georges Polti's The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. This is the kind of thing that can really help DM's create dramatic tension. Here's a link to her latest.
Vengeance taken for kindred upon kindred.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/871
I graduated Saturday and those who are related to geeks gathered here for my graduation party, birthday parties, and chicken enchiladas. Continuing our traditional Christmas Festivities we had Cookie Day on Sunday, the day when DMs and players gather, not for role playing, but for cookie baking. I mean it ain't a good game without snacks, right?
Please forward this email to your friends. And share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/872
Thanks and Merry Christmas,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
In this situation we have two kinsmen: the "avenging kinsman" and the "guilty kinsman", we have the more abstract element of "remembrance of the victim" and, for the emotional impact to have punch, a "relative of both".
Strap down, this is going to be an emotional roller coaster!
VENGEANCE TAKEN FOR KINDRED UPON KINDRED
This situation has four necessary components. I'll address the need of some of them after the list. First and foremost there are the two obvious: Guilty Kinsman and Avenging Kinsman. Less obvious than these two, however, though equally necessary, is Remembrance of the Victim and the Relative of Both.
This situation is fraught with raw anger, mixed, likely, in equal parts with sorrow. Families traditionally have a tight code of conduct with trust being at the foundation of it all. Breaches of that trust lead to extremes of emotion: both anger at the betrayal and sorrow at the need for revenge.
There is a lot of dramatic potential here, but it only works if the relationship of the two Kinsmen to the Victim is remembered explicitly. It can't just be mentioned in passing. It must be wallowed in for a while to hammer home just how important the relationship was. Further, to amplify just how out of place this situation is, another family member related to both Kinsmen needs to be there to react and try to mitigate or mourn as appropriate.
It's a heady situation and it comes in a few flavours.
1. A parent's death avenged upon the other parent.
2. A child's death avenged upon the sibling.
3. A parent's death avenged upon a spouse.
4. A spouse's death avenged upon a parent.
Now personally I think all of them involving death is a bit much. There are other situations that could invoke this kind of wrath. But let's bear with it for now. There are thirty-two more situations to go through after all and maybe what I'm looking for here is available in other situations!
In role-playing, this situation would be difficult to integrate. Not impossible, but difficult. The hardest part would be getting players invested enough in their families to actually have that aforementioned betrayal and sorrow to rise up. If you can pull it off it will likely form sessions that become the "stories of lore" in gaming groups talked about years later in hushed tones.
There's another option, however. It would be easier to integrate one or more PCs into the role of Relative of Both and still make the RP meaningful and connected. Alternatively the PCs could be people outside of the family, but associated in some way with one or more of Victim, Other Kin, or the two Kinsmen. These outsider views may not quite give the visceral grip that being one of the main elements would have, but they will, if played out with gusto, still form good, satisfying RP.
I think we'll actually roll up a few characters to see how it works. If you are interested in Elthos or just exploring new RPG systems in general I'm sure you will enjoy Inspired Unreality tonight.
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Monday night at 10:00 PM Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more information and an invitation to Tenkar's go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
ZDL has started a series of posts she is calling "The Thirty-Six" reflecting on Georges Polti's "The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations". She has links to the original version and the modernized take.
Dramatic Situations get right to the heart of what I love about role playing so I'm looking forward to these posts and to getting acquainted with Polti's work.
Thanks ZDL. I'm as excited as a podcaster.
One of Thirty-Six from ZDL's blog
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/863
Two of Thirty-Six from ZDL's blog
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/866
Three of Thirty-Six from ZDL's blog
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/867
Follow Me And Die posted a blog about Grave Growth. If you're like me and you don't know what grave growth is he explains in his first sentence. "The flowers and other flora that grow on graves is called Grave Growth." He then goes on to explain how to use grave growth in a game.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4371
Modern day grave growth includes glass jars holding plastic flowers.
Pete Seeger also covered grave growth in his song "Where Have All The Flowers Gone".
And since I've cleverly segued into music I have a personal announcement to make. I will be taking my second degree, a Bachelors in Music Composition this Saturday. Since I'm retired I don't expect this to change my career. Especially since my retirement hobby is writing and playing music. But, I did the work and now I'm getting the degree and I'm trying not to break my arm patting myself on the back.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends. And share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/868
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
VENGEANCE OF A CRIME
In this situation there are only two necessary components: an Avenger out to wreak revenge, and a Criminal upon whom vengeance shall be delivered. This situation can almost be viewed as the reverse of DELIVERANCE or SUPPLICATION, in that the Avenger could be the Persecutor or Threatener while the Criminal could be viewed as the Suppliant or the Unfortunate. The difference lies mostly in sympathies: in DELIVERANCE/SUPPLICATION the victim is sympathetic to the onlooker while in this one the victim is viewed negatively. (Of course playing with viewpoints could have this be a parallel dramatic situation and the resolution could have the story start with VENGEANCE OF A CRIME only to have it, via a mid-plot reveal, turn into DELIVERANCE, say.)
There are three primary forms of this dramatic situation.
1. Vengeance for direct injury upon persons valued by the Avenger: kin and friends, for example. The nature of the crime can one of violence (death or injury), one of honour (which would include seduction in most cultures) or other such personal injury.
2. Vengeance for more abstract injuries like crimes of property, deception, false accusation or other forms of calumny, or even vengeance for having been robbed of an opportunity for vengeance. (The opening sentences of "The Cask of Amontillado" would be an example of this type: "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I swore revenge.")
3. This one is an odd one out: professional pursuit of criminals. Think cops and detectives here. While it seems a little oddly out of place in this heading compared to the others, the same dramatic tensions exist.
Vengeance is a dramatic potboiler in RPGs! In the first two types, it's going to practically spring up by itself in a normal campaign as the femme fatale steals the vital gem, as the orc tribe that massacres villagers the players had grown fond of finds it bit off more than it could chew plus a thousand more things.
That being said, however, that third odd duck out has serious potential for driving campaigns. Picture the PCs as an investigatory team sent out by the powers that be, or self-motivated (for mercenary reasons, or others) to hunt down criminals. An old west campaign, for example, (even if it's the weird west or such) could have the PCs be lawmen or bounty hunters quite easily, and such professions would exist almost anywhere.
Similarly, even in places like Ancient China or medieval Europe you often found magistrates who had personal investigation and enforcement arms (even if the methods were ... unscientific) who would solve crimes. Moving this into an RP scenario would not be difficult.
So never underestimate the power of vengeance and crime to drive RP in games!
Continuing in the series I'm calling The Thirty-Six, based on Georges Polti's The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations (original version and a modernized take), today's situation is "deliverance" in which an "unfortunate" is rescued from a "threatener" by a "rescuer".
DELIVERANCE
In contrast to SUPPLICATION, in which the victim of a threat seeks to find succour from someone in power, in deliverance the Unfortunate, while under threat by a Threatener is helped by a Rescuer without beseeching such. The victim in this case is more passive, and the motivation of the Rescuer is motivated by something extrinsic to both of them, requiring no pleading to take action.
There are two main forms of this situation:
1. Rescue of the condemned.
2. Rescue of someone in dire straits by someone who is indebted or otherwise related to the victim.
What makes this situation ripe for RP purposes is the mystery of why the Rescuer is taking action on behalf of the Unfortunate. Why is the outlaw gang rescuing the hanged man by shooting out the hanging rope (as is a common trope in western movies)? (Maybe the outlaw is on a personal quest of vengeance against corrupt and vicious authority.) What has prompted a group to return a deposed queen to her rightful throne? (Perhaps it is the children of the queen who seek to restore her.)
And of course the PCs may have their own reasons for becoming Rescuers: anticipation of reward, say, or repayment for past good deeds received, or payment forward for the good deeds of others.
It's a bit trickier to have the PCs as the Unfortunate, however. Played with a light hand, especially if backed by prior RP (like, say, they gave hospitality to a wounded knight and nursed him to health), it can be a powerful moment, but played clumsily, without a good reason established in advance to call back to, it can come across as stripping players of their agency in regard to the threat. (A lot of the hatred of the dread GMPC stems from GMPCs being transparently used by the GM to show how awesome that character is by doing what the players can't. Continually.)
Of course, taking a turn for the darker, the PCs can be the Threatener, hunting down someone (justly or not) only to have a third party intercede and interfere. Will the interference be successful? Will they justify the threat they present and make the Rescuer back off or even switch sides? It could go any way with a good bite of tasty RP!
I recently thought again about Georges Polti's The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. Having found both the original version and a modernized take online, it's led me to a new set of blog posts I'm going to call The Thirty-Six.
So what is a "dramatic situation"? Often badly translated as "plot", strictly speaking a dramatic situation is what drives a plot. The plot is the resolution of one or more dramatic situations.
A dramatic situation is what motivates characters to do things, the things they do furthering a narrative that leads to a conflict which leads to a resolution of some form. Knowledge and application of these dramatic situations (and more: despite its claim to the contrary, Polti's book is not comprehensive—but it still has many more dramatic situations than all of the output of Hollywood put together makes use of!) can help liven up a story, give it verisimilitude, and make it compelling. And even in a gaming context where no single person has the power to force things down specific tracks, using these dramatic situations and the choices they present characters can be strong motivators in a role-playing game.
Today's dramatic situation is "supplication" in which a "supplicant" is persecuted in some way by a "persecutor" and begs for help from a "power".
SUPPLICATION
This situation needs three elements: a Persecutor, a Suppliant, and a Power. An additional element may be present in some situations: an Intercessor. Supplication comes in three main forms:
1. A direct appeal for assistance against active persecutors. For example a piously religious man may appeal to the ducal court because his religiously required activity is being banned by his local lord. Or people fleeing bandits who destroyed their village may appeal to their local lord for succour and vengeance. The key to this form is that the Suppliant is under some form of threat (physical, spiritual, social, etc.) from a person or group that seeks to harm or hinder them in some way.
2. A direct appeal for assistance against more abstract/environmental persecution. People shipwrecked appealing to a local tavern owner for room and board on a stormy night. The seeking of pardon for a crime committed and already prosecuted with punishment in effect. Even something as simple as begging for the right to die in a society that prohibits assisted suicides. In this variant the Persecutor is not necessarily a person. It is more circumstantial.
3. An indirect appeal like those above, but via an Intercessor. For example the religiously required activity being banned has drawn the attention of the spiritual leader of said religion who intercedes on the Suppliant's behalf, asking the duchess to overrule her vassal. Or in the case of the pardon, a prison reform group pointing to the Suppliant's dramatic change in jail which suggests that further punishment is meaningless and, perhaps, even counterproductive.
The role of PCs in this dramatic situation could be any of the principles: Power, Suppliant, Persecutor, or Intercessor. Or they could work as agents each thereof. For example in the case of the pardon, again, they could act as investigatory agents of the Power to establish if the Suppliant truly deserves a pardon or not. Or they could act as enforcers for the state arguing on behalf of keeping the prisoner imprisoned or banished or whatnot.
Tonight at Inspired Unreality we will discuss fantasy and science fiction. Our opening topic will be Jack Vance, his writing and his contribution to D&D. I've got a refresher post here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4369
The fantasy of Jack Vance.
Vance won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1984.
The Dying Earth features one of the greatest fantasy antiheroes of all time, Cugel the Clever. The Dying Earth setting also hosts other stories full of other antiheroes.
The Lyonesse Trilogy, Suldrun's Garden, The Green Pearl, and Madouc. Madouc won the World Fantasy Award in 1990 and contains the most delightful fey adventure ever written.
There's more. Follow the link.
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Follow Me And Die! posted "When Wizards Die" to his blog. As always his thoughts on the matter are wide ranging and comprehensive. It's a recommended read and it reminded me of Jack Vance which led to the post above and the topic tonight.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4367
So after I read that I noticed a link to Medieval Demographics Made Easy and I clicked over to that.
The booklet is fantastic not only as a guide to medieval demographics but also as an example of how to put together a fantasy supplement that is useful and entertaining.
Thanks to S. John Ross and Follow Me And Die.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4368
Next week, on Inspired Unreality, VB Wyrde will be hosting a one off set in his fantasy world, Elthos. I am looking forward to that. See you then and also tonight! for fantasy and science fiction, with the opening topic, Jack Vance.
They say that word of mouth advertising is the best which is great because it's all we can afford. Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/860
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more info and an invite go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Next week is the first Monday in December so our topic will be fantasy and science fiction. With all the new releases on video and in the theaters we should have plenty to talk about. Of course, we could also talk about books.
And then, on December 13, VB Wyrde is going to DM a one off in Elthos. The only thing better than talking about RPGs is playing RPGs so we are bringing actual play back to Inspired Unreality. I am also entertaining the idea of guest hosts so if you would like to lead a discussion about your favorite topic let me know and we will schedule you in.
Important Saturdays in December.
Dec 18 - Hairy Larry graduates, again, this time with a Bachelors of Music in Composition.
Dec 25 - Christmas
Jan 1 - New Years Day (ok, not technically in December)
The important thing to note is that this leaves all our Mondays clear for Inspired Unreality. Open game chat will continue on Monday nights through December with no holiday hiatus necessary.
And now about Thanksgiving.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4341
As noted our family games this Thanksgiving were Doodle Dice and Qwirkle. What games did you play? The comments remain open.
And then immediately following Thanksgiving.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4354
Same players, different game. On Friday it was Theatre of the mind at our house and on Saturday, with miniatures, visiting our Foster kids.
As above the comments remain open for any role playing you experienced over Thanksgiving.
And at the top of the Gamer+ Gamers feed we find Radio Grognard By Glen Hallstrom discussing Be Yourself (or Not).
https://anchor.fm/radio-grognard/episodes/Be-Yourself-or-Not-e1avakj
It's a short listen and well worth it. He discusses distinguishing NPCs. Not all gruff dwarves are the same. Maybe they're worried about their family at home or maybe they've been held prisoner.
This is similar to a couple of things we've been discussing on Inspired Unreality. "Every NPC deserves a Couple of Sentences" and "Are all Taverns the Same?". As a way to distinguish a tavern in a players memory try for some actual color in the barkeep and the barmaid. If your barkeep and barmaid are exactly the same as they were in the last tavern you visited then maybe all your taverns are the same.
In our Friday night family game we visited a tavern and the barkeep was a lady and she was also the mayor of the town and she sent us on a quest. We remember her.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/857
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more info and an invite link click here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last week DM Sarah ran a DCC one off with a party of 3. It was great fun and we did get the magic sword from the hermit's tower. Thanks to Peaktime for joining us.
December 6 we'll discuss Fantasy and Science Fiction. On December 13 we have another one off scheduled hosted by VB Wyrde creator of Elthos.
Tonight and next week will be open game chat. Our favorite.
Tabletop Games for Thanksgiving Gatherings.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4341
Please post your game suggestions for Thanksgiving in the comments.
I have an announcement to make. <trumpets> On December 18 I will be graduating ... again. I took my Computer Science degree 35 years ago. I was a math and music double major. Now I am taking my Bachelors of Music in Composition. <trumpets> Yayyy!
Please forward this email to your gaming friends. And share this link to Gamer+ News on gamerplus.org.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/849
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
GM Sarah is running a DCC one off. It will be fun. I've played in her games before. She is a convention GM for DCC hosting games at major gatherings.
Sarah is also one of the volunteers leading the NEA Gamers Guild and their convention, NEA Game Fest. They had a successful convention in Jonesboro, Arkansas, just last month.
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. You can find more information and an invitation to Tankar's Tavern here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
The game tonight starts at 9:00 but we will be there early for character generation and other pregame prep.
Next month, on December 13, we'll have actual play again with vbwyrde hosting.
So we have a schedule.
First Monday of the month we discuss fantasy and science fiction. Third Monday of the month we have a guest or a game. All other Mondays are for open game chat, bring your own topic, all gaming is on topic.
So, now, to go off topic for a minute, Vivian and I went out to the Craighead Forest Bandshell yesterday for live music. I played chill jazz piano for a small and rotating audience. Eleiser joing me on trumpet for the second set.
A good time was had by all. We saw some old friends for the first time in two years. And we stayed warm with coats and throws. It was 60 degrees so great temperature for playing music but a little chilly in the audience when the wind blew.
This is a safe way for Vivian and I to return to our old habit of gigging out regularly. We might get warm Sundays this winter (after all it is Arkansas) but unless there is yet another surge we really look forward to Spring.
I tried to livestream with a hot spot but that didn't work so I just settled for recording and I don't think that worked either. But the plan is to livestream and record from the bandshell just like I do from the twitch studio and the twitch porch.
If you're on twitch follow me here.
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
I also added our RSS feed to the right column on the Main Page at Gamer+. Here's that link again.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
If you have a gaming blog, vlog, podcast, or channel with an RSS feed let me know and I'll add you to our feed.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/846
Thanks,
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkars Tavern on Discord. You can find more info and an invitation here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Next week on Monday November 15, GM Sarah will host a DCC one off. The game will start at 9:00 but we'll be their a half hour early doing game prep. We'll be done by 10:30 or 11:00. GM Sarah is a DCC convention gamemaster and she is one of the hosts at NEA Game Fest. They had a successful convention just last month.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Sarah
So, actual play on Inspired Unreality next week. This is sure to be a blast.
D20 table for chat topics about RPGs
soon to be a D100
1. What is railroading and why is it bad?
2. Sandboxes
3. What makes OSR better? What makes OSR worse?
4. Free Kriegspiel
5. Hex crawls
6. Megadungeons
7. Random Encounters
8. Combat free roll playing
9. Systems of handing out XP to players
10. Group XP vs Individual XP
11. How online play has changed RPGs
12. Fudging rolls?
13. The Quantum Ogre
14. Premade maps vs maps drawn at the table
15. Is there really only one tavern? How to make your tavern memorable.
16. Don't generic barkeeps or waitresses deserve at least a sentence.
17. NPCs are color and more
18. Writing your own game
19. How good is DriveThruRPG anyway
20. Do I want to have a Kick Starter?
This is usable but we have not begun to scratch the infinite universe of possible RPG chat topics. Join us tonight to add your favorite chat topics to an expanded D100 table.
Please welcome "GameCows - The #1 site for board game enthusiasts" to Gamer+.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/GameCows
I write about a cool concept. An illusionist who fights wearing an illusion and when killed it's really only the illusion that is broken. The PCs see a corpse that bears the actual appearance of the illusionist and mistakenly think they're dead. But, lo and behold, the next time their attack rolls around they are up and fighting again, although probably with fewer hitpoints and less dangerous attacks.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4320
Please forward this email to your gaming friends. And share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/843
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Here's my website where I publish my super shorts.
https://sffshortstories.com/
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tenkars Tavern here's info and an invite.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Robert S. Conley writes
"It occurred to me recently that the original release of Dungeons and Dragons is best viewed as a supplement. Not to the Chainmail Miniature wargame but to the unwritten rules, systems, and methods the miniature wargaming community of the early 70s were using."
Quoted from his blog post, "The original release of Dungeons and Dragons was a supplement."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4312
This is an interesting post with a few interesting comments as well.
Yesterday Megan did a 12 hour twitch stream for Halloween. If you've got a spare 12 hours you can view it here.
https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia
I featured myself on my From The Archives Of Something Blue podcast which will be aired on KASU Wednesday and Saturday. But you don't have to wait. You can listen now at the Something Blue website.
http://sbblues.com/2021/10/31/from-the-archives-of-something-blue-october-31-2021/
The featured song is a modal blues I wrote called "Blue Goose". The archives go back in time 40 years or more but they start yesterday. I recorded "Blue Goose" on my twitch stream last week. And the spoken content is an overview of the whole project. It's almost nine minutes long and worth the listen.
Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/841
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Last week we worked on a table for chat topics about RPGs. Don't have a topic. Roll one up.
D20 table for chat topics about RPGs
soon to be a D100
What is railroading and why is it bad?
Sandboxes
What makes OSR better? What makes OSR worse?
Free Kriegspiel
Hex crawls
Megadungeons
Random Encounters
Combat free roll playing
Systems of handing out XP to players
Group XP vs Individual XP
How online play has changed RPGs
Fudging rolls?
The Quantum Ogre
Ok, that's just 13 so far and they could use some refinement. But we're still brainstorming. Come brainstorm with us. Or bring your own topic. Or suggest favorite RPG chat topics for our dice rolling table.
It will be fun.
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. More info and an invite here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
All our best to Alan and his family who have been having health issues. I chatted with him yesterday and he is planning on joining us tonight.
Are you on twitch? Follow these channels. If you have a twitch channel let me know and I will add you to the list of Gamer+ gamers on twitch.
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia
https://www.twitch.tv/searchingforgryphons
On Halloween Megan is doing a 12 hour stream on her twitch channel. No spoilers but she has been working on some visual effects and I am sure she will play many spooky games.
Join her stream and follow her channel. Congratulate her for reaching affiliate status.
Please forward this email and share this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/838
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
On October 15, Charlie Clay posted "Lots of fun playing TANK ACE tonight at NEA Game Fest. Battle kicks off again tomorrow at 10 a.m."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/neagamersguild/posts/6309500619121429/
I added his pictures to a photo album.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/109
---
About The NEA Gamers Guild
The Northeast Arkansas Gamers Guild is a group dedicated to the promotion of RPGs, board games, miniature games and all games played on the tabletop!
Our goal is to provide places to play and schedule events throughout each month as well as to provide a place for other gamers, organizations and businesses to advertise their gaming events.
NEA Gamers Guild Website
http://www.neagamersguild.org/
NEA Gamers Guild Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/neagamersguild/
---
- https://www.neagamefest.com/about-us/
Vivian and I put on Blue Fest for 25 years. All of our kids helped with that. It's great seeing my kids continue in our festival promoting way. It's always all about the people.
And tonight! Inspired Unreality open game chat.
Last week I enjoyed chatting games with Alan, Peaktime, and sound. It was a wide ranging discussion that started with the role of the DM. My opinion. The DM shouldn't drive the narrative but he should be alert for narrative hooks in the play and stand ready to enhance the story.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4293
Join us tonight. Inspired Unreality open game chat is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tankar's Tavern on Discord. Everyone is welcome. Bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic. More info here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Are you interested in running a one off for us? Let me know.
My mommy said it's good to share. Please forward this email to your gaming friends and share this link to Gamer+ News to help spread the word.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/837
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Last week Alan, Vivian, and myself discussed Fantasy and Science Fiction and, amazingly enough, we stayed pretty much on topic.
Inspired Unreality is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Everyone is invited.
Next weekend is NEA Game Fest.
https://www.neagamefest.com/
"NEA Game Fest is a charity omni con in Jonesboro, AR, with all proceeds benefiting The Children's Shelter of Walnut Ridge. We have events, prizes, and giveaways for board games, card games, miniatures, RPGs, and more!"
"Attendees (3+) must wear mask. In addition, attendees (16+) must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination"
Stay safe.
You have until Thursday to get your badge online. I believe their are savings involved with the pre purchase.
https://tabletop.events/conventions/nea-game-fest-2021/badgetypes
Badges will also be available at the door.
They have six pages of events.
https://tabletop.events/conventions/nea-game-fest-2021/schedule#?query=
Play and Win. Tournaments!
I can't go because we're locked down until the delta variant wanes. So I bought a T Shirt. You can also just donate if you want to help and can't attend.
There's an NEA Game Fest Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/neagamefest
And an NEA Gamers Guild Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/855721771166035
There are many Gamer+ Gamers who are involved in NEA Game Fest. Three cheers for all the volunteers who work to make this happen.
Please share by forwarding this email or sharing this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/836
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
I read a lot and I also enjoy some fantasy and science fiction movies and tv shows. I have played in a couple of SF RPGs but, of course, fantasy RPGs are my main thing. There's also a lot of Fantasy and SF in other media, games, graphic novels, blogs, vlogs, etc.
Here's the place where I plug Megan's and Kim's Buffy podcast, Flunking The Written.
https://www.flunkingthewritten.com/
Yes this is a broad topic. Everyone is welcome. Bring your own topic. All Fantasy and SF is on topic.
For example, FKR - Free Kriegsspiel Revolution, would definitely be on topic. Here's a Follow Me And Die post about FKR, a rules light OSR RPG.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4278
Like I said, I read a lot. Here's my current and some recents I can recommend. With links! Woohoo!
I am currently reading The Inheritance Trilogy. I'm on book 3. This is an earlier fantasy story by N. K. Jemisin who won three Hugos in three consecutive years each for a book in the Broken Earth Trilogy. I read that too. I like the Inheritance Trilogy better without thinking it's actually better. Just more to my taste.
She posted The Inheritance Trilogy Non-Wiki which includes her notes made while writing the books. She has licensed these notes CC BY-SA-NC so yes, you can repost these notes or work from them under some restrictions. More at this link.
https://nkjemisin.com/the-inheritance-trilogy-non-wiki/
I love Russian Folklore so "Deathless" by Catherynne M. Valente was just like it was written for me. I mean, Baba Yaga is in it and everything.
"Deathless is an alternate history novel ... combining the Russian fairy tale The Death of Koschei the Deathless with the events and aftermath of the Russian Revolution."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathless_(novel)
Nancy Springer writes YA Fantasy but in her Enola Holmes mysteries she writes an alternative history of a fictional world. Enola Holmes is Sherlock Holmes' younger sister, somehow never mentioned by Arthur Conan Doyle. Each book is a novella, a quick read, and absolutely delightful.
https://murder-mayhem.com/enola-holmes-books-nancy-springer
"For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite."
Yes, I do love reading YA Fantasy. And I do recommend "Fablehaven".
https://susandennard.com/2011/09/18/fablehaven-a-book-recommendation/
I just finished "The Chosen and the Beautiful" by Nghi Vo, a retelling of "The Great Gatsby" in a world with magic, demons, demoniac, and paper coming to life. This is an exquisite work. One of the best crafted novels I have ever read (and I read a lot). It's also very entertaining.
Megan said she knows she loves a book when she wants to reread it as soon as she finishes it. As soon as I finished this book I wanted to reread "The Great Gatsby" and then reread "The Chosen and the Beautiful".
https://booksbonesbuffy.com/2021/06/10/the-chosen-and-the-beautiful-by-nghi-vo-review/
So in case you didn't catch onto the circle I'll explain it. I plugged Megan's Buffy podcast at the top. At the bottom I refer to Megan again and then provide a link to Books, Bones, and Buffy. Pretty clever, huh?
Join us tonight to discuss these stories or others.
Inspired Unreality, open game chat is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. More info here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Please forward this email to your Fantasy and SF loving friends. Also post this link to your website, blog, or preferred social media.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/831
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4270
If you want to learn more about what he does and what he's done here's a link to his Gamer+ page.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/robertsconley
Tonight on Inspired Unreality we'll host open game chat. Bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic. Inspired Unreality is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Everyone is welcome. If you've never been we have info and an invite here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
At the same link you can see the new Gamer+ search feature. It's Enhanced by Google and it works pretty good.
Gamer+ Gamers from the NEA Gamers Guild are hard at work preparing for the NEA Game Fest on October 15-17, 2021.
https://www.neagamefest.com/
And I've added another chapter to my book, "Setting Up A Twitch Studio, Using Tech Creatively", Livestreaming Buskers Off The Grid. This one's way out there. In the future. Eventually.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/829
Please forward this email to your gaming friends. And here's a link to this newsletter online that you can share on social networks.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/830
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
And that's where I'm at with livesteaming buskers off the grid. I've done a couple of failed experiments with my phone but I don't have good reception on the twitch porch so that probably doesn't mean much. I'm a lot further along with the busking equipment than I am with the livestream stuff.
There are many battery powered amps available. I chose the JBL Eon One Pro for about $500. I am very happy with the sound and the battery life. It also has Bluetooth which I use for playing my iReal Pro backing tracks from my tablet. I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab A and it has good battery life.
I have a Roland Go Piano that runs off batteries and it has nice keyboard action and good piano sound. But since I've been livestreaming I notice the difference between it and my Roland FP-4. Both in playability and in sound. I could use the midi out on the Go Piano and play from a midi library on the laptop. This might not take up too much cpu.
I would rather busk with a good hammer action keyboard. There are some good keyboards that use batteries. Just not the ones I'm looking at. So I'm looking into a couple of Deep Cycle 12V batteries and an inverter. This rig would also run my pellet stove in the winter if we lose power so I am justifying the expense that way. Otherwise this probably wouldn't be an affordable solution for me. There are smaller batteries that might run just a piano and one battery and an inverter would be a little over $100.
There are also consumer battery charger/jump starters with 110 outlets. Again the multifunctionality may justify the expense.
I bought an Acer Aspire E5-576 laptop that has enough cpu and ram to livestream video. I have used it for livestreaming 720p from the twitch porch. This laptop has an exceptionally long battery life, 9 hours or more of regular computing. Unfortunately livestreaming is not regular computing and the fully charged batteries only last a little under 2 hours. Which is actually pretty good for livestreaming buskers. An inverter might extend that life to do a three hour show with breaks but I would have to see how much battery it would take to power the piano for three hours. It could be that two hour shows are more realistic.
They are certainly more realistic for my endurance. I do a two hour stream from the HairyLarryLand Twitch Studio every Sunday and I don't really want it to be any longer.
I also have a USB foot switch that I cover in the DIY chapter so I can even have two webcams and switch between them when I'm busking.
So if I happen to find a busking spot with good wifi I'm home free.
And if not? My phone has a hotspot that will hook to my computer with a USB cable. It's a 4G phone so if I had good reception it might work. More modern phones would probably work better. There are many livestreamers that stream direct from their iPhones.
There are also dedicated hotspot devices with monthly fees for bandwidth. It's kind of hard to justify this expense based on a busking income but that actually depends on what you are doing and what kind of budget you have. You may also have other uses for a high end hotspot. If you're travelling while busking and stopping where you wish a hot spot like this might be just the ticket.
And then there's always plan B. If you don't have wifi and you don't have good reception for your hotspot you can turn on record and post the video later.
Right now I have three dreams for the future of my livestream. We've streamed from the twitch porch a couple of times and I feel like that's all set up and ready to go. You can read about that in another chapter. I am looking forward to more livestreams with Bebop Beatniks from the twitch porch.
My current dream is finding soloists to collaborate with me and turn my jazz trio livestreams into a quartet. Whether they do that on their livestream or in their video or audio studios it's all good with me. My songs are licensed Creative Commons Attribution so there are no copyright issues stopping anyone from collaborating with me.
Livestreaming buskers off the grid is my future dream. So this chapter is out there. In the future. Eventually. Maybe I'll be able to do this and maybe not.
"A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s heaven for?"
- Robert Browning
September 20, 2021 at 9:00 PM Central
Special Guest - Robert S. Conley, Creator of Blackmarsh and The Majestic Fantasy RPG
Our topic will be the difference between writing classic D&D vs. 5e?
How to write for both?
How to convert from OSR to 5e?
I know that sounds like three topics but they are very closely intertwined.
Robert S. Conley links.
Blackmarsh
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/89944/Blackmarsh
The Majestic Fantasy RPG
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/337515/The-Majestic-Fantasy-RPG-Basic-Rules
Bat in the Attic
https://batintheattic.blogspot.com/
Robert S. Conley on Gamer+
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/robertsconley
This will be really interesting. Everyone is welcome.
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord every Monday night at 9:00 Central. More info and an invite here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last week on Inspired Unreality.
We had a good open game chat at Inspired Unreality. Alan and SearchingForGryphons joined Vivian and myself and we ended up talking about music and Science Fiction.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4260
We didn't write any new verses for "Wee Will" but SearchingForGryphons contributed this limerick.
There once was a young boy Wee Will
Who found a bag of gold on a hill
He went back to the hold
And he spent all the gold
Until all that he had equalled nil
Draklorx uploaded 9 new photos to the NEA Game Fest Terrain album.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/Draklorx/106
NEA Game Fest is next month.
https://www.neagamefest.com/
My kids are hard at work. Preparations are being made. Show your appreciation, ask questions, make comments.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Sarah
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Draklorx
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Megantopia
The festival is for charity so even if you can't attend you can buy a shirt or make a donation.
Are you planning to attend any live events this fall? Are you planning on doing any virtual gaming? Contact info below or share on Gamer+.
Speaking of sharing. Please share this email and this link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/827
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Wee Will was born
with nary a coin
and his parents had naught neither
His Ma said
Will is gonna be rich
but no one would believe her.
But then one day
Around mid may
Will tripped and skint his knee.
And what did he see
buried under the tree?
'twas the shiny glint of gold.
(everybody sing along)
Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold,
Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold.
He's rich beyond his wildest dreams. But of course it doesn't last.
Tonight on Inspired Unreality Vivian and I will be writing more verses to "Wee Will". Join us to write verses or just to chat about whatever you want, as long as it's gaming. Bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic.
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord every Monday night at 9:00 Central. More info and an invite here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Next week.
Inspired Unreality
September 20, 2021 at 9:00 PM Central
Special Guest - Robert S. Conley, Creator of Blackmarsh and The Majestic Fantasy RPG
Our topic will be the difference between writing classic D&D vs. 5e?
How to write for both?
How to convert from OSR to 5e?
I know that sounds like three topics but they are very closely intertwined.
Robert S. Conley links.
Blackmarsh
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/89944/Blackmarsh
The Majestic Fantasy RPG
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/337515/The-Majestic-Fantasy-RPG-Basic-Rules
Bat in the Attic
https://batintheattic.blogspot.com/
Robert S. Conley on Gamer+
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/robertsconley
Looking forward to this.
I have written another chapter for my book, "Setting Up A Twitch Studio, Using Tech Creatively". It's called "Get Back On That Treadmill" and it may be the last chapter. The last chapter in the book, not the last chapter to be written.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/822
Last night we watched "Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons and Dragons" on Amazon Prime. They definitely got into the idea of creative flow, a key concept in my book.
I also want to mention that Will Hose, long time family friend and gamerplus gamer, Spark, is moving back to Jonesboro. It will be great to have him close at hand again. Will has been a regular guest at our events and our podcasts. I hope to get him to run a game on Inspired Unreality later this year.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Spark
Spread the word. Forward this email to your gamer friends. Share the link on your favorite websites. Especially if they're your own.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/824
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Things go wrong. Life happens. Stuff breaks. It's inevitable.
My router went out. And before it went out it went intermittent. So I missed a stream.
I checked everything out. I reset the router. I was at the piano. And before I even started to play the internet went out. I knew it just wasn't going to happen.
Fortunately I called my ISP and he helped me detect the problem and I had another router in place for my next stream. But it can be worse.
Way worse. Sometimes stuff comes up and you miss a week or more.
My advice. As soon as you can, get back on that treadmill. Yeah it was kind of nice not having to do all that production work and promotion. It's always nice to have a little extra time in your day.
Still periods of creative flow don't happen all the time. They are to be treasured. Get back on the treadmill and make it happen. Again. Churn it out.
This is a different issue than making a decision to take your efforts elsewhere. To write a game instead of playing some games. To write a book instead of writing more music. These decisions are for you to make. It's your life to live.
But don't let temporary technical problems or real life issues interrupt your flow. Get back on the treadmill.
There are some related issues. Sometimes you have downtime that doesn't affect the stream but hinders some other aspect of your work flow.
After my ISP and I determined that my router was bad I went and pulled another router off the back wall of my house where it sprays wifi out to the icosahedron. I replaced my router with this router (thanks Megan) and we had internet back. Except for one thing.
For my network setup I use the DD-WRT firmware because it supports virtual LANs. I have one LAN on 192.168.1.1 and another LAN on 192.168.2.1. The first is for our daily internet use, wired and wifi computers and other devices that need to connect to the internet. The second is for my web servers, the ones that host hairylarryland.com and hairylarry.rocks. There's a firewall. It's a security thing.
Unfortunately the router I pulled of the back wall doesn't support DD-WRT. So I ordered another, even more up to date router, that does support DD-WRT. Which means a weeks downtime on my servers.
So I can't post to hairylarryland.com and even worse my peertube instance runs on hairylarry.rocks. So it's part of my workflow to post to these sites and I can't so I have to devise workarounds to post my videos and promote them on time. I can still upload to the Live Music Archive and Youtube. I can still promote the Youtube videos but I can't promote the playlists which live on peertube.
And then when I get my new router in, burn DD-WRT to the firmware, and configure it I will have to play catch up.
Sometimes playing catch up will hit you in the back of the head. I played my Sunday stream just before everything went haywire. I missed my Tuesday stream. Then after I patched things together I played my Thursday stream and I logged my songs.
When I went to edit the videos I checked my Sunday stream for the notes.txt file and guess what? I never made these 10 videos. I logged them. Things went haywire. And I got off my procedure.
So instead of having 5 videos to edit I had 15. That's when you really have to buckle down. It's possible to catch up. I did it. It really helped that I was familiar with my work flow. I have to admit I spent less time on some of the videos than I would have if I wasn't playing catch up.
So here's your executive summary.
Technical problems or life issues. Get back on the treadmill.
Missed part of the workflow for a short period. Catch up.
The most important thing, however, is right now going forward. The essence of maintaining your creative flow is to absorb yourself in your project and to just do it. The most important stuff is the stuff you are working on right now.
Inspired Unreality is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been there's more info here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
In two weeks on September 20 we will be chatting with Robert S. Conley. The topic will be differences between writing for classic D&D vs 5e. Please join us then to chat with Robert S. Conley. And tonight Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Gamer+ now has a tumblr.
https://gamerplusdotorg.tumblr.com/
Robert S. Conley wrote about Chainmail Reprints and the Harn Kingdom Hardbacks on his Bat In The Attic blog.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4233
I found this.
"Flash Lingo: A Thieves Cant Dictionary" is the most comprehensive Thieves Cant glossary ever assembled. With over 2,200 entries, this volume has been compiled from historical resources and edited to specifically support fantasy role-playing games. More importantly, it is designed to bring the lexicon of Thieves Cant to life in your campaign world, as an aid for both players and DMs alike. It’s also just a damn enjoyable read!
Free download at DriveThruRPG.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4234
So, how's gaming in your neck of the woods? It's been going great here.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
We had a good chat last week night at Inspired Unreality with both Alan and Datum joining Vivian and myself. As happens with those two we drifted off of games and into philosophy.
Next week Inspired Unreality will be about Science Fiction and Fantasy. We do this on the first Monday of the month. That's right, it's almost September already.
And tonight we're winging it. Vivian and I have a fallback plan where we work on our Milyagon locale. Or you may want to chat about something else. Bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic.
NEA Game Fest is in October and my kids are hard at work making preparations.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4230
Vivian and I had a little conversation about confidence that's almost a ditty.
All you need is confidence in what you already have and the ability to find what you need.
I have confidence that we can navigate this dungeon and find the treasure.
I have confidence that you can. It's me I'm not sure about.
I have confidence that I can. You have to find your own confidence.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4188
And I posted a chapter about checklists for my book in progress, "Setting Up A Twitch Studio, Using Tech Creatively".
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/817
Let us know what games you've been playing, what songs you've been singing, what stories you've been writing. Post to Gamer+, a social network for creative gamers. Or contact Hairy Larry below. See you tonight on Inspired Unreality.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
No Friendica listing today. One of my webservers is down. Sad face emoticon.
A procedure document outlines in detail how to accomplish a task. In my career in office automation I wrote a lot of procedure documents. When you're at a workplace with turnover procedure documents provide continuity when personnel changes. They can be used to train new employees and then the new employees can refer to the procedure document until they learn how to do the task.
In your own technical creative projects you probably don't really need procedure documents. They are a lot of work to make, very detailed, and you are probably not going to be training new employees because you probably don't have employees.
A checklist is a different beast. Each item on a checklist reminds you of the next thing to do so you don't skip steps. You just start at the top and continue down the list until you're done.
On my checklist, some of the items, like uploading the videos to the Live Music Archive, take a long time. So after that checklist item I place an = (equal sign) to signify a multitasking opportunity.
I look down the list for an = in the left column and I can continue there, doing other items on the list until the upload is complete. After the upload is done I can finish the skipped part of the list. The part that needed the upload to be completed to continue.
If there's just an = without an = in the left column below, that means there is a multitacking opportunity here to do something entirely different like cook or take a nap. When I upload to Youtube it takes awhile but I can't really start the promotion without having the Youtube video ready. So, take a break, read some news on the internet, or whatever.
You can (and should) devise your own notation for your checklist. Your project and promotion will have different steps and needs. Different opportunities for multitasking. Figure out what works for you.
Checklists with actual check boxes are commonly used in manual procedures but you don't need check boxes on your checklist. I mean I know the task I just finished so I just do the next item on the list.
Production checklists soon become memorized, perhaps because when you skip a step it usually results in extra work. Promotion checklists, however, are really helpful, because most web promotion is a series of independent tasks and it's really easy to forget one and miss out on that promotion.
Your tasks will be different and your promotion will be different so your checklists will be different. Checklists are a useful tool in many endeavors but especially useful for tech creators.
Here's a sample checklist that I use after I produce the video excerpts from my twitch stream (the top item on the list). The first half is uploading and adding details to the upload sites. The second half is promotion of the uploaded content.
- edit and render videos in Openshot
- rename videos with an NN_ prefix in chronological order
- capture a screen shot
- scale the screen shot
- create list.txt listing the numbered songs
- copy and edit notes.txt changing the date and updating the list
- convert mp4 files to mp3s in VLC
- normalize the mp3s in mp3DirectCut
- rename mp3 files
- upload audio item to the Live Music Archive
- upload video item to the Live Music Archive =
- update metadata in audio item
- bookmark audio item
- add audio item to kgpl
- add audio item to mixremix radio in /radio/TWStream
=
- create playlist on peertube
- make public and assign to twitch.tv/hairylarryland
- copy playlist link
- refresh 2x
- use song.txt to create description
- change playlist link in song.txt
- change date in song.txt
- upload mp4 files to peertube, in order
- search and replace song title in song.txt
- fill out screen
- wait for publish button =
- copy the share link
- edit description adding share link
- save to playlist
- after all the files are uploaded check the playlist
- upload to Youtube
- use song text for description =
- promote youtube and peertube playlist
- allow several hours between promotions
- always use the peertube text for description
- share youtube on facebook and twitter from youtube share panel
- share youtube on friendica
- share to hairylarryland tumblr
- reblog that post everywhere
- share on reddit freeculture and creativecommons
- share on hairylarryland Discord
- share to MixRemix and Hairy Larry Rocks
- post to write.as - youtube link and text from peertube
- Add youtube to Hairy Larry Rocks Links
- Add playlist to Hairy Larry Rocks Links
Or, whatever you want to talk about. All gaming is on topic. Inspired Unreality is held every Monday night in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Never been? We've got an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
So, let me give Alan a plug. He's got a game called The Chronicles of Ember. Here's his link. Reach out to him and he will be glad to let you know all about it.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Alan
My granddaughter Liz wants me to remind you that she's awesome. She also joins us sometimes on Inspired Unreality.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/SearchingForGyphons
I've been working on promoting my twitch stream so here goes. If you're on twitch please Follow.
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
If you want to give my chill jazz piano a listen I have a page of playlists here.
https://peertube.hairylarry.rocks/video-channels/twitch/video-playlists
And I set up a blog inviting collaboration with songs and scripts that I think will help guest musicians. I have my videos available for download without recompression so twitch streamers can use them as backing tracks while they solo over them.
https://minizines.cc/collaborate/
I am thinking of moving this over to collaborate.hairylarryland.com if I can figure that out.
All of my songs are licensed Creative Commons Attribution so you can use them on your podcast, vlog, game, or movie.
Are you on twitch? Let me know. I love hearing from you.
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Wee Will
Wee Will was born
with nary a coin
and his parents had naught neither
His Ma said
Will is gonna be rich
but no one would believe her.
But then one day
Around mid may
Will tripped and skint his knee.
And what did he see
buried under the tree?
'twas the shiny glint of gold.
Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold,
Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold.
Wee Will brought the coin
to his Ma at home
and they were rich as kings
with stars in his eyes
he looked to the skies
and dreamt of his favorite things.
His ma went to town
and the wheel goes round
she paid her bill and then she
loaded up on groceries
like she had no worries
and was left with just a penny.
Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold,
Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold, gold.
Of course we need more tales of Wee Will getting alternately rich and poor.
So drop by tonight
And help us write
The song of reckless spending.
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more info go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Since we started on Caper we'll end on Caper.
In our 5e family game on Friday Caper the Giant Killer slew another Giant Beast or I should say Caper set the trap and the party beat the daylights out of him and his troll minion. It only cost Caper 5 gold to get a plaque hung in the inn with the giant's sword saying This Giant was killed by Caper the Giant Killer and Company. Caper is a halfling Bard and in the music business it's all hype.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4213
And that's the Gamer+ News of Caper, my favorite D&D character who I have played longer than the age of some of my grandkids playing in the game.
Let me know about your favorite D&D character.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
First on the agenda tonight will be working on Caper's song of reckless spending, a favorite of proprietors in gambling houses everywhere Caper goes. So far I've got something about the wheel goes round but we're going to hammer it out tonight and I need your help.
Last week Alan joined us and we talked a bit about SF and Fantasy books and a bit about writing, discussing our current projects. Alan is working on his Ember module called "Mine". I have run it once at ARRPGCon and once online and it was fun both times.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Alan
He will tell you about The Chronicles of Ember here.
https://chroniclesofember.com/2018/04/10/welcome-to-ember/
I am reading Rebecca Roanhorse. Her novel, "Black Sun", is a Hugo finalist this year and deserves to win. (Although I haven't read any of the other finalists yet. They probably all deserve to win.) She also writes YA Fantasy stories based on Navajo mythology. More here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4199
And I posted another chapter for my book, "Setting Up A Twitch Studio - Using Tech Creatively" called Backup Overview and Strategy. Yeah, I know. Boring. But essential!
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/806
Come to Inspired Unreality tonight to help Caper finish his song of reckless spending. One more page in Caper's Songbook, soon to be a minizine resource for bard's everywhere.
Spread the word.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
If I lose my data on my hard drive, whether the entire folder or just a screenshot, I can go to the backup and recover this file. That is the whole purpose of backups.
System backups allow you to restore your entire working environment, the OS, the drivers, the software installs, the data, etc. I don't do system backups. If I have a catastrophic failure I do a new install and then restore my data from backup.
Some businesses cannot live with the cash flow loss due to excessive downtime. They will have system backups and redundant sustems ready to be swapped in if necessary. Their hard drives will be mirrored and every time they write a bit it will be written to two drives. They will have daily, hourly, or real time offsite backups just in case the catastrophic data loss take the form of a tsunami or a tornado.
Needless to say this kind of full system backup is difficult to install and requires constant monitoring and maintenance. It is not really realistic for an artist's, writer's or gamer's creative project. So I am not going into system backups any further. There are software and hardware turnkey systems that perform both system backups and file backups. If this is what you need and you can afford it then this is what you should do.
Just like web promotion can take the other 100% of your time, backups can take the other 100% of your time. So try to be realistic.
File backups breakdown further into two different categories, active data sets and static data sets.
The data set described above is a static data set. The files are created in the course of a day or two and then it is unlikely they will ever be changed again.
My webdev folder and my Documents folder are active data sets. Each day, week, or other random interval I write to them. I change existing files and I create new files. It's a constant churn, hence active.
Backing up static data sets to optical discs like CDs, DVDs, or Blu-Ray works great. You work on a project. You finish the project. You write it to an optical disc. And you're good. I do this with my Something Blue radio production. When I'm done with each show I have three audio discs and a data disc. The data disc is my static backup.
I also have a backup server that is great for static data sets and not so good for active data sets. I use rsync, a command line file transfer program. I run it once a day on every home directory. If a file is new it gets copied to the backup server. If a file is changed it gets copied to the backup server. As long as this is working correctly I never lose a data file.
Which is great! But not so good for active data sets. Because if I have to recover an active data set and I go to this backup server I get all my files back. But I also get all my deleted files back. This is a feature, not a bug. This type of backup does not delete files so if I accidentally delete a file and I don't notice it right away I can still recover it from my backup server.
But it is also not so great. Because if I want to restore an active data set I want to restore all the files and none of the deleted files so I have the exact same data set that I lost.
The other thing not so great about my rsync data server is if I make a bad edit to a file and I don't notice it until tomorrow I then have two copies of the file with the bad edit and no copies the way the file was before I messed it up.
The solution to this problem is called versioning. A backup system that keeps older versions of the file as well as the current version. Computer geeks have been working this problem for a while and they are able to keep many versions of a file without using excessive disk space by keeping only the changed parts in what are called diff files. Computer programmers rely on versioning because computer programs are easy to break and sometimes a programmer needs to find the code that was in the program three versions back.
The most popular versioning program for computer programs is called git and was written by Linus Torvalds, the original author and maintainer of the Linux kernel. git can be used for other projects that require versioning as well.
I am installing a software called Restic on another backup server. This server will have mirrored drives in what is called RAID 1 so every bit will be written to two drives. Restic will handle both the exact mirroring of active data sets and the versioning. Perfect for active data sets.
Which is another thing about backups. As your projects change your backup needs change. So besides monitoring your backups to make sure they are working good and that you have plenty of disk space sometimes you have to reevaluate your backup needs and change or add to what you are already doing.
A moving target. Complicated. And tricky.
So, first line of defense. Include backups in your workflow.
After I perform a twitch stream there are two copies of the stream. One on the twitch website and one on the hard drive of the computer in my twitch studio. The first thing I do is create the folder for video post production on my primary work computer and then I copy the video file from my computer in my twitch studio onto my primary work computer. This is where I am going to do my video post production, where I have Openshot, VLC, GIMP, and other tools installed. So no matter how bad a mistake I make while extracting my videos from this file I do not mess up the original video file. I am working with a backup copy. As part of my workflow I make a backup copy. It's the first thing I do. And I never forget to do it or find out to late that my automated backup system jammed and didn't back it up.
If you only have one system, install another hard drive for your post production work so that you will have two copies of your original file on two different hard drives. So, your backup is integrated into your workflow and that drives equipment purchase. See how quickly we get back to the fun stuff.
Up above I talked about my optical backups for my Something Blue shows and I mentioned three audio CDs. My show is an hour long and the station needs it delivered in two parts so they can include a station break at the half hour. So I write Part 1 to a CD and I write Part 2 to another CD. I used to carry these CDs to the station but now I use Exact Audio Copy to turn each CD into a single mp3 file and I deliver these files to the station on the internet.
Then I create a CD with the whole show. I rip it with Exact Audio Copy to a single mp3 file that I upload to MixCloud. MixCloud has widgets so I can then embed the show on the Something Blue website, sbblues.com, or include it anywhere that I can post embeds. I also use this copy for syndication.
So these three CDs are audio backups of my finished product and they are made as part of the workflow. I also make three 29 second spots for KASU to air and to help promote the show on the internet. And I make my From The Archives Of Something Blue podcast that airs on Arkansas Roots on Wednesdays and Saturdays and that I also post to my funkwhale, my hairylarry.rocks blog, and to the Something Blue website.
There are, again, additional assets, a picture to promote the show and a picture to promote the podcast as well as the text files with all my spoken parts.
So after I'm done with all that and the show is done and uploaded and the podcast and promo spots are uploaded I make an optical backup of the folder to a CD or DVD. From this backup I could recreate the show or even change it if necessary, even if I lost the hard drive with the shows data.
And that brings me to synchronization, the third strategy. I have three systems with all the programs installed necessary to produce Something Blue. My main workstation, my office workstation, and our photo server. Network shares are great but they are not as quick and easy as working from the local hard drive so I use a program called SyncThing that works on Linux and Windows to synchronize my somethingblue folders on all three systems. So every time I make a change to a file or add a file it is automatically updated on three different systems. This is easy to set up and check, works in the background, and adds to my convenience as well as providing backup copies of my changes.
If I accidentally delete a file, synchronization will delete the file in all synchronized folders, so like all the other backup strategies discussed there are advantages and disadvantages. I think synchronization is best used along with some other file backup strategy. Since I installed SyncThing they have added versioning so If it works for you this should solve the problem of accidental deletions.
And the final strategy is cloud backup. There are companies, like Carbonite, that handle your backups for you over the internet. This is a one stop solution that handles file backups with versioning. There is a per computer monthly fee on their personal accounts that is not high for what they provide but if you are in a multi computer shop, like mine, these fees may add up. They also rely on your bandwidth instead of local hardware. So if you've got plenty of bandwidth, like most twitch streamers, and you have only one or two computers I recommend that you try them out. My brother works from a single laptop and uses Carbonite for his only backup strategy and he has recovered lost or damaged files with it. He also likes the fact that when he upgrades his computer all he has to do is install Carbonite and then let his computer churn away for a day or two while carbonite restores all of his work files in the correct folders and it's just like he's sitting down at his old computer, except faster.
So we have covered four strategies, system backup, file backup, synchronization, and cloud backup. The first three take work to setup and maintain. If cloud backup works for you it is the simplest solution. So if you do your production work on a single computer and you have good bandwidth start there.
If the cloud doesn't work for you start with optical backups of your production folders as part of your workflow. If you have an older computer it will work fine as a backup server using rsync or a file transer program with a GUI to backup your home folders daily. You will probably need to buy a hard drive. I buy 4TB HGST drives on ebay for about $65. It doesn't really matter if your backup drives are fast as long as they are reliable. So spend an extra few dollars for new drives even though I have had good luck with used HGST drives too.
And make sure that you don't have to spend too much time on your backups or they won't get done. Integrate manual backups to optical discs into your workflow and automate everything else.
After all, we're not here to make backups. We're here to create! Just don't forget that when it comes to computers failure is not if but when and make sure your backup strategies will allow you to recover your precious work.
Inspired Unreality is held every Monday night in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more info go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last week Ari and Caper worked on Caper's Song Book. And we started on a list of songs for the book. Then we wrote this.
Song of perception
tin tin aree tin tin aroo
look about look about could be you
jump about jump about one and two
tin tin aree tin tin aroo
To be sung by the whole party twice through to increases alertness and perception.
Here's a link to my post about Caper's Song Book.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/798
Carl Heyl linked to the Conan Artbook Kickstarter from the Troll Lords!
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4186
I added a chapter to my book in progress, Setting Up A Twitch Studio - Using Tech Creatively. The new chapter is about Web Promotion.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/801
What have you been reading? Join us tonight on Inspired Unreality and let us know. What have you been writing? Post a link. Do you use tech creatively? Comment on my post.
Please share this newsletter with your gaming friends.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
But I can't do that! I have a performance schedule and I have a production schedule and they take time.
What works for me is flowing out of performance into production and then into promotion as an integrated workflow. My performance takes production realities into account. The production work keeps the promotion in mind. And the promotion is designed to be easy to do. Because, believe me, you can spend endless hours typing descriptions into text boxes and it will keep you up all night if you let it.
So, health first.
And to explain further, when I wrote "My performance takes production realities into account." I meant, I really don't want to start the song with poorly played music so if I muffed it the first time around maybe I ought to play it again. And I mean that I work to keep my intros and outtros clean and editable so they don't give me a problem when I'm trimming that clip.
And for you it means something different, depending on your project. But whatever your project there will always be preparation, performance, and production cycles and thinking of prep and performance in terms of production helps you streamline your production workflow.
And tailoring your production to your promotion will also make your posting easier and better. Write your text so that it can be pasted into the description field of any social network and make sense. It should include all the links to your homepages where you initially upload and where information about you and your projects can be found. It should include license info so everyone knows when it's ok to share and what is not ok.
Video is great because it comes with it's own still, the paused video, but not all projects are video and not all websites handle video well so it's a good idea to prepare screen captures or other still photos as assets to help you with your promotion. I do one screen capture for each performance date and then I scale that same image down to web friendly sizes, in the hundreds of pixels high and wide instead of in the thousands.
I think of my servers as the trunk of the tree and posts to Youtube and other social networks as leaves that reveal a little bit about the tree and provide links to the trunk where everything is happening.
So the trunk of my tree is on two different servers, one of them sitting here to my right, as I type, running Yunohost web server software and peertube video sharing software. The other is the Live Music Archive at archive.org, the Internet Library. So two servers, one directly under my control and the other a library web service dedicated to preserving live music performances. That works for me.
The trunk of your tree may be anchor.fm and Youtube. It doesn't have to be your own server. It could be a free blog at wordpress.com and an account at Etsy. It depends on you and your project and your desires and requirements.
When the work is finished and ready to distribute post it to your trunk or your servers first. This should be part of your production workflow making the content available while you prepare your promotional text and other assets that go with each production.
So I post to the Live Music Archive first, audio and then video. By the time the video is uploaded, which can take a long time, the audio item is ready for some metadata tweaks so the mp3 versions of the songs carry the correct info right in the file.
Then I upload to peertube. My goal here is a playlist so part of my production workflow includes numbering the sets in order. I upload to peertube in performance order and create the playlist at the same time so it will also be in performance order. I add the link to the playlist into the text description. I also add the link to this peertube video to the text because this is the same text I will use everywhere and I want it to link back to me. That is to peertube.hairylarry.rocks.
Uploading to peertube goes really fast because I'm uploading to my own server right in my house. So the bits really fly across the LAN going possibly as far as my ISP and back but no farther.
I also have a nextcloud file backup and sharing service installed on my other server at the hairylarryland.com domain. I upload all of my assets, audio, video, screenshots, and text to a dated folder there. But it's not really part of the trunk because I don't build my promotion from there. It's more like a backup server than a promotional website.
Backing up all my files to the nextcloud server is also part of my production and promotion workflow. If you do your backups as a separate job sometimes they won't get done. Integrate your backups into your workflow where they are another important part of the whole process. Don't think of them as a separate chore.
I use a star system. 1 star means good enough for video production. 3 stars marks a song for extra promotion. So, if I have a three star song in the performance I upload it to Youtube. Otherwise I usually upload the first song in the playlist.
And when I get to the description field I copy and paste the text I already have on peertube. This includes a link to the playlist and to the video on my peertube. It also includes a link to the nextcloud files so potential collaborators can download best quality video files without having to deal with the Youtube or peertube processing.
You see, I haven't done any web collaboration with other musicians playing over my piano trio tracks yet but it is already built into the production workflow and the promotion because it's something I would like to do in the future.
And then I post the Youtube page everywhere because everyone is familiar with Youtube and all the websites work with Youtube videos.
Facebook sucks. I don't use it. You really shouldn't use it. That's a rant for another article. There are a large number of your fans that only use facebook and they never go anywhere else. There are a large number of your fans, like me, who never use facebook because facebook sucks.
So I post to facebook. From an earlier era I have a Hairy Larry facebook and I have a Delta Boogie facebook. When I'm done posting to Youtube they have a nice share screen which allows me to share my videos on facebook without actually going on facebook. So I post to Hairy Larry and then I post to a friends timeline to get Delta Boogie and I try to get out of there without any of the facebook stuff rubbing off on me.
I also use the Youtube share screen to post to the @hairylarryland twitter.
I also have a Friendica instance that puts me in the Mastodon Fediverse and I post the Youtube there because I have trouble embedding the peertube on Friendica. This shouldn't be the way it is because both peertube and Friendica reside in the same share space and can actually share messages with each other. So, when doing your promotion let pragmatism rule and do what works so you can get it done because you can also spend all night dealing with the intricacies of peer to peer social networks. Which you should do, if that's your thing. But I'm warning you, it's hard. Like Calculus. You have to learn how to think in a different way.
You also want to hope that you get all this done before your next scheduled performance. Because after you go through another production cycle and you have new work to promote you should spend your time promoting that.
A bard's songbook is like a magician's spell book in that it contains words of power, songs for wind, songs for rain, songs to make the fire burn hotter and warm the room, songs of companionship to warm the heart.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/797
Ari and Caper worked on Caper's Song Book last night on Inspired Unreality.
First we worked on a list of songs.
Song to make people dance
Song to make people alert
Song to make people like me AKA the opening numbers
Song of reflection
Song of hope
We renamed Song to make people alert to
Song of perception
tin tin aree tin tin aroo
look about look about could be you
jump about jump about one and two
tin tin aree tin tin aroo
and we wrote the lyric.
To be sung by the whole party twice through to increases alertness and perception.
The bard leads the song. The party sings it twice around. Just that helps. Some DMs may give pluses or advantage on perception and other pertinent rolls.
We had a great time and I look forward to filling in more blank pages in Caper's Song Book in the future.
Next week, Monday, August 2, is the first Monday of the month and we will be discussing Fantasy and Science Fiction literature.
I'm reading "The Broken Sword" by Poul Anderson. As they set sail to the frozen north he writes this.
"Let us away," said Mananaan. He and Skafloc stepped into the boat from the small dock and raised the glowing sail. The man took the steering oar while the godling struck a chord on his harp and sang:
Wind I call you, old, unresting,
from the deeps of sea and sky.
Blow me outward on my questing,
answer me with eager cry.
From the hills of home behind you,
out through shifting leagues of sea,
blow wind blow! My song shall bind you.
South wind, sea wind, come to me.
Come to set my vessel free.
At his music, a strong breeze sprang up and the boat surged forth into waves of cold and green that threw salt spray onto their lips.
- Poul Anderson, from "The Broken Sword"
I'm working on a song book for Caper. A song for wind, a song for rain, a song of warmth, a song of companionship, a song to give you courage.
If you have suggestions for Caper's book please leave them in the comments. Or if you have favorite bardsongs from fantasy literature or gaming point the way.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/796
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Monday week will be August 2, the first Monday in August so we will be talking about fantasy and science fiction stories. If you enjoy great fantasy literature like "The Broken Sword" please join us. And join us tonight to help Caper fill his song book.
I was talking to Carl about the witch's chicken scratch that we are inventing to fill Ari's teas and potions book that Tude found and he come up with the perfect name. Wikkenscratch. As in, "He held the book sideways and upside down but it didn't help. Scratching his head he complained, 'I can't read this wikkenscratch'."
And Megan helped me come up with a subtitle for my new book. "Setting Up A Twitch Studio - Using Tech Creatively". The subtitle hints that the book is actually more than a twitch how to. In fact, the book will apply to almost any creative endeavor where technology is part of the picture.
Robert S. Conley posted a blog, "The one I write about the popularity of RPGs and the explosive growth of digital sales. Using numbers from DriveThruRPG."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4176
So do you have a new blog post, vlog, or podcast about gaming? Let me know.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
I'm reading "The Broken Sword" by Poul Anderson. As they set sail to the frozen north he writes this.
"Let us away," said Mananaan. He and Skafloc stepped into the boat from the small dock and raised the glowing sail. The man took the steering oar while the godling struck a chord on his harp and sang:
Wind I call you, old, unresting,
from the deeps of sea and sky.
Blow me outward on my questing,
answer me with eager cry.
From the hills of home behind you,
out through shifting leagues of sea,
blow wind blow! My song shall bind you.
South wind, sea wind, come to me.
Come to set my vessel free.
At his music, a strong breeze sprang up and the boat surged forth into waves of cold and green that threw salt spray onto their lips.
- Poul Anderson, from "The Broken Sword"
I'm working on a song book for Caper. A song for wind, a song for rain, a song of warmth, a song of companionship, a song to give you courage.
If you have suggestions for Caper's book please leave them in the comments. Or if you have favorite bardsongs from fantasy literature or gaming point the way.
As another famous bard sang in another era,
The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind.
The answer is blowing in the wind.
- B.Z.
Ari, Caper, and the Milyagon witch have been decyphring teas and potions from a book written in Witch's Chicken Scratch. They have been gathering their knowledge into an herbal listing medicinal herbs and teas found around Milyagon including magical plants found in Wilken Woods, a magic forest with fey inhabitants. Here's a start.
mint - refeshing tea good for stomach discomfort
rose hips - also good in tea with charismatic properties
rose buds - used in love potions
lavender - used in teas and creams, helps with sleep, skin, and pain
chax - used in teas and potions, good for muscle aches and relaxing
yaloleaf - used in teas and potions, good for congestion and head colds
yellow flax - used for pain, swelling, and as an appetite suppressant
red vermilion - a poison used in red paint for artists
sweet lemon - used in teas for flavor and stomach distress
panacea - a red berry growing on cliff walls, good for healing and nausea
nightmare - a dangerous herb that can cause hallucinations in battle
sleep seed - in a tea acts like a sleep spell
babble plant - in a tincture with alcohol makes you talkative
scratch grass - grows in great fields and causes itching, untreated it can cause damage
mushrooms harvested in the moonlight under the ancestor tree, used in a cream for the ogres bunions
lard - base for burn medicine
honey drop sap from the honey drop tree, The honey drop tree is called that because it exudes a golden sap, it is a good base for skin medicines
scarlet pimpernel - field of brilliant red flowers with an odor that makes you want to turn and run, boil in water and strain keeping the water to thicken and sweeten teas and potions, used for pain relief and nausea
opium flowers - powerful pain relief, addictive
willow bark - used like aspirin for pain relief
cloves - used in teas an potions for nausea, colds, and pain
mead, wine, whiskey have their traditional medical uses
To be continued with Caper's help
mushrooms
smoking herbs
That is the herbal so far. Although some of the Milyagon herbs have real life equivalents most are just made out of whole cloth and the Milyagon Herbal should never be used for actual ailments.
Continuing with this project I plan on adding more recipes to Ari's book written in Witch's Chicken Scratch.
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Monday night at 9:00 in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been already here's an invite.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
I'm not sure but I think Ari and the Milyagon witch may have some help from the brownies fixing up their teas and potions. I've been working on my Witch's Chicken Scratch and there could be some decoding at hand.
I enjoyed Follow Me And Die's blog post about "Just in time for tomorrow's 12th anniversary of my blog, I wrote an article about Garage Con." This is a great idea and an interesting read.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4170
Adjacent posts from Hairy Larry about a busy day.
No game tonight so I'm going to have to work on something. First backup/media/intraweb server. Second Setting Up A Twitch Studio series about technical creative endeavors.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4168
I also have a DIY project to write up and videoize. How to build a usb foot switch to change scenes in Streamlabs OBS or other programs that use programmable hotkeys.
Plus now reading Poul Anderson's "The Broken Sword", his first fantasy novel.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4169
What are you reading? What's your favorite DIY? And as far as potions and teas?
Stay in touch.
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
What will we be discussing tonight? Nobody knows. Because, like Megan, we do what we want. Bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic.
I posted, "We had a good chat last night about Science Fiction and Fantasy literature starting with a discussion about Science Fiction as a late nineteenth and twentieth century phenomenon where Fantasy literature encompasses all of literature going back to the earliest written words. Now they are often indistinguishable. Then we discussed the dystopian trend in Science Fiction. The Golden Age (thirties and forties) saw mostly optimistic science fiction stories but in the second half of the twentieth century starting with the New Wave through today there has been a darker trend with many dystopian and post apocalyptic stories. Then closing the chat we each discussed our first experiences in Science Fiction."
What are your first experiences with Fantasy and Science Fiction? Join the discussion here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4153
ZDL shared a post about how we can let the kids improve our urban landscape.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4157
If you have ideas for our Fantasy and Science Fiction discussion post them here in the Related To Geeks Book Club group.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/28
Please post your links, game ideas, art, etc. to Gamer+. We want to know what you're doing. (Ok, that's not creepy at all.)
Stay in touch.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
We've already got some discussion going in my announcement thread.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4145
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/782
I added another post to my Setting Up A Twitch Studio series. Documentation. I try to teach by example. So, if you like to read documentation.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/785
This series of articles has turned out to be broader in focus than I thought they would be and the ideas discussed pertain to any technical creative endeavor. I need to take a big top down view and decide where I'm going with this.
And here are our twitch streams.
https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
Send me your links or post them to Gamer+.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Like workflow documentation isn't sexy. But also like workflow documentation is very important in any technical creative endeavor. Instead of waxing on about the joy of documentation I will include my Post Production and Upload document. Then at the end of the post I will address a few issues that the document raises.
HairyLarryLand Twitch Videos
Post Production And Upload Document
---
Log the show noting the songs in order.
Include song title, start time, end time, and other notes.
Star songs for video production. Three stars for extra promotion.
The show is logged from the twitch website so I am also doing quality control on the stream.
Produce videos of the starred songs in Openshot.
The assets are Title, Credits, and one or two clips.
Load a previously edited video as a starting point.
Save all the videos and the hard drive source recording in a dated folder, YYYY-MM-DD.
Videos are saved as song_name-YYYY-MM-DD.
After rendering each video I do a full viewing for pre upload quality control. I have found problems but even when there are no real problems I benefit educationally by another close viewing of my best performances.
Rename the videos adding NN_ as a prefix numbering the videos in playlist order. The playlist of all the videos produced for a certain date is a document of my performance on the twitch stream.
Take a screen shot from the first video and save it in the same folder as the videos. This is for promotion on the Live Music Archive and anywhere a photo is needed.
Use VLC to create mp3 audio files of each video.
This is done as a batch using Open Multiple Files and Convert.
Rename the mp3 files artist-album_title-NN_song_title where the album title is the date performed.
I do this using Thunar bulk rename which makes it easy.
Normalize the mp3 files with MP3DirectCut.
Make the song list in list.txt.
I do this by executing ls 0*.mp4 > list.txt in a bash shell and then editing the file with two search and replaces and manual editing when needed.
Make the notes.txt file for the Live Music Archive upload.
Copy the last show's notes.txt to the current folder and edit it changing the date and the playlist.
I now have all the assets ready for my file uploads.
Upload the mp3 files, notes.txt and the screenshot to the Live Music Archive.
The item ID is hlYYYY-MM-DD because this is recommended. Then the link will be like archive.org/details/hl2012-06-29.
Add the songs to my KGPL on demand internet radio station, HairyLarryLand Livestreams, at kgpl.org. I use a program I wrote to make it easy to add an entire concert. I also wrote KGPL and KGPL is GPL.
Upload the mp4 files and notes.txt to another item on the live music archive.
I use hlYYYY-MM-DD.video for my video link.
The mp3 files upload fast. The mp4 videos take longer.
At peertube.hairylarry.rocks create a playlist for the performance.
The playlist is called twitch.tv/hairylarryland June 27, 2021 with the date corrected.
Upload the videos to peertube one at a time.
I use a song.txt template for the song information so I only have to correct the date and then search and replace on the song title for each song.
I always add tags to peertube and the Live Music Archive. jazz, blues, piano, hairylarryland, twitch, livestream, etc.
After the video is uploaded add the link to the description and add the song to the playlist.
After all the songs are uploaded check the playlist
https://peertube.hairylarry.rocks/
Create a folder on the HairyLarryLand Nextcloud for the performance date.
Add the mp3 files and mp4 files to Nextcloud for download by collaborators and others. Also upload notes.txt and the screenshot. I can share these files by sending a link and I also include the link in the peertube descriptions. Create a markdown text file for each mp4 file and copy and paste the peertube description to that file.
https://hairylarryland.com/nextcloud/index.php/s/Z9RFW4QS6XGa3qo
All of this seems like a lot but it actually goes pretty fast and much of the time consuming part is unattended. Start the upload. After it's done do the next thing. I manage to keep up and I do three livestreams a week for 4-5 hours of video content total. I have streamlined this workflow to make this possible.
Promote the songs on Youtube, the fediverse, other social networks, websites, and blogs using the song links, playlist links, and download links.
Additional notes, issues not part of but raised by the procedure above.
---
Licensing - I license my songs Creative Commons Attribution which means anyone can use my songs in their projects as long as they include me in the credits. That's just me. It's what I do. Make stuff and give it away. When you make your decision about licensing I suggest you read through the information provided at the Creative Commons website. All Rights Reserved may not be the best choice for you.
Live Music Archive - I perform livestream concerts so the Live Music Archive works for me. If you are doing game streams, actual play, vlogs, cooking, or DIY archive.org also has a Community Video area which would probably be better for you. The Internet Archive is a library. Their service is free. They have embed code so you can share easily. They encourage sharing items on their site on other websites. All around double plus good.
https://archive.org/details/etree
https://archive.org/details/opensource_movies
Servers - Ok, I'm a computer geek. I did games and music before computers but computers were my career and they remain my hobby. I realize not everyone runs their own internet servers. So I recommend using archive.org as your primary server and then using Youtube and Tumblr or other web platforms for your daily updates and your pretty face. I also recommend the fediverse, programs like Mastodon, Friendica, Funkwhale, and Peertube. With these programs you can set up your own server but you don't have to. There are many fediverse instances with an existing lean to your area of interest that would be glad to have you participate.
If you want to run your own server I use two. The first is based on the famous LAMP stack, linux, apache, mysql, php. The second runs Yunohost.
Google lamp stack.
Best of luck in all your creatives endeavors.
Inspired Unreality is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been there's an invite here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
ZDL posted Deep Dive: OSR Critique about her actual experience in the OSR world when it was just called D&D.
"To establish my credentials, I have been playing RPGs of all kinds since 1977. My first exposure to the genre was the 1977 "Blue Book" edition and I have backfilled experience with the original books, not to mention gone forward into both branches of D&D (Advanced and what would later become the Cyclopedia). I played through the explosion of creativity in the '80s, witnessed the rise of story games (playing many of them, though not the White Wolf line of Storyteller games—I hated those), and continued through to the present day where I play intensely story-oriented games (FATE, Spark, Mythic, etc.) as well as some OSR or OSR-alike games (most notably Mazes & Minotaurs). I am emphatically not a young-un telling grandpa what's what. I'm one of the grandparents saying what actually was."
And she has some opinions. As always, a good read. In case you also have opinions there's a comment section.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/782
RickStump joined the Related to Geeks Book club group. Megan and I did the podcast for a year and then went on to bigger and better things. (Hello Flunking The Written and twitch) I still read every day and would love to have a monthly book discussion. So, starting next week and continuing the first Monday of every month the opening topic at Inspired Unreality will be science fiction and fantasy literature with frequent forays into SF&F movies and games.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/28
https://anchor.fm/flunking-the-written
https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
I posted a new photo gallery, The Masks Of The Zuni. If you are needing images of a witch doctor, shaman, or other all around weirdo these are public domain. There's even a bizarro Hairy Larry.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/104
See you tonight on Inspired Unreality open game chat. Next week, books. Post some pics. Join in on the OSR discussion. At Gamer+.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Our little hobby is filled with intriguing oddities. One of the most persistent such oddities is our weird tendency to take what is already a fringe subculture and cut it up into further warring fringes.
In the '70s (and even a bit into the '80s) the hobby was divided into the camp of wargamers (themselves divided into board and miniatures camps, not to mention by era) and role-players. This is where I entered the picture, and I came to it from a direction radically different than most RPGers of the time: I came at it from my high school drama flake crowd, not from the wargaming crowd. I especially saw a lot of the disdain hurled at the role-playing fantasists crowd because I not only played them, I exclusively played them and really didn't like wargames.
As the great creative explosion of the '80s began, more and more weird divisions happened, usually in feuding camps based on genre (since most RPGs of the time still lived firmly in their wargaming roots). This was also the era where "realism" vs. "playability" became an argument (despite no RPG ever written being even remotely realistic, and most were only barely playable: this is a hobby that demanded a degree of dedication to enter and be a part of!).
The '90s started to usher in the era of the "story-based" game (although the earliest of these were barely distinguishable in terms of rules focus from Dungeons & Dragons). This is where the largest divide of role-playing games started and what is likely the largest single cultural shift of the hobby began, as typified by the (pretentiously idiotic) phrase "role-playing vs. roll-playing".
The earlier divides were arguments over taste. Something in the loudest of the "story game" crowd stepped over a line from discussions of taste into very literal notions of "wrong fun". In many ways it was the stalwart wargamer crowd's disdain of the role-playing crowd all over again, only it was the newcomers who held the most disdain. The peak of this was likely the essays of people like John Wick or, worse, Ron Edwards who would start bizarrely hinting at (and sometimes openly stating) some kind of moral failing of those who preferred original-style dungeon bashes. It reached the point that to this day I can't stomach the notion of actually buying a product published by some major names in gaming. (And, naturally, because we can't have nice things, a lot of OSR advocates are just as disdainful of people who play differently as are people like the two I named above. I'll just drop James Raggi's name here for that.)
And it was in the midst of this acrimony that sometime in the early '00s the OSR sprung up. (OSR is an initialization I've seen expanded as Old School Revival, Recreation, Renaissance, and other such R words to the point I'm not sure which one is actually canonically correct, so I will just be using OSR.) The OSR is a movement to return back to basics. Back to E. Gary Gygax's original D&D. To return to a time of simplicity. It's a movement born of people wearing pink-tinted contact lenses because—hoo boy!—this is not a good description of the rules of the time!
There is a reason why the original edition of D&D was not the dominant one over the decades and that reason is not just, as has been claimed, a money-grab by TSR and others.
To establish my credentials, I have been playing RPGs of all kinds since 1977. My first exposure to the genre was the 1977 "Blue Book" edition and I have backfilled experience with the original books, not to mention gone forward into both branches of D&D (Advanced and what would later become the Cyclopedia). I played through the explosion of creativity in the '80s, witnessed the rise of story games (playing many of them, though not the White Wolf line of Storyteller games—I hated those), and continued through to the present day where I play intensely story-oriented games (FATE, Spark, Mythic, etc.) as well as some OSR or OSR-alike games (most notably Mazes & Minotaurs). I am emphatically not a young-un telling grandpa what's what. I'm one of the grandparents saying what actually was.
And what actually was was a mess. Don't get me wrong. I don't judge the OSR and, indeed, I like its ideals: simplicity chief among them. I think modern games have gotten ridiculously and pointlessly complicated and as someone who works in marketing, I can even smell the marketing decisions that led to that. I would love to have a game in the old style to play (and indeed do in the form of M&M).
I just don't want to play the original D&D.
So let's talk about why.
I have open on my screen the so-called "White Box" set of rules. The three-volume set of Dungeons & Dragons published by Tactical Studies Rules in 1974 before they even had the TSR logo. (Their logo looked like a bizarre stylized 'K' embedded in a similarly stylized 'G'.) And already we're off to a rocky start. On page 5 of the first book (Men & Magic) we have the recommended equipment which includes ... Chainmail miniature rules, latest edition. Which, note, at the time of publication, wasn't even a TSR product.
Time to open another document. (Picture me rolling my eyes here.)
The current edition of Chainmail at the time would have been 2nd. The third was 1975, a year after D&D was published, while 2nd was 1972. So this is the version we'll go with.
Back to D&D. And here we get to the next problem with this edition of D&D (which I will refer to as OD&D from now on): the writing. It's atrocious. The information design is execrable. Gary Gygax had a large vocabulary, but he had no clue how to use it to deliver information. His writing style lies somewhere between the ponderousness of an academic frightened of clear communication because it would reveal how trivial the ideas under discussion actually are and a middle school essay writer earning his D+ marks throughout the term. On page 6, for example, under the heading of "Characters", he introduces the 3 main classes of characters: Fighting-Men, Magic-Users, and Clerics. Then, buried in the description of what these classes even are, he throws in the fact that fighting men can "include" elves, dwarves, and even halflings while magic-users can only be men and elves with clerics limited to men only.
(From the way it is worded it is easy to mistakenly think that men can only be magic-users and clerics, incidentally.)
In the section on Fighting-Men (referred to multiple times as "fighters" in the text because consistency in game terminology is for cowards?) there's a bizarre section irrelevant to the topic at hand consisting of base income for fighters of high enough a level. In the section outlining Magic-Users there's a sudden table of income costs for making magic items. In the section on Clerics there's more talk of income from high-level clerics and holdings. NONE OF THIS IS RELEVANT. The game is discussing stuff that comes at "end-game" (so to speak) for characters before they've even actually finished off what a character is and how to make one! It's very clearly written stream-of-consciousness and it's a chore to decode. THIS is why the Basic line was started and expanded into the Cyclopedia. Gary Gygax's writing style is just not suited to actually explaining things!
And it continues on and on in this vein: opening up with the classes, introducing the classes, and mentioning races only in passing, suddenly, on the very next page, right after talking about Clerics, races are introduced at the same heading level in a jarring transition. Each is defined solely by what it can and cannot do. There's no explanation of what a "dwarf" or "elf" or "halfling" really is. Maybe that's what you need Chainmail for? Yep. That's where the races are described. (Though there's no "halflings". Only hobbits.) Further the races' advantages and abilities are explicitly specified in Chainmail. You really do need Chainmail to play OD&D!
Alignment is handled in the same kind of slap-dash way: character types are defined by alignment, but alignment itself is not described (not even in Chainmail!).
This mess goes on and on. There's rules for changing character classes that reference prime requisites, but prime requisites for classes haven't yet been defined! (They do have the decency to forward-reference this, but this is utter crap information design. We've known how to write better than this for centuries before D&D was written!)
Once you do decode this, the rules for making characters are, indeed, very simple. It's just that the writing is so phenomenally bad that D&D rapidly became known as a game that you couldn't just buy and learn. You had to have it taught to you.
And one of the purported advantages of the aulde skool rears its ugly head here: it is explicitly intended (according to the introduction) to be merely guidelines. So what you were taught wouldn't transfer well to other groups…
Of course when you played, again you needed Chainmail according to the rules thus far. We're on page 18 of the rules and half the rules mentioned explicitly call out to Chainmail for resolution. Page 19 introduces the "alternative" combat system that replaces Chainmail's in which we see the beginning of the THAC0 system that was so beloved in later years. And again it's incoherent dross. The hit table only applies to fighters. Magic-Users and Clerics use different progressions mentioned in an asterisked footnote. This is also where the infamously bizarre categories of saving throws make their first appearance. To this day I don't understand these categories, why they were made, what they were intended to represent. I only know that it was really weird seeing rules in later editions say "save vs. paralyzation" for things that had nothing to do with paralyzation, just because those were the numbers the designer of the monster or trap or whatever liked best.
And of course the saving throw matrix manages to be incoherent there as well, interlacing levels and classes in bizarre ways making it awfully hard to figure out which is which when using it.
Anyway, I think I've made my point here. The rules were awful. They were incoherently written. They relied on an outside book (then published by another publisher!) to actually use. And on top of everything else, they covered so very little that, quite ironically, to use them meant the referee (DM being a later term!) had to make things up on the fly all the time. Just like the "GM fiat" games that many OSR advocates deride now.
They're god-awful rules!
And note, I'm not saying here that the rules should cover every possible contingency. In that direction lies madness (also known as Chivalry & Sorcery)! But what the rules should provide (and emphatically don't!) is a coherent framework for adjudication.
Now D&D has an excuse. It was the first game of a kind nobody had ever seen before. Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax deserve the accolades they get for having made it and popularized it. I will never cast shade on the giants who made the very hobby I love so well! But I absolutely will cast shade on the people who think that OD&D was the best of all possible times to the point of wanting to return to it.
Not casting shade in the "wrongfun" sense either, but rather in the "are you really sure?" sense. Because yes, there is a lot of the OSR vibe I love. I just don't like the game at the core of it and I think an attempt to return to that in specific, even if rewritten to be more coherent, is doomed to failure. I think there is room for the OSR concept: simple, fun-focused, hack-and-slash or exploration-oriented, pick-up-and-play games that also have room for depth and soul but that don't have a need for the millions of pages of rules for every contingency. For the concepts behind D&D, but concepts executed with now nearly 40 years of design experience to get it right.
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
There is an ongoing discussion thread on this topic at Gamer+. This will be the starting point for Inspired Unreality tonight.
Draklorx wrote "I think this is a cool aspect of old school games that isn't common anymore. I love the grittiness of it, and the mixed levels never bothered me when I played. ... That said, for a dungeon master it's much easier to do milestone leveling and have all the players be the same level."
ZDL wrote, "There are several aspects of old school games I like, most notably the increased diversity that randomness tended to cause.
The wildly divergent capabilities of characters, however, was not one of them. In the presence of most GMs, having the weakest character meant a) dying, or b) not having anything to do. Neither of these is really conducive to enjoyment."
hairylarry wrote "And then there's the whole non combat side. The role playing, puzzle solving, exploration part where characters of all levels are more equal and the results depend more on the player than on PC stats."
hairylarry wrote "There is a built in premise in OSR games. PCs need XP to level up. You get XP by killing monsters. So, let's go kill some monsters. At a lot of tables that is the game. To me, it's a side show and as I get older I run more games that are all exploration and role play without any combat at all."
CarlHeyl wrote, "I'd like to add that in the oldest of old school most of your XP came from earning treasure not killing monsters. Which means two things 1. You don't have to fight that big bad monster if there was a way around it to get the treasure behind it. and 2. Your lower level character would level very rapidly because of the amount of gold the higher level party was able to procure."
If this interests you there's more here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4131
Worldbuilding Magazine is proud to present our June 2021 issue: Cosmology. We’ve taken a step back from our usual in-depth look at the details of worldbuilding and this time we’re talking about the cosmos.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4133
I hope to see you tonight on Inspired Unreality to hear you opinions about mixed parties. Or you can log on to Gamer+ and share your thoughts.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
My stream schedule has been changed. Tuesday and Thursday at 3:00 PM Central. Sunday at 5:00 PM Central. Some Sundays my band, Bebop Beatniks, will be streaming from the porch.
If you are producing videos from your twitch streams like I talked about in the last article most streamers post to Youtube. I have an active Youtube channel and I do post there but it's actually the 4th place I post and Youtube won't see every video.
It's important to have a posting strategy and a procedure that makes posting easy. I use a notes.txt file in a dated folder for the stream performed on that date. This notes.txt file is very much the same for every show. The playlist is changed. The date is changed, and occasionally comments are added. So I work from a template modifying it as necessary for each stream.
I also have a template for posting songs. Again I only change the date, the song title, and add an occasional comment.
So, for me, playlists are important. I deal in sets of short videos that are related, in my case all performed on the same day. So if you're going to produce highlights videos from your game stream you may want to put them in a playlist so viewers can go through all of them easily.
And here's where it gets kind of geeky. The first place I post my videos is to my own servers.
Most people don't run web servers at home so this probably won't apply to you but it is an option every production studio should consider because uploads to in house servers don't take nearly as long as uploads to The Live Music Archive or Youtube.
On my right I have the Hairy Larry Rocks server hosting my peertube.
https://peertube.hairylarry.rocks
On my left I have my MixRemix server that also hosts HairyLarryLand.
Let's say I played a stream and then I produced 4 song videos from the stream.
I number the songs based on their order in the set as logged in my logbook.
I create a playlist for the stream.
I upload each video to my peertube using the songs.txt template so I don't have to do a lot of typing. After it's posted I add the link to the video into the text and I add the video to the playlist.
This goes really fast because these large mp4 files never leave the house. Nevertheless, as soon as I am done the songs are available on the internet and I can click a share button to link or embed the videos.
On my HairyLarryLand server I have a file sharing program called NextCloud. After I have finished uploading to peertube I create a folder for the stream and upload all the video files to NextCloud. Then I create a text file for each song and copy the exact same text I used for the songs on peertube. When that is done all of my highest quality video files are available for download here.
https://hairylarryland.com/nextcloud/index.php/s/Z9RFW4QS6XGa3qo
Why both?
The peertube interface is user friendly making it easy for viewers to find and share videos. It is even possible for other peertube instances to include my songs for people to enjoy from there.
The NextCloud interface is a file manager where you can download the best quality videos as rendered by OpenShot. So if someone wants to collaborate with me or just wants to download best quality that's the place to go.
The song.txt template cross links both of these sites so it is easy to switch between interfaces from a Youtube like federated social network to an all business file manager for downloading what you want.
In the next article I will discuss uploading videos to the Live Music Archive and Youtube. I am also uploading mp3 files of the audio to the Live Music Archive and I plan on making them available on my on demand KGPL internet radio station.
\os Hx/s
\os \u/s
^x^+
Tonight! On Inspired Unreality Ari and the Milyagon witch continue researching the potion book that Ari's cat Tude found near the witch's garden. So far they have tested a brew that enables far sighted telescopic vision. When stirred with the silver wand King Groads sent to the witch they also enabled microscopic vision. A kind of a scrying tea with a twist. They have decrypted another recipe that may be a love potion.
Join us on Inspired Unreality tonight to test a love potion or just to chat about gaming. Everyone is welcome. All gaming is on topic.
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chatrooms every Monday night at 9:00 at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Every gamer knows about thieve's cant, words and symbols only thieves know. Inspired by Ari's book discovered on Inspired Unreality I am working on Witch's Chicken Scratch, a kind of shorthand that witch's in the past used to record the exact ingredients in their teas and potions. Since they knew their ingredients and how they blended them together all they needed was a short list to remind them exactly what they used.
Silent letters ignored, past witch's scrawled geometric figures in neat rows as a way of remembering their recipes while at the same time concealing them from prying eyes. Witches do love their secrets.
Ari and the Milyagon witch have deciphered two recipes so far. One is at the top of the page. Here are the witch's notes that she made while reseaching the book.
m = ^
n = ^
v = v
t = +
l = |
r = \
d = /
o = o
u = u
w = w
other vowels = x
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4126
See if you can decipher the recipe at the top of this newsletter.
Maybe it's a mood elevator.
Or maybe it's a love potion.
Join us tonight and maybe we'll find out.
After drinking this Tea of Prescience I can see another Milyagon minizine in the future, "Tea Recipes In Witch's Chicken Scratch".
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
m = ^
n = ^
v = v
t = +
l = |
r = \
d = /
o = o
u = u
w = w
So
mint = ^x^+
lemon = |x^o^
lavender = |xvx^/x\
So it's just a substitution code but all the marks are very easy to write and, coincidentally, easy to type.
Inspired Unreality is held at 9:00 PM Central every Monday night in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
I posted another article about Setting Up A Twitch Studio where I discuss workflow. In any job workflow is important. In video production a streamlined workflow is essential. I know workflow sounds boring and wonky but it's not. This may be the most important article in the series.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/775
Gamer+ Gamers Do Stuff
Peter_R posted Troika Cards! Woo Hoo! to his Solo Roleplaying & Game Mastery blog.
https://www.ppmgames.co.uk/2021/02/09/troika-cards-woo-hoo
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Peter_R
TheEvilDM posted another episode to his actual play podcast, The World of Arkonis Episode 51 – Evil Lair 3, is this the one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGZrFFLGH4M
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/TheEvilDM
If you're doing stuff let me know. I want to add your stuff to Gamer+ News.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Everyone wants to buy equipment but nobody wants to think about workflow. Yet, without a well defined idea about anticipated workflow it's difficult to even know what equipment to buy.
One of the advantages of livestreaming is simplified workflow. For instance.
Prepare for the stream.
Do the stream performance.
Check your stats.
Twitch keeps your streams online and it's possible to download them if there's one you want to save. I press the record button in Streamlabs OBS and record everything. So I need big hard drives, video eats disk space. This is how workflow drives equipment purchases.
My workflow is more complicated because my livestream is also a video production environment. I am livestreaming my shows. But I am also producing song videos of me playing my original songs. This is where workflow is most important.
Because there's this thing about video production. It's time consuming. So if you're going to do a lot of video production it's important to simplify your workflow or you end up bogged down in post production. This leads to the dreaded post production backlog where you are unable to keep up and end up with unwatched video footage that you worked to make but will never see the light of day.
The only way I know of to avoid post production backlog is to finish with post before you produce more video. When your performance is on a schedule, like mine, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 3:00 PM Central, you have to be able to zoom through post production and uploading your videos. There is only two or three days until the next performance.
So here's my workflow.
Pre Production
Write songs.
Create backing tracks.
Learn the songs well enough to practice them.
Production
Perform the stream which is livestreamed over twitch, recorded on twitch, and recorded on my hard drive.
Post Production
Log the show.
Create the song videos.
Upload the videos to my peertube instance for easy viewing and to my NextCloud file sharing site for best quality downloads.
https://peertube.hairylarry.rocks/video-channels/twitch/videos
https://hairylarryland.com/nextcloud/index.php/s/Z9RFW4QS6XGa3qo
Promotion
Share links to the songs on my blogs, websites, and social media.
Upload song videos to Youtube or other websites.
I will do an article on promotion later.
Now I want to discuss Post Production and just how I manage to produce a handful of song videos every two days.
I watch the whole show on twitch logging the songs start and end times and marking the songs that should be excerpted for song videos. I add other comments while logging. Most commonly I note where the song video should begin because I don't always hit the groove right from the top.
This takes a little bit longer than it took to play the stream. Producing the log is only part of the purpose here. I am also monitoring my stream quality as viewed on twitch and I am learning from my performance.
For editing my videos I use OpenShot because of ease of use.
I load the stream recorded to the hard drive into OpenShot and I do a rough cut of the songs beginning and end.
I zoom in and fix the cuts to exactly where i want them. I leave the spoken intros and outtros where possible.
I use templates for my title and credits screens changing only the song title. I add them to the video and I place the fades to go from title to video and from video to credits.
This goes really fast. While I still have the song loaded in the editor I do a quality control viewing. Sometimes I decide the song isn't really good enough to post. Sometimes I choose different edit points. Most of the time I am happy with the song and deem it ready to upload. So besides checking the song I am also doing another learning pass listening again to my best performances. So I play the song, log the song and select it for post production, and then I listen again for quality control. This repeated listening may be the most valuable part of my piano practice.
Sometimes I want to include the spoken intro and then start the song later in the performance. This takes only one extra cut. To avoid a jump cut I zoom in on the spoken part so it's just a video of me talking. Then when I start playing I'm back to full screen making a very natural transition. Here's an example.
Bunnies
https://peertube.hairylarry.rocks/videos/watch/955242be-6dd2-45f9-b2cb-a09a49b15a1a
Here's a video from the same show without the zoomed in intro.
Eventually
https://peertube.hairylarry.rocks/videos/watch/ebdd8dcb-cfde-413d-b7ec-fbbad81d6e9a
Today's Monday. My last stream was two hours on Saturday. I logged the stream Saturday night. Sunday I produced Something Blue and uploaded it to KASU. So today I get to produce eight song videos. I know I will be able to finish this today, no problem, because of my streamlined workflow.
Because tomorrow I'll be playing another show.
Tonight on Inspired Unreality join Ari and Caper in their quest for mushrooms and tea. At least that's what we did last week when Ari's cat, Tude, found a book, Ari and the witch deciphered a tea blend from one of the pages in the book, Caper went to the woods to hunt for mushrooms, the witch brewed the tea, and when Ari and the witch drank the tea they became far sighted and could see Caper leaving the woods several miles away as if they were looking through a powerful telescope. What will happen next? Nobody knows. Because we're winging it.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4113
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Monday night in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Those who are Related To Geeks finally reconvened in person after over a year of getting together in Zoom and on Gather. At our Saturday family game we fought the giant ants that invaded Fair Day. On Sunday we restored a wizard who had been turned to stone. We also ate a lot and talked a lot and I played piano. Great weekend, especially that last part.
Follow Me And Die posted a new podcast, Episode 197 - Down the Rabbit Hole of UAPs/UFOs. "With the recent buzz over the release of some videos of various sensor data of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, the new term for UFO, I decided to explore "What if...." and apply it to the realm of RPGs." He also posted a companion blog post.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4114
Saturday afternoon I had my family participate on my twitch stream. I set up on the front porch using all battery operated equipment, piano, PA, tablet, laptop, and a hotspot on my phone. There were some problems. The battery died on the laptop and I had to plug it in. Webcams are not good in daylight. I am working on these issues and will discuss them in a blog post, Setting Up A Twitch Studio - Going Portable after I figure them out.
You are invited to join Ari and Caper tonight on Inspired Unreality. Please update us on your games and projects. My contact info is below or better yet post to Gamer+.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Join Ari and Caper and Tude (Ari's cat) as their adventures unfold. What will happen next? Nobody knows. Cause we're winging it.
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tenkars Tavern we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Here's a shout out to Follow Me And Die for 44 years of D&D. I've been playing for 30 years. How long have you been adventuring? Add your story to the comments here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4109
I added another post to my series, Setting Up A Twitch Studio. This week it's all about free software for streaming.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/768
After I finish these blogs Megan and I will have to get back together to compare notes on where twitch has taken us. What is your experience with twitch? We'll both be glad to compare notes with you too.
Here's our links.
https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
Stay in touch.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Here's the good news for a change. The software needed to set up a twitch stream is free.
I am using Streamlabs OBS as my streaming platform. Before that I used OBS. These are both free software. I used OBS recording audio only podcasts but for my twitch stream I wanted to view the live chat as part of the stream, and not just see the chat on the twitch interface. Streamlabs OBS supports that so that's how I get my live chat on the left side of the stream.
https://streamlabs.com/
To display my tablet playing iReal Pro on the right side of my stream I use scrcpy, also free software.
https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy
I had to download and install a windows driver for my Zoom H6. No charge for the driver and the install was painless. I use the Zoom as an interface between my PA and my computer.
I am planning on implementing the ability to record multitrack to make it easier to collaborate with other musicians. Pro Tools First is a free download and Pro Tools is the industry standard for sharing audio files.
https://www.avid.com/pro-tools
I use Openshot for video post production. I like it. I even use their titling templates. It makes life easy.
https://www.openshot.org/
I am using VLC to monitor my videos. Under tools I can view the codec information to make sure I'm recording everything right. VLC will also compress your video files in case they end up too large.
https://www.videolan.org/
GIMP is my photo editor. Video producers need photo editors the same as anyone else.
https://www.gimp.org/
Some of this software is open source. Some is not. But it is all free to download and install. Which is good news because twitch can be an expensive hobby.
Next week I'll discuss workflow and backups. Can't wait.
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you are new to Tenkar's Tavern, a notorious drinking hole for OSR discussion, we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Ari, Caper, and Tude survived Feyland after an exchange of gifts with King Groads. They are on Wilkin Way heading back toward Milyagon after their three fey friends helped them return. Tintee danced up a fairy circle that opened up into the rapids. Quin went through first and got all wet so when he came back Tintee danced up another fairy circle and this one went to the owl's eyrie just north of Wilkin Way. After feasting on the mushrooms Caper found (his gift was he would be lucky finding mushrooms in the woods) they said goodbye to Tintee, Quin, and Pantoo.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4099
I have added another post to my twitch series, Setting Up A Twitch Studio - Equipment. Here's the link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/764
Have you played Keep On The Borderlands? Of course you have. At the Save Or Die podcast they discuss B2 or not B2?
"The Keep on the Borderlands! The name alone evokes images of battling monsters in caverns and wilderness in the earlier days of Dungeons & Dragons. But is the module really all it’s cracked up to be! The Sodcast discusses the good, bad, and chaotic of the most famous basic module."
http://saveordie.info/?p=1990
Post you adventures on Gamer+. Everything takes equipment whether it's webcams or miniatures. Let us know about your recent equipment aquisitions.
And have you done any role playing on twitch? Just how does that work? I am very interested in this and would like to cover it on Inspired Unreality and in my twitch series.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
It's important to know the big idea for a twitch stream before talking about equipment. Different streams have different equipment needs from top to bottom.
A very common idea is the streamer playing games while they talk to their audience in a small window. This only needs one camera but it needs a really good computer or game console.
Another popular twitch topic is DIY that streams only live video. So the computer needs are less but this type of stream might benefit from multiple webcams providing multiple scenes. A scene is a single shot or several shots combined on a screen. DIY crafts streams often benefit from a top down view so that would be a scene but another scene showing the streamer talking to the audience might also be desirable.
So this is why it's important to work towards an idea when gathering equipment for your twitch stream.
Since I play piano on my stream I opted for a single scene made up of four elements, a shot of me playing, a top down shot of the piano keyboard, a window showing my tablet running iReal Pro for the chord change and backing track, and a window for the chat box.
I have a nice T420 laptop with an i7, 16 gig of ram, and an Nvidia card. I used it to test some of my ideas and it did fine streaming from the built in webcam but when I set up multiple windows with Streamlabs OBS the whole thing bogged so bad that it was unusable. I hope to use this laptop for field streaming but that is a work in progress that I will write about later exploring the idea of running a stream wherever you want using all battery operated equipment.
So, I needed a more powerful computer. I needed two webcams. My old tablet wouldn't work with scrcpy so I needed a newer tablet. And, as always with video production I needed lights. Fortunately I already have audio recording equipment. I am using my Zoom H6 for an audio interface and an Audio Technica AT4055 for my microphone. I also have tripods and mic stands but I do some carpentry DIY for stands as well.
Here's what I got.
On ebay I bought an HP Z640 Workstation, Xeon E5-2620 2.40GHz, 32GB, 1TB, NVIDIA Quadro K2200 Video, Windows 10. This cost around $325 with shipping and taxes. Since 1 TB is not enough disk storage for an extended video project I added 2 HGST 4 TB drives in a RAID 1 configuration using Win 10 Storage Spaces. These ran about $105.
To update my tablet I bought a 10.5 inch Samsung Galaxy Tab A SM-T597 32GB, Wi-Fi for about $100 used in excellent condition.
I bought two Audkey webcams for about $30 each.
And for lights I got two 8.5 inch clamp on utility lamps and daylight bulbs for about $20.
Really, that's it.
Computer --- $325
Hard Drives - $105
Tablet ------- $100
Webcams --- $60
Lights ------- $20
-------
Total -------- $610
So my whole setup to implement my big idea costs less than a high end graphics card required for twitch game streams. At megantopia my daughter spent more than twice this amount for her gaming computer.
I'll continue this series next week. Future topics will include bandwidth, DIY, field streaming, post production, and more. Please ask any questions in the comments.
Also, please contact me if you use twitch to play RPGs. I am very interested in this.
Here's our links.
https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
Ari and Caper were joined by Droggin the dwarf and Quinthalas the elf on their quest into feyland. The Milyagon witch has a message for King Groads, who is only a king on his own property. We meet our friends the fairies from our previous quest to Wilkin Woods and they don't have much use for the pretend king. But we still get along with them fine and they do show us the way. We are standing outside his gate hoping to complete our quest and hurry back home. Feyland is nice ... but dangerous.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4093
Join us every Monday night at 9:00 Central for Inspired Unreality open game chat held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
ZDL has big news. "The greatest epic fantasy movie put to video has finally been released!" Baelin (Rowan Bettjeman), a simple background NPC in the video game, Skycraft, has been walking the same route for as long as he can remember.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4094
I wrote a blog post about Setting Up A Twitch Studio - The Big Idea. "It's all Megan's fault. When she set up https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia Vivian and I started watching. Before that I knew it was a popular site for live gaming but twitch flew under my radar. Once I saw what Megan was doing and I started to understand how twitch worked, and how it can be used for videos that are not about gaming, I became interested."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/761
Are you on twitch? Have you watched a good video or read a book? Have you ever been to Feyland? Let us know on Gamer+.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
It's all Megan's fault. When she set up https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia Vivian and I started watching. Before that I knew it was a popular site for live gaming but twitch flew under my radar. Once I saw what Megan was doing and I started to understand how twitch worked, and how it can be used for videos that are not about gaming, I became interested.
The problem with video production is post production. Post production is a lot of work. It takes a long time. There's always a few more tweaks that can make it a little bit better. It can wear you out.
Live streaming takes post production out of the equation. Like the evening news it happens in real time, it's as good as it is, and it's done when it's done. There's no post production and even when videos are excerpted from the stream post production is minimal.
The tradeoff for no post production is the setup. Sure, you can stream with just a laptop, phone, tablet, or game machine. But since it goes out live with no post that can be dull. The goal is a live show that's entertaining. It can be high energy or chill but it can't be boring. So you have to put a lot of thought into the desired look of your stream and then figure out the hardware and software to achieve that look.
The key element is OBS, Open Broadcaster Software.
I have used OBS for recording podcasts on Discord but I didn't realize it's real power until I started using it for twitch videos. OBS is free and open source. The good thing about that is that it's legal for others to build on it. For my stream I chose Streamlabs OBS because of the ease of setup and features like the onscreen chatbox and the ability to include running programs in the stream. You can do these things with OBS too and there are other options to explore but my most direct route was Streamlabs OBS.
I watched several videos on Youtube about setting up streaming for DIY streams and other streams that use live video instead of gaming screens as their primary focus. This opened my eyes to what is possible and led me to dream about what I actually wanted to do and how I wanted to setup my screen to be helpful and interesting.
So here's my big idea.
The name of my stream is Hairy Larry Practicing Piano. A big part of why I wanted to do the stream is to add discipline to my piano practice. I practice every day and sometimes for several hours a day. But what I was missing in my practice was scheduled rehearsal of a specific repertoire. My twitch stream provides that.
And choosing my repertoire I decided to practice all songs that I wrote. This avoids copyright issues and it allows me to tailor the repertoire to the stream. Practicing improvisation is easiest with short changes that have one or two interest points. Baby steps.
And so once I decided what I wanted to do on my stream I began to visualize the screen. I wanted the central focus to be me, practicing. I wanted to be able to pull a microphone over to talk to the audience and sing but I also wanted to be able to push it off shot for instrumental numbers. I wanted an angle shot that would show my hands on the keys. And I wanted it to feel like a live jazz show.
There are many musicians teaching jazz piano on the internet and they almost always have a top down view of the piano keyboard across the bottom of the screen. I like that, it's helpful and visually appealing. So I decided to include that in my screen layout.
I am using iReal Pro for my backing tracks providing bass and drums. The iReal Pro screen shows the chord symbols and highlights the chord being played. I wanted to include that screen as part of my display.
Twitch uses text chat for the audience and voice chat for the performer as it's standard chat format. The performer can also type but it's easier just to talk and shout outs from the performer to viewers in the chat box are the way it's done. So I wanted to include the text chat on the screen to provide context for my shout outs and other responses to the ongoing text chat.
And I wanted to be chill. Many people use twitch as background noise while they go about their business. I wanted it to be easy for people to just let my stream play in the background, enjoying the music, without having to be fully engaged. Kind of like Bob Ross or Mr. Rogers but practicing piano instead of painting or telling stories.
So that's my big idea. In future posts I will discuss equipment, both purchased and DIY, software setup, extracting videos from the stream, bandwidth issues, and even home renovation.
In the meantime you can enjoy my stream here.
This actual play adventure is open for everyone. We will be playing in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. The game starts at 9:00 Central. Everyone is welcome.
If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
I'm reading the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull and so far I'm impressed. My thoughts are here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4088
Sound muses on the end of the school year and what it means to grandparents.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4089
Besides my weekly Gamer+ News I also do a monthly Delta Boogie newsletter that's more music and less games but still usually some of both. This month it's about Megan and I on twitch.
Megan and I are both on twitch.
https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
Megan plays indie games and I practice piano. I've been excerpting the best bits from my practice sessions and turning them into videos.
Here they are up on Hairy Larry Rocks Peertube.
https://peertube.hairylarry.rocks/video-channels/twitch/videos
I also have them up on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/hairylarry/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=0
Enjoy!
Are you on twitch? Send me your link.
I am planning on adding a twitch section to the Gamer+ RSS feeds found in the footer of every page on Gamer+. If you do streaming let me know so I can add you too. Have you had any experience playing D&D on twitch? If so we would like to discuss it sometime on Inspired Unreality.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
As always Inspired Unreality is in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Follow Me And Die started a post about Solo RPGs and the discussion continues. I've never played solo but I listened to his podcast and I can see how it can help get the creative juices flowing. ZDL recommended the Mythic rules for solo play.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4081
Also we have a group for Solo Tabletop Games.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/7
Megan and I discussed our twitch streams last week on Inspired Unreality and let me tell you, it doesn't get more unreal than twitch. I continued to improve my HairyLarryLand twitch studio and I commented on it here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4080
If you like to spend hundreds on the hope of making tens twitch is for you. Good thing I'm retired. Actually my twitch stream serves two purposes. Structured practice and video production. I now have two videos posted that are excerpted from my stream.
https://peertube.hairylarry.rocks/video-channels/twitch/videos
So do you have a twitch stream? One of the things Megan and I discussed was RPGs on twitch. How does that work? Do you have a regular or occasional family game? My contact info is below. Better yet post your thoughts on Gamer+.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Speaking of twitch I added an edit of my twitch stream where I'm playing "Low Earth Orbit" to Youtube.
https://youtu.be/mAc9AE--CU8
I told you I would keep you informed about my book, "Beginning Algorithmic Composition". Well, I sent the proof copy to the printer and I have the pdf of both the book and the cover available for download on my definitely preliminary website.
This is the artwork Kier, aka Draklor, drew for Beginning Algorithmic Composition. Spoiler, it's robots!
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/101
Please let me know what you've been doing. Join us tonight for Inspired Unreality. My contact info is below. Or, best of all, post about your projects on Gamer+.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc at my Friendica
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic. If you are new to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
ZDL got a new game from Thinklab Games. It's a 16 circle peg and tower game. She posted a picture here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/4011
We're on twitch! Well at least Megan and I are on twitch. Megan plays games with family and friends on megantopia. I practice piano on hairylarryland. Please check us out.
https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia
https://www.twitch.tv/hairylarryland
Do you stream on twitch? Or somewhere else? Do you host a regular chat? Or semi-regular? Let us know. My contact info is below or, better yet, post on Gamer+.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
They say that word of mouth advertising is the best and that's good because it's all we can afford. Please tell a friend about Gamer+ or forward this email to your gaming friends.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc - on the fediverse
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
As always bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic. If you have never been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
ZDL and I have been writing about webcomics and we both found some interesting new (to us) work to read. Are you into webcomics?
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3905
TabletopBellhop posted a New Podcast - Sean's Birthday AMA. Topics include: Our favourite roll & writes, birthday gaming memories, games that make new music, post-pandemic gaming, the best pizza in the world, Kickstarters we can't wait to deliver and more!
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3929
New in my non-gaming world I am almost done with my book, "Beginning Algorithmic Composition", and I started work on a website to host it.
Also I am gathering together all my stuff setting up a studio for a twitch stream. Twitch is all about gaming but I'm doing something different. A twitch stream where I practice piano. I am viewing it as a live stream and a video production environment. We shall see!?! Eventually.
Be sure to update me with what's new in your life. Contact info is below or even better, post your latest interests on Gamer+.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@gmail.com
As always Inspired Unreality open game chat is held Monday nights at 9:00 in the gameplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic. If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Are you into webcomics? I wrote a blog post about four of my current reads hoping to find more in the comments.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/718
The Save Or Die Podcast has been on an interview streak lately with recent guests, Darrold Wagner, Jennifer L. Holm, and Jason Charles Miller. Hosted by Gamer+ gamers, DM Chrispy, DM Carl, and DM Courtney it is the OSR podcast you don't want to miss. Disclaimer: Carl is my son and one of the founders of Gamer+. Courtney is my daughter in law.
http://saveordie.info/
And while I'm promoting my family I want to invite you to Megan's Twitch stream where she plays games with friends and family. And sometimes she just talks, mostly about streaming.
https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia
What are your current gaming projects? Let me know and I will be happy to post a link in the Gamer+ News.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Here's four webcomics that I like and some of them even have something to do with gaming.
I don't like rom com movies much. In fact I don't like movies much. I prefer my TV in small doses. But I do read a lot of coming of age fantasy and science fiction which is kind of close to rom coms. Especially "The Wheel Of Time" which I am definitely planning on rereading, all 14 volumes.
But it turns out that I like rom com webcomics. I guess the dosage is about right.
"Questionable Content" is alternative history science fiction. It's present day but in the recent past Hannelore's dad discovered true AI and built it into robots. So it's a rom com with robots. (Shades of Isaac Asimov) It's actually my current fav and it turns out I must have started it in the middle because when I went to episode 1 to link here I hadn't read it. But there is an AI robot right at the start. Plus rom com. It is a lot different than the more recent episodes but I'm restarting at the top and you can too.
https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1
Oh yeah, it's drawn by J. Jacques. And it's 5 days a week.
Dumbing Of Age is a College Webcomic by David M. Willis. This is my latest fav and it's actual contemporary fiction rom com. It has more about cartoons than about games although D&D does get an occasional mention. Big on superheroes too with an actual superhero character who is actually just a shy girl with tendencies towards violence.
7 days a week. Yaaaaaay!
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/01-move-in-day/home/
The absolute best webcomic ever is all about D&D with in jokes right from the first episode. The Order Of The Stick is about an adventuring party drawn as stick figures. If you haven't already read this it's a treat. The only bad thing about it is that it's a weekly so I save it for my weekend reading. It's by Rich Burlew.
https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0001.html
And my new find is Gunnerkrigg Court. It's also in a school setting but so far not a rom com. Definitely fantasy and I'm not far enough into it to tell you much more. Except that I like it so far. Not sure of the publishing schedule but the art is great and it's drawn by Tom Siddell.
https://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1
Please add your favorite webcomics in the comments. Especially if they are about gaming.
Thanks
Inspired Unreality is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Tabletop Bellhop discusses "The New Hotness, The Best Games of GenCon Spring Showcase. Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast Episode 124."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3790
Follow Me And die says "I made a YouTube video to go along with yesterday's blog post about Emulating Battle in Roll20."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3816
ZDL posted a picture of some really heavy dice.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3791
And I posted a couple of pics too.
Dabaw The Wizard casts spells with his eyes in the D&D room at gather.town during the Family Game Weekend.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3814
Here's my icosahedron. It's part of my recording studio, acoustic room, vocal booth, out of control room. I'm going to make a sign that says Roll To Hit. A double double-entendre.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3780
I'm still recuperating from our Family Game Weekend. But I'll be fine for Inspired Unreality. Come and chat. Post some pics. Share your creative endeavors.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Better than that we have Inspired Unreality open game chat tonight at 9:00 Central. After a month of podcasts and actual play we might just chat tonight. Opening topic will be random encounters. Are they useful? Do you use them in your games? Can the characters even tell the difference between a random encounter and monsters that are scripted into the module?
Inspired Unreality happens every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern, on Discord. If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
We had a good game last week with Ryan joining Viv and me and Alan presiding. Inspired Unreality open game chat continues with chat, games, and podcasts. It's what we do. I hope you can make it tonight so we can have a random encounter.
ZDL showed some dice that are actually gems.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3779
I loved the 20 sider with hieroglyphs instead of numbers so I had to post my own Icosahedron. I know you've seen some large 20 siders. But probably not as large as this one.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3780
Yes it was hard to build. But it's even harder to roll.
Anyway, while we're all getting icosahedral, show us your favorite 20 sider. We'll be happy to roll with it.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Alan
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Ryan at Aqualith Media has posted a blog about his new website and his desire to collaborate with game creators.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/678
Follow Me And Die has posted about his adventures in computer building. He is hoping that upgrading his system will help with editing his Youtube videos.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3709
Into dice? Into dichroic prisms? ZDL says " These are dice cut from dichroic prisms." And she posted a picture of some very pretty dice.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3702
Have you been noticing my fediverse address below? Have you heard of Mastodon, Friendica, or Pleroma? How about Funkwhale or Peertube? The fediverse is a decentralized social network made up of many people running many programs on their computers all cooperating so you can send and receive posts cross platform. Like email. Except social.
Visit my Friendica, social networking on the fediverse.
https://curators.mixremix.cc
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
I know I've been a bit absent from Gamer+, but hoping to change that in the near future starting... now!
I am currently open to new clients. I've been a graphic/digital designer for my entire career and wanted to put my feelers out there and utilize my existing network to make my services available to you. Especially those of you who do self-publishing for tabletop RPG's, I'd be available for assist with layout. Companies I've helped with this in the past include Legendary Games and FASA Games.
Currently I'm building out my new portfolio coinciding with the launch of my site at aqualith.media. In the meantime, check out my Behance to see my previous work.
Interested in working or collaborating? Feel free to find time on my calendar for a free initial consultation.
Steady tides be with you!
Ryan
The opening topic will be The Importance Of NPCs. Got an opinion? Come vent. Bring your own topic. If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Two weeks ago we recorded the Related To Geeks Podcast with guests Levi Combs and Will Hose. "What players love. What players hate. What DMs love. What DMs hate." It was a hoot. And it's up on Anchor.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3675
Follow Me And Die has a new video up, Roll20 For The Absolute Beginner No. 23 - The End Is Near For Legacy Dynamic Lighting.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3674
Sound and Larry both like Carl's picture from his B/X game at FLGS. Check out this miniature photography of an actual table in play.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2093
If you have some photos of your miniatures we'd love to see them.
We always start the Related to Geeks Podcast with our geek agendas. My geek agenda is I'm writing a book, Beginning Algorithmic Composition, for my composition lesson this term. I'll post a link when it's published.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last week we recorded the Related To Geeks Podcast. It was a lot of fun when those who are Related to Geeks were joined by Levi Combs and Will Hose to discuss "What players love. What players hate. What DMs love. What DMs hate". Mostly we leaned toward the love. Stay tuned in and I will let you know when the podcast is posted. Lots of great tips for players and DMs.
I hope you've been enjoying the winter weather as much as we have here in Arkansas. Compared to Texas we didn't really have it too bad. All prayers for those still suffering from the extreme cold and ice.
Follow Me And Die posts about "My thoughts on Getting Started with Science Fiction RPGs."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3568
For a discussion about card games go here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3531
ZDL posted a new Fringe Review: Bloodshadows: Fantasy-Noir Roleplaying. If you haven't already read it it's up to her highly detailed standard.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/560
Don't forget to join us tonight on Inspired Unreality.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Monday night at 9:00 Central.
Related To Geeks Podcast
With guests Levi Combs and Will Hose
What DMs love. What DMs hate. What players love. What players hate.
In the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord.
Everyone is welcome. If you are new to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Follow Me And Die has been waiting on this moment and we've been chronicling it's immanence. "Hurray! Not sure what time this happened, but thank you to all you re-tweeted and especially to all who subbed. I took the day off work, so I'll put out a video later today." Congrats on 1K Youtube subscribers.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3498
ZDL says, "新年快乐！ (Happy New Year!)"
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3476
I posted 4 photos and a link to the Petar Meseldzija gallery. These are not public domain but they are fantastic.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/99
So have a gander. Check some links. Make a post or a comment. And come join our podcast tonight.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord at 9:00 Central every Monday night. If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Next week on Inspired Unreality we will be hosting the Related To Geeks Podcast with special guests Levi Combs and Will Hose. Our topic will be:
What players love. What players hate. What DMs love. What DMs hate.
Now theres a topic where everyone has an opinion.
ZDL posted another Fringe Review: Bloodshadows: Fantasy-Noir Roleplaying and it is up to her usual detailed standard.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/560
Follow Me And Die is interested in feedback. He says, "I'm working on a master spreadsheet of gear & supplies price list for D&D and other fantasy RPGs." He's got all kinds of details and he wants you to help fill in the blanks.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3417
There were a lot of great pictures posted on Gamer+ last week. MyrddinWyllt posted some gems to his gallery, Pulp Artwork And Inspiration.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/MyrddinWyllt/97
And I took some of my best miniature photos to date. I printed it. I painted it. And I took the pictures. It's Ratzerker!
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/98
If you've got some favorite fantasy artwork or pics of your miniatures we'd love to see them. Just go to Photos and post your gallery.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/viewlist/latest
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (my handle on the fediverse)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Full disclosure: I was given this game for free by its publisher. This was not done for purposes of review (more out of pity!), but it would not be honest to fail to mention this potential bias.
I have a somewhat complicated relationship with Bloodshadows. I originally encountered it when it was a West End Games setting for their Masterbook game (itself part of the '90s trend of turning every house game system—in this case the game system behind Torg and Shatterzone—into a generic game). The thing is that while I admired several features of Masterbook, at it core I found it a pretty fundamentally flawed game that I didn't want to play very much. Which was a pity because the Bloodshadows setting I adored straight out of the box.
So here we are, over two decades later, and I find myself with a Bloodshadows game in my hand from the home where all the great, undervalued games go for continued unlife: Precis Intermedia (rapidly becoming my favourite currently-active publisher of RPGs).
... more
Well, we almost died once. DM Alan certainly does keep the players on their toes.
We did not finish the oneoff in one session so there will be more Chronicles Of Ember next Monday.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3348
And now it's Monday and time for Inspired Unreality. Actual Play tonight with DM Alan running his own game, "The Chronicles Of Ember". If you want to jump in and you need a character sheet he has a program for that.
We will be playing in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here. We start at 9:00 Central.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
We continue our conversation about "Some musings on solving challenges with less combat."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3349
I set up a background for miniature photography using a mushroom fantasy village plaque that Megan woodburned for me and a bunch of tiny houses made of straw and twigs that Vivian gave me. Then I took a few pictures of The Blue Mage, a beastman, and a beholder.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/96
I'm reminding you once again about Megan TV at https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia - Like indie games? So does Megan.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3342
And we're closing with some thoughts on winter. "Winter is upon us and it's a good thing to have distractions like Gamer+ to help us keep busy and active. Hope all of you are staying warm and content. ... Sound."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3347
Which reminds me, Ember is a cold cold world. And dangerous. Believe me, in our first encounter two of us almost died. Join us tonight for Inspired Unreality.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (my friendica on the fediverse)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Alan wrote the game "The Chronicles Of Ember". He will be the DM for a oneoff tonight.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Alan
So, if you want to give a new game a try, join us. If I were to describe "The Chronicles Of Ember" in one word it would be dangerous. (And fun.)
Inspired Unreality is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you are new to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
This picture keeps getting comments. ZDL says "There is rather a lot going on in this picture... ". This is true.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/view/699/latest
The Captive Robin
Click on over and add your comment. There's enough here for a whole campaign.
Follow Me And Die posted to his blog about "Magical Protections". He says "Spells and abilities that negate or remove magical effects are a bit confusing in AD&D and the DM would be well served to figure things out before they come up during play."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3343
relatedtogeeks posted about Megan TV at https://www.twitch.tv/megantopia - Like indie games? So does Megan.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3342
I posted about my lesson this term. "For my composition lesson this Spring I am writing a book, "Beginning Algorithmic Compostition". What does this have to do with gaming?"
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3322
Join us tonight in Ember. Let us know what games you've been playing. Or writing. Or drawing. Post on Gamer+ or send me an email.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on the fediverse)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
I have posted a new gallery of public domain fantasy art called, John Anster Fitzgerald takes us to Feyland. Fitzgerald was a Victorian illustrator who specialized in fairies and other fey creatures.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/94
After looking at these pictures sound and I started discussing fairytales. Fairytales predate history and yet are still being written in the 21st century, often melded with other types of literature. Click the link to join the discussion.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3306
Please welcome our newest gamer, TabletopBellhop, creator of blogs, vlogs, and podcasts about tabletop gaming.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/TabletopBellhop
I hope to chat with you tonight about fantasy literature and gaming. As always, bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/9
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
TabletopBellhop posted their podcast, The best board games for fans of historical miniature wargaming, plus great non-miniature wargames.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3256
Follow Me And Die also posted a podcast. Episode #194 - What's Going On? "I answer the question of what is going on? What is going on with me and with my AD&D campaign on Roll20?"
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3247
Not gaming related but still somehow pertinent ZDL posted a music video from 自得琴社 Zi De Guqin Studio. She says, "This group does recreations of ancient works, new works done in ancient styles, modern-style orchestration with ancient instruments, and off-the-wall stuff like one of their orchestral pieces where a didgeridoo is a prominent instrument." Click on over for an interesting listen.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3251
Finally, I posted the XKCD webcomic, Egg Strategies, in which the true nature of alignment is revealed.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3257
Do you have any friends? Do they like gaming? Do me a favor and forward this message to them.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc on Friendica
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you are new to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Follow Me And Die posted his year in review blog post. He starts with the stats and the business but then segues into a moving and personal piece of writing. This is your recommended read for the day.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3206
Relatedtogeeks posted a link to the new Save Or Die podcast, Start! Thief!, wherein their guest, Darrold Wagner, discusses the origins of the thief class.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3207
I wrote up the latest session notes for our Archive Of The White Master campaign. We are putting the Archive in our past (kind of like 2020) and pressing on with the issue of animals being trapped in the forest. Led by Leaf the elf we discover the problem is more than hungry goblins and we rescue Boffin the halfling.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/494
Head on over to Gamer+ for more and to update us on your latest adventures.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on my Friendica)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
After we finished at the Archive Of The White Mage the blacksmith and his sons take the road back to town, their cart heavy laden with the metal they had salvaged from the animated statue of Moloch. We take off through the forest worried about goblins trapping animals. We were all well horsed and the raccoon and bear dog ran alongside.
Although we see no new tracks we do find the old tracks fairly well preserved and endeavor to follow them. We see a large pit some ways ahead and the tracks seem to lead right to it. We approach cautiously and smell a terrible scent.
We see some unhealthy trees around the pit in fact the whole area looks nothing like the vibrant forest we just left. One of the trees, about 20 feet from the pit, looks like it has a door in it. Caper says, "Let's check out that tree with a door." Leaf and Caper approach the tree.
The tree has a lot of knotholes and what appears to be an inset door, fit tight with no handle. Caper tries opening the door by twisting and pushing on the knots. No luck. The door remains stuck fast. Leaf reaches up and tries the knots above the door. Still no luck.
Caper looks at the ground and sees several roots. Pulling on the third root opens the door which slides sideways into the tree. We see steep steps going down towards the pit.
Leaf decides to check things out before we head down the stairs. He silently crosses the 20 feet to the edge of the pit and peeks over the edge. The pit is about 90 feet deep. 30 feet down Leaf can see a bridge made of wood and ropes that goes from our side of the pit all the way across to the other side. At the bottom of the pit is a blue shining portal constantly moving and shining as if lit from behind.
Caper calls the rest of the party over and we proceed down the stairs. About 20 feet down we see a large empty chamber. Listening carefully Ari and Leaf can hear music from below. In the corner of the room is a hole going down. Caper listens and looks down at the hole.
Caper recognizes the song called "The Redcaps Caper". Redcaps are evil faeries, not as powerful as some faeries. Their caps are dyed red with human blood and if a Redcap's cap dries out he dies.
We descend the second set of stairs following the music.
At the bottom of the stairs we see a big room with a row of pillars. At the end of the pillars is an open mouth in a monstrous face. The music is coming out through the mouth.
Ari looks through the mouth into the next chamber. Two goblinoid creatures are dancing and tormenting a halfling who is playing the music on his flute.
Nobody can stand for this so we attack the goblins with arrows and thrown daggers. Both arrows hit and one dagger hits. One of the goblins drops. Soon the other joins him, both dead.
We rescue Boffin the halfling who insists we leave immediately. Prudence dictates and we agree to accompany Boffin back to town. On the way back Boffin tells us that the goblinoids had been dropping dead animals into the portal at the bottom of the pit. He has no idea why and he was afraid they were going to drop him off the bridge too so he kept playing his flute while they danced. Fortunately we came along to rescue him before he was too tired to play.
If you have never been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Follow Me And Die says, "I made a Worldbuilding cheatsheet on Cheatography. I didn't realize that a draft was visible until I started getting emails that it was seen 50, 100, and now 200 times." ZDL and hairylarry have responded with comments about world building RPGs. Have you played any world building RPGs or been involved in world building for gaming or fiction? Follow the link to join the discussion.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3148
Follow Me And Die also says, "I have a third PDF that is now a Silver Best Seller on DriveThruRPG! Random Dungeon, City, & Travel Generation"
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3149
Tenkar posts about Knock! a new OSR Zine on Kickstarter. At 212 pages with great artwork and a bold layout this looks interesting.
https://www.tenkarstavern.com/2020/12/kickstarter-knock-osr-zine.html
I added another artist to our collection of public domain fantasy artwork featuring the work of W. Robinson. This fantastic line art could be used in a game, a quest book, or a coloring book.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/91
Like the rest of you I am celebrating the demise of 2020. And What Was Old Shall Now Be New. There will be a post pandemic world.
Vivian and I are planning on celebrating the new year in our traditional style. We're staying home and going to bed early.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc on the fediverse
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Join us every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern there is an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
At our last Related To Geeks Podcast we were all present. Megan, Carl, Kier, Sarah, Vivian, and Larry discussing DIY Gaming.
https://anchor.fm/relatedtogeeks/episodes/Related-To-Geeks---Season-2-Episode-13---DIY-Gaming-ens695
The music for the podcast is from the song "Treehouse" recorded by NJHB and can be heard on Hairy Larry Rocks Funkwhale.
https://funkwhale.hairylarry.rocks/library/albums/35/
Enjoy! And Merry Christmas, peace on earth, goodwill to all.
Thanks
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on Friendica)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
After having a weekend of family gaming online we are going to discuss playing online as a way of staying in touch with your family. Kind of on the Family Game theme we were going to discuss last week but instead we discussed other stuff.
And that's fine. Bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic.
Inspired Unreality is held every Monday in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
We played Virtual Dirty Santa! Here's a post with all of our virtual gifts.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/440
Related To Geeks - Season 2 Episode 12 - D&D as portrayed in other media
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3081https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3060
Sound and I have been going on a bit about Birkenstock. Must be somewhere near Milyagon because we get all the same Player Characters showing up both places.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3060
I like this Hiroshi Yoshida artwork. All Public Domain. Not specifically fantasy but they could be used in oriental fantasy settings.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/hairylarry/90
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3085
Spread the word. Share with your friends.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on Friendica)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
We played Virtual Dirty Santa on Discord yesterday. We all passed the wrapped gifts around on a gameboard and then we opened them in order.
Here are the gifts given by those who are Related To Geeks (my family).
Half Halfling
by Larry Heyl CC-BY
My Mother, the midget
Fell for a halfling bard
Who sang her sweet love songs
beneath the pine trees in his yard.
They married in April
Which makes me a Winter's child
Quite mild for a human
As halfling, quite wild.
So yes I'm half halfling
From bald head to hairy toes
I hunt through the forest
Where wild mushrooms grow.
Will I seek adventure
Or farm in the shire?
Sing for my lady love
While I pluck the lyre.
Megan Heyl produced by Megan Heyl
Carl Heyl drawn by Kier Heyl
Gretchen posts Megan dancing behind Megan
We will be in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Follow Me And Die posted a link to Project Northmoor. They want to save Tolkien's home and make it a literary center. I certainly wish them all success. I'm in the middle of my first middle earth reread right now so I've got Tolkien on my mind.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3045
Follow Me And Die also posted about "Simple rules for spell research in AD&D."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3053
I can't stand the denouement but there are I's to be crossed and T's to be dotted in our tale of the Archive Of The White Mage. Here's a link to the session summary where we go back to the Archive with help from some blacksmiths to do some major deconstruction.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/428
I made one little joke and then ... ZDL and I discuss "Rule 1 - don't whistle on Discord."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3014
Join us tonight at 9:00 for Inspired Unreality. Stay in touch.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (follow me on the fediverse)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
We go back to town to see Burt the blacksmith. He's a big strong man with a large moustache and a bald head.
Leaf talks to Burt about his armor. He says he will reinforce his armor and design a leaf on it for 20 GP.
I talk to Burt about dismantling the statues. He and his sons, Bart and Barry, are willing to help. They ain't got no truck with evil. We will leave in the morning.
We go to see Longo Shotins the halfling fletcher and bowyer. Leaf purchases a bow and arrows for 45 GP.
The next morning we set off for The Archive taking the long road around the forest. The blacksmiths are in a horse drawn cart with their tools.
When we get there we enter through the front door and check things out. Nothing has changed. Marusan has not returned. The skeletons have not reformed. The glass golem skylight is still in place.
Burt tries to break the stone statues with his big hammer. This doesn't mark them. Leaf detects magic and both stone statues, the large metal statue, and the skylight are all infused with magic. Since Burt can't break the stone statues he takes his sons to dismantle the metal statue.
Leaf uses the Rod Of Pan-Severi on the stone statues. A whirlwind springs from the rod but it doesn't hurt the statues.
Leaf tries the rod again. This time the rod makes Leaf smaller. He is only 2 feet tall, shorter than Caper.
Leaf tries the rod again and nothing happens. The rod is smaller too since Leaf was holding it. Wondering if he wore it out he tries again and 17 gems fly out of the end of the rod and bounce off the statue not hurting it in any way. Since the rest of the party has left the room, wary of the rod, Leaf pockets the 17 gems.
Leaf tries again. Now he's about 2 inches tall. A tiny little Leaf.
Caper comes to check on Leaf and finds him 2 inches tall. Leaf tries the rod again and a poison green gas fills the room. Caper saves with a nat 20.
Caper picks up tiny Leaf to see if he can crawl in the statue's earhole. Nope, the statue is all solid rock.
Tiny Leaf tries the rod again. No luck. Nothing happens.
Ari pours holy water on the neck of the statue and then Burt takes a mighty swing with his big hammer and busts his head off.
Caper thinks there might be a trap door or something hidden by the statues. He ties his rope around the head of the other statue and the blacksmiths pull it over revealing only floor.
Ari pours holy water on the neck of the prone statue and Burt busts it's head off.
The party goes up on the roof and the blacksmiths bust out the skylight with their hammers. A chromatic being forms in the air in front of us. Then the color slowly bleeds out of him into the sky and he disappears.
Ari detects magic and there is no magic left in the archive. The blacksmiths can now bust up the stone statues and we carry the gravel to the creek. The blacksmiths load the metal into the cart to take to Father Abraham to see if this metal is now safe to use.
It's late in the day so we make camp. We eat and sleep setting watches. Nothing happens in the night. In the morning Leaf is back to his normal size. Checking the Archive the skylight is not back and there is still no sign of Marusan.
We take stones from the creek and stuff them in the hole in the wall leading to the jail cell. We break camp and get ready to go back to Birkenstock.
If you have never been to Tenkars Tavern we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
And don't forget. Rule 1 - don't whistle on Discord
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3014
Those who are Related To Geeks discuss audio and video production for podcasts and vlogs.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/3012
Follow Me And Die has some thoughts about the illustrations of Dave Trampier.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2998
Also... (See Inspired Reality above.) I posted a blog about Writing Quests. I compare writing quests to writing stories and I lay out my plan for quickly putting a quest idea on paper, ready to play. Or for the best quest ideas ready to add assets and make it publishable.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/401
They say the best advertising is word of mouth which is a good thing because we can't afford any other kind. At the bottom of your profile page there is a section that says "Link to your Profile Page - Copy, Paste, Add username". Follow the instructions to link to your Gamer+ profile from your website or blog.
Thanks
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry (my Gamer+ profile)
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on the fediverse)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com (email)
by Larry Heyl
A story is said to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. This is a simple and reliable guide for writers. Somewhere along the way, in the creative process, a light is switched on and the writer sees where the story is going. Once the end is discovered the middle falls into place. That is, the middle part is shaped by the end part providing the necessary bits that allow the story to end convincingly.
Sometimes a quest is well run and well played and produces a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. But more often not. In fact producing such a story is not the purpose of the game. It is a possible side product but not the goal. I think the players immersion into the fantasy setting and their identification with their characters are far more important to enjoying the game than any derived story everyone becomes aware of after the fact.
I am not saying the story is unimportant. Without the story there is no fantasy world to become immersed in and no characters to identify with. It's just that the story is not like a written story with a beginning, middle, and end. Nor is it like a story written by an author.
That's why I avoid writing a story when writing a quest.
Instead I write the setup, seeds, and goals.
The setup defines the quest and lays out the goals for the party. It should be short. It should place the party geographically and introduce important NPCs. It can be read aloud at the beginning of the quest and can also be printed for the players to refer to. It is the beginning of the quest and is similar to the beginning of a story. Except shorter.
Within the setup I include seeds. These seeds indicate what might possibly or could probably happen. The literary parallel is foreshadowing. With foreshadowing the author indicates what might happen and then writes what does happen or perhaps inserts the foreshadowing knowing what will happen. The seeds are hidden in the setup to suggest to the characters what they might be able to do. Whether they follow up on the seeds or not is up to the players. If the players do follow up it's good to give the DM some options to choose from, possible seed resolutions. And it's good to have multiple options because nobody knows how the players will appproach the situation hinted at by the seeds.
The goals are what the quest is about: find the treasure, rescue the princess, kill the monsters. When the players are satisfied they have met the goals that signals the end of the quest. The goals can be mentioned explicitly in the setup or they also may be hidden in the narrative like a goal seed.
The setup, the goals, and the seeds are all text. The other part of writing the quest is preparing the assets. The assets are the pictures, the maps, the character sheets, the description of the treasure, the stat blocks for NPCs and monsters, etc. It is possible to run a quest without any assets but assets make the quest easier to run for the DM and assets make things flow smoothly for the players.
Once the quest writer has an idea writing the setup is quick and easy. You can then look for the seeds you have planted in the setup and write a few sentences about each one. The primary goals should be included in the setup. List them and then see if there are any hidden goals within the text the players might follow up on. Add them to the Goals section. Then list the assets, maps, pictures, stat blocks, and short descriptions.
This can all go quite quickly. The bulk of the work is in the assets, not in the writing. This does, however, give you a framework for a playable quest. Adding the assets will make the quest easier to run and more fun to play.
Not every quest idea is great. Some ideas, however, work better than you thought they would. Also when reading through old quest ideas sometimes something clicks and you can greatly improve the quest with a minor tweak.
Don't feel like you have to put every quest idea into a publishable format. Take the time to add assets to your best quests. They deserve the work. You still have all the other quest ideas which you might improve on later or add into a campaign as a side quest.
If you have never been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
wilsonelisa430 posted a blog about How to Solve the Sunstones Puzzle in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/383
Follow Me And Die is on a quest. The goal of the quest is 1000 Youtube subscribers. He says, "I now have 951 subscribers on YouTube! 42 Days to reach my goal of 1,000 subscribers by year end...." If you are not already a subscriber link over and click the Subscribe button. He posts interesting videos including the Roll20 For Absolute Beginners series.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQzQrkQxGOjrRWOe0RGFPgw
Ivan Bilibin illustrated Russian Folk Tales in the early 20th century. Most of his drawings are now public domain. I posted some of my favorites in the Public Domain Fantasy Art gallery.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/view/666/latest
And in the Archive Of The White Mage we killed Marusan again. And then we killed him again. This time for good. (We think.) Here's the session summary.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/386
Let me know about what's going on with you life in gaming. Message me on Gamer+, reach me on the fediverse, or send an email.
Thanks
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
When we enter the temple Marusan is gone, The skylight has been replaced. Everything looks like it did the first time we saw it.
Leaf shoots the skylight with the rod of Pann-Severi. It emits a bright white light and everyone is blinded.
After a while we recover our sight. Leaf wants to try again. The rest of us leave the room. This time the rod shoots a fireball and explodes the skylight.
We check the statue of Moloch. The rope is gone. Marusan is not in it. The tubes are still cut.
The tombs in the side rooms are open and empty. No undead or weapons lie within.
We check Marusan's study. EVerything is like it was when we left it. The chests are open and empty.
We check the supply room. It's been cleared out. No supplies left in it.
In the secret room behind the temple Caper looks for a trap door and finds a loose flagstone. We lift the stone and find a tunnel with steep stairs leading down.
Leaf pokes his head through the hole in the floor and looks around with his dark vision. He sees a hall with a door at the end and light shining under it from the next room.
We go down into the hall and I check the door. We look under it and check through the keyhole. We see skeleton bones.
Caper checks for traps on the door but he can't tell if it's trapped. He tries to open the door wide. But it's locked. He tries the keys from the jailor and one of them opens the door. He opens the door wide. There are 5 skeletons and Marusan at his desk. He looks bad.
Leaf shoots a fireball into the room with the rod. Caper slams the door shut to protect the party.
When we open the door they are all dead in the room. Caper pours some of the jailor's potion on Marusan.
We smash the skeleton bones into small pieces and throw them into a nearby creek. We burn Marusan in a huge fire outside.
Leaf hits the metal statue with a beam from the rod. It gets 50% bigger and now it barely fits in the temple.
We go outside and look through the papers and books in our packs for information about the rod. Back inside we go through Marusan's library. We find nothing about the rod but we do discover that the potion was supposed to be drunk by Marusan before he died. So all we know is that the rod is chaotic and that Marusan is probably coming back.
We decide to camp instead of going back to town.
At midnight we hear scraping from inside the temple. We light torches and go in. The scraping is the skylight glass golem reassembling.
We hear noises from the tomb rooms. The bones are reforming and dropping out of the air onto the floor.
We throw the bones into the tombs putting the heads together, arms together, etc. so there is no complete skeleton in any tomb. We cover the tombs with the lids. Finch the raccoon hears something in Marusan's study. Leaf talks to Finch. The sound is snoring.
Opening the door we see Marusan sleeping on the bed.
Caper sneaks into the room and pours the potion into Marusan's mouth just as he wakes. He chokes on the potion. Leaf chops his head off. Marusan glows green and dissipates into the air. We're pretty sure that this time he is dead.
I mean really dead. (Not mostly dead.)
Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Now posted on Anchor, the Related To Geeks Podcast about Virtual Gaming.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2945
MyrddinWyllt says, "I've been running a game of Lords of Olympus for the last 5 months. If anyone here likes Greek Mythology and enjoys the idea of playing Gods and Demigods in an infinite Multiverse I would highly recommend it."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2954
He also posted some nice maps of Middle Earth.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/MyrddinWyllt/89
Meanwhile at The Archive Of The White Master we've all got horses except Caper the halfling who has a pony. We cracked the safe. And Marusan is back!
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/375
Do you write Modules or other D&D assets? Join the discussion at Writing Modules and Module Assets.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/5
Or join us tonight at Inspired Unreality. Open game chat. All gaming is on topic.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on the fediverse)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Caper buys Ari a horse and a pony for himself for 115 G. Jennifer buys her own horse for 75G. Caper buys tack, a saddlebag and oats and rations for 50G for all horses except Leaf the elf who doesn't need tack. (because elves ride bareback)
We ride north through the woods with the Finch, the raccoon, and Rowan, the dogbear. Leaf carries Finch on his shoulder and Rowan runs beside the horses.
We get back to the Archive quickly and nothing seems changed. Caper checks for traps on the front door but he can't tell anything. Fighter the Cleric opens the door and we move into a round room with doors leading left and right. Leaf looks to the right and sees an large metal box. Caper recognizes it as a safe. He checks for traps but can't tell if the safe is trapped or not.
The safe has buttons numbered 0 - 9 in two rows.
Caper tries 1 2 3 4 5. Doesn't work. You can only depress 4 numbers. Jennifer tries more combinations but doesn't guess right.
Caper looks into the next room. It looks like an office for a guard or a jailor. He reads through some notes and finds some keys.
Caleb - Snuck in the building after dark
Robert - Stole coins from donation
Ezon - Holds all my secrets
Roger - Assaulted scribe
They check the cell. In the office there's a locker with clothes, a backpack, and a sword.
The party discusses the notes as a clues and finally deduces the combination, 8019.
Inside the safe there is a green potion with a note that says the potion is to stop Marusan's life spell. There is also 500 G, 100 each.
The door to the left is locked. Caper couldn't pick it.
Leaf hits the lock with a burst of energy and the door just fades away and disappears.
The circular room to the left has benches around the outside like a waiting room.
In the next room there are two more statues of Moloch made of stone, one to the left and one to the right.
Leaf shoots them with the rod. He sees a real bright light and can't see anything. No one else sees anything. Only Leaf.
After a few minutes Leaf recovers his vision. We continue north into the temple. Marusan is gone! The glass skylight is back! The secret room is empty! In the side rooms the coffins are closed!
eos
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. 9:00 PM Central every Monday night. If you are new to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Earlier this year on Inspired Unreality the Related To Geeks Book Club discussed "Armada" by Ernest Cline. Our podcast is now up on anchor. If you are a big fan you will want to leave a comment because neither Megan or I were impressed. Here's the link.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2943
I've been posting session summaries from our Archive Of The White Mage quest so I thought I would post a session from someone else's game. From Northport here's "OSE play session with the gang 10/17".
https://gwythaintny.wordpress.com/2020/10/19/ose-play-session-with-the-gang-10-17/
Northport is written by Gamer+ gamer Gwythaint.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Gwythaint
I found this session log on the Gamer+ "View Last 60 Items Here" link.
https://gamerfeed.gamerplus.org/public.php?op=rss&id=-4&key=2c0wl25d431f049948f
If you have a blog, podcast, vlog, or just about anything with an RSS feed let me know and I will see that your posts are listed as well. Here's one more link to "Gamer's Homepages". Great gamer content from the footer of Gamer+.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/homepages
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (Follow me on the Fediverse)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Join us for Inspired Unreality open game chat, tonight at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern. Our opening topic will be on game prep. Not enough, too much, or just right? Bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic.
If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern there's an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
New podcast up at Anchor. The Related To Geeks Book Club discusses Neuromancer by William Gibson.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2935
For those of you keeping up with "The Archive of the White Master" I posted Session 4. Executive summary: Marusan is dead. (for now) We got another pet. (Rowan the bear-dog) We're back at town with pockets full of platinum and magic weapons.
Read all about it here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/368
And speaking about podcasts and archives I have a new weekly podcast, From The Archives Of Something Blue. Marty at KASU suggested that we start this back up and I'm doing it all at home and sending it in. It is located at Hairy Larry Rocks Funkwhale. Nice and short with talking about a song, the song, and a promo for Something Blue. This weeks episode features blues harmonica great, Bob Corritore playing with my band, Delta Legends, at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas.
https://funkwhale.hairylarry.rocks/channels/fromthearchiveofsomethingblue/
I hope to see you tonight on Inspired Unreality or stop by Gamer+ anytime and let us know what you've been doing.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on my Friendica)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Session notes for October 28, 2020
We loot Marusan and find a pouch.
Fighter the Cleric goes through Marusan's room and finds two magic scrolls.
Jennifer pitches rocks at the two chests to check for traps.
Leaf opens a chest from the back. Magic energy seeks Leaf and he's laying on the ground again.
Fighter the Cleric looks in the chest. There is a short sword and a pile of coins. Fighter heals Leaf.
There is one chest remaining. Everyone except Jennifer leaves the room. When she opens the chest the magic missle hits her. We have no more healing but she takes the damage and remains standing.
In the chest she finds a ring, some coins, and a potion. Fighter the Cleric thinks it's a healing potion.
Total coins from the pouch and both chests.
200 copper
200 silver
200 platinum (5gp each)
We cogitate on how to deal with these weapons and Marusan's corpse.
We slice the tubes in the statue and put Marusan's corpse in it tying it shut just in case he comes back to life while we're in town.
Leaf takes the rod, Pann Severi, a 16 inch magic sceptre.
I wrap the swords and the mace in my blanket and tie the bundle up. Jennifer carries the bundle on her back and we head back to town. Leaf calls his raccoon and leads the way.
Finch
We hear another animal in the woods and find another trap. Leaf frees a trapped canine, a dog-bear. We lower him down and he likes us fine. Now we have two wild pets, the raccoon and the dog-bear.
Rowan
I see clawed goblin tracks like before. We decide to go back to Birkenstock and deal with the goblins later.
We split the coins 5 ways. Each of us gets over 200 gold.
Leaf and Ari study the spell book copying the spells to their books. They are Detect Magic, Light, and Ventriloquism. The supplies for doing this cost them their 200 gold each.
The spells on the scrolls are 2nd level Web and 3rd level Fireball.
Caper talks to father Abraham to get more healing balm. He donates a platinum piece. Father Abraham gives him 4 doses of the balm.
Caper goes to the fletcher's and gets 20 fine arrows for another platinum.
Concerned about the cursed weapons Fighter the Cleric and I talk to Father Abraham at the church. He can remove the curses. First he removes the curse from Fighter the Cleric so she no longer desires the cursed mace. While he does this Caper goes for Jennifer and they bring the bundle of weapons. Father Abraham removes the curse on the mace and the long sword. Caper donates 3 platinum and Fighter the Cleric donates 2 platinum.
Fighter the Cleric buys two fine horses for Leaf and herself.
chockoLAT
Salted Caramel
The next day Leaf detects magic auras on the short sword, the long sword, the mace, the ring, and the potion.
We each gain 2000 XP. Caper and Jennifer level up to 2nd level.
Tonight on Inspired Unreality Vivian and I will be discussing Halloween and gaming. Dressing up as your favorite PC. Playing a spooky game. How does Halloween affect your gaming plans for the weekend? Open game chat. All gaming is on topic.
We will be in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenksar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern it's all about D&D with a heavy dash of OSR. We have an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Follow Me And Die writes, "I've just updated my Silver Seller PDF, Locks, Vaults, and Hiding Places with a second edition that is revised and expanded." It's full of "information and random tables to help Game Masters create more unique locks and other means of securing."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2917
Related To Geeks Book Club - "Circe" by Madeline Miller - On Anchor
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2927
I have now posted three session summaries of our family game, "The Archive Of The White Master". We're such geeks that when we play D&D we go to a library. Executive Summary - We just killed the evil wizard, Marusan, and recovered the magic rod Pann-Severi. Read the session summaries for all the details. Carl is hosting this OSR game in Basic D&D.
The Archive Of The White Master - basic D&D - Session 1
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/359
The Archive Of The White Master - basic D&D - Session 2
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/364
The Archive Of The White Master - basic D&D - Session 3
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/365
They say word of mouth advertising is the best which is good because it's all we can afford anyway. Tell your friends. Forward this email. Share a link.
Thanks
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on my Friendica)hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Session notes for October 21, 2020
After setting the evil statue on fire we climb back down off the roof and discuss our plans. Everything is up in the air because of seeing that guy in white who might be Marusan.
Caper has an idea on how to relieve Fighter the cleric of her cursed mace.
Leaf casts a sleep spell on her. Caper hooks the mace onto the end of his bow and Ari drips holy water on Fighter's hand. Caper gives a jerk and the mace comes out of her hand. Caper drags it over to the edge of the woods and then they wake Fighter up. She still wants the mace but she can't see it so she puts it out of her mind.
We read in the journal. Marusan was on a quest for eternal life. He made a deal with Moloch. We also find a map of the building folded in half in the book like a bookmark.
Caper looks through the book of magic items trying to find out about the Rod Pann-Severi but he doesn't find anything about it. (yet) We don't have much time because we want to get after that dude in white.
We climb back up on the roof and back down the rope into the temple. The statue is not burned. There is water on it and a path of drips lead to the NW door.
Leaf gathers 12 needles from the room to the south with the needles.
Fighter the cleric goes into the back of the statue. It's real plush. She can see out of the statues eyes. She sees all kinds of levers and tubes with red fluid in them. She pulls on a lever and the statues arm lifts just a bit.
Fighter the cleric entertains the idea of sacrificing a lamb to Moloch so she may still be posessed. She has a plan the involves decapitation. Lots of decapitation.
We enter the room to the West. There are three open coffins. A skeleton stands in each. One of them has a sword.
Jennifer kills the statue with the sword with a single mighty blow of her sword. The skeleton falls apart into a pile of bones and the sword falls onto the floor. It looks real shiny and attractive. Everyone yells "Don't touch it."
Fighter the cleric kills one of the other skeletons with her mace. Ari throws a dagger and misses. Caper misses with his short sword.
The skeleton claws at Jennifer but does no damage. Then the skeleton claws at Fighter the cleric and hurts her badly.
Leaf throws needles and misses. Fighter the cleric hits the skeleton hard killing it with her dagger.
Caper rubs healing salve on Fighter the cleric. Then she casts cure wounds on herself. Back to full health. Yaaaay.
We go north through the door. It's a supply room with fresh supplies. Water and food. There is water on the floor and wet footprints. Looks like just the one dude.
Caper checks for a hidden door to the east. There is no door but it does seem hollow behind the wall.
We explore the other north room. There's a bed, a dresser, and a desk. There are loose pages on the desk written by Marusan. Caper steals the pages.
Jennifer checks under the bed. Nothing there.
Caper checks for a secret door to the east. No door but he's convinced there is a room there. He checks for a secret door behind the statue in the temple.
Caper finds the door. Leaf, Jennifer, and Fighter open the door.
We see a man in a white robe holding a rod. He launches a bolt of magic at Leaf and hurts him. Fighter hits Marusan with a nat 20. Ari hits him with a dagger. Caper applies the rest of the balm to Leaf. Jennifer hits Marusan and kills him.
EOS
New Character - Jennifer, a fighter - Liz
We lower the rope down into the temple and climb down. In the temple there are pews or benches, an evil looking statue, and 5 doors. Two to the north on either side of the statue, one each east, west, and south. They are all wood with push down latches. The one to the south is a light brown color. The others are a reddish wood.
The statue has a face like a monkey. On it's chest is a picture of a tree with an eye in the middle of the foliage. The cleric recognizes the statue as Moloch.
We are definitely creeped out so we close the door to the south and listen at the west door. We hear scratching.
Leaf and Caper listen at the east door and hear nothing so we check the east door first.
Jennifer opens the door. We see three stone coffins, a door north, and shelves of books.
We check the books which are mostly about magic and history. We find.
Leaf the elf - a spellbook
Fighter the cleric - a book about Moloch
Caper the halfling- a book about magic items
Jennifer hears scratching from the coffins. The middle coffin is marked in gold and white with the symbols of Marusan, the evil wizard.
Jennifer slides back the lid of the left coffin and Leaf reaches in with his sword and kills the skeleton scratching in there. There is a shiny silver and black mace in the coffin with the skeletons broken bones.
Fighter the cleric grabs the mace and tries to fight the skeleton in the right coffin but for some reason she can't hit it. A voice in her head says the skeleton is her friend. It is a cursed mace.
She can't drop the mace. Leaf cannot get the mace from her. Ari sprinkles holy water on the mace but that doesn't help either.
We kill the skeleton in the right coffin and find a book. It is the journal of Marusan's scribe. It mentions the mace and also has a page about Marusan's wife, a sorceress who he loved so much that he gave her the magic rod, Pann-Severi.
The middle coffin is empty. No Marusan entombed.
We hear a dripping noise. It's coming from the south. When we open the door we see that a needle has been used and it is dripping fresh blood. Super Creepy.
Leaf really hates the Moloch statue so we devise a plan to burn it. We pour oil all over it. We climb the rope to the roof and throw it back over the side so we can climb back down on the outside of the building. Caper lights a torch and gets ready to throw it on the statue. Everyone sees a door open on the back of the statue and a dude dressed in white runs out and escapes through one of the north doors. Caper throws the torch in and burns the statue.
The party climbs off the roof to reconnoiter, read the books, and decide what to do next.
The NEA Game Fest wrapped up yesterday with two interesting events. Sarah, Kier, and Megan gave their personal top 10 board game list discussing each in some detail. Then Kier hosted an online game of Um Actually, a trivia game about all things geek.
So our opening topic for Inspired Unreality tonight will be Online Gaming and Online Conventions. As always we will be in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord at 9:00 PM Central. Open game chat, everyone is welcome, all gaming is on topic. If you're new to Tenkar's Tavern Gamer+ has an invitation for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Another great event at the NEA Game Fest was "Make your own adventures!" hosted by Carl Heyl and featuring panelists, Mike Stewart, Casey Christofferson, and Levi Combs. They discussed the creation of exciting adventures to wow your players and bedazzle your dungeons as well as playtesting, publishing, and marketing.
This panel and the top ten board games discussion were recorded on Zoom and we'll post the links on Gamer+ when we get them.
I posted a blog called "What I Did AT NEA Game Fest", about my personal experience.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/361
Follow Me And Die says "I've just updated my Silver Seller PDF, Locks, Vaults, and Hiding Places with a second edition that is revised and expanded." Highly recommended. It's a DM guide chock full of tables you can use at your table and it's only 2 bucks.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2917
If you are looking for background music for your table or music to use in your podcast, vlog, or other project check out this morning's Free Culture Mix. Songs from my "Bop Soup" album are included as well as six other albums. The music licensed CC-BY are free to use with attribution. Just mention who did the song or include it in your credits scroll.
https://archive.org/details/FCMix2020-10-19
So have you been doing any gaming online? Join us tonight on Inspired Unreality and we'll talk about it.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on my Friendica)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Well, today is the last day so it's not too late to check it out.
It's a benefit for the Paragould Children's Shelter. Today you can buy a badge for $5 or contribute directly here.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/nea-game-fest-2020-for-the-children039s-shelter
I played "Goat Crash!" hosted by Will Hose and "Lizard Wizard" hosted by my granddaughter, LizardQueen aka Elizabeth Brown.
And I also attended "Make your own adventures!" hosted by Carl Heyl and featuring panelists, Mike Stewart, Casey Christofferson, and Levi Combs. They discussed the creation of exciting adventures to wow your players and bedazzle your dungeons as well as playtesting, publishing, and marketing.
I also did a bit of hanging out in Discord chatting with other gamers, always the most important part of any gaming convention.
So I am sending out a big thanks to the NEA Gamers Guild for putting on such a fun event in trying times. It got me through another week anyway.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/neagamersguild/
It's still going on. I am now attending "Sarah, Kier and Megan are about to count down our top ten board games for anyone who wants to witness the madness!!!".
They are closing out the Game Fest with "Um Actually".
New Campaign - Basic D&D
DM Carl
Ari - human wizard
Caper - halfling
Fighter - human cleric
Leaf - elf
Ari and Caper enter Birkenstock looking for information about the Archive Of The White Master. They have heard of this library, home of an undead man eating Eagle and Pann-Severi, a magic rod. The Archive Of The White Master was the home of Marusan The White an evil wizard now deceased.
They approach the Birkenstock church and see Fighter the cleric. They also see Leaf the Elf snoring on a bench outside of the church. They talk to Fighter and when Leaf awakes he joins the conversation. Fighter says, "The Archive Of The White Master is north of here, past the woods.". Since Leaf is a woods elf he is aware of the woods to the north of Birkenstock and he thinks he can find the archive even though he has never been there. Caper and Ari buy a vial of healing balm from the cleric and then the party heads north.
After walking a few hours they hear a sound like an animal in distress. They rescue a raccoon hanging in a net trap high in a tree. Leaf climbs the tree and cuts the net free. Caper looks at the ground and finds large goblinoid tracks. They don't follow the tracks but continue north on their quest. The raccoon follows.
After a while they exit the forest onto a large plain. The see a giant eagle soaring above. Close inspection shows that the eagle is decaying and they decide this must be the undead man eater they heard about.
Caper shoots the eagle with an arrow and hits him between the wing and the body. The eagle attacks and Ari dips her dagger in holy water and throws it at the eagle killing it.
We continue north to the library. It's large made of white stone with a big front door. We decide to reconnoiter, circling west first then around the north end. No windows. On the west side we see a broken place where there is a hole in the wall about three feet high. Examining the hole it looks like someone tunneled out a long time ago. Peering in with Ari's lantern it looks like a prison cell. Caper walks in and looks around. The party follows. It's a locked cell, 15' x 10' with bars and a door with a large padlock. We can't pick the lock and we can't bend the bars so we go back outside.
Caper climbs a rope to the roof. It's flat and sturdy with a stained glass skylight. Caper ties the rope off and the rest of the party climbs up. Looking through the stained glass we see a temple with an evil statue and a wooden bench.
The image on the glass is a demon. Leaf wants to break it so Caper gives Leaf his shield. Leaf smashes the skylight with the shield breaking it into thousands of pieces which scatter into the temple below. We see something flitter into the sky and vanish. The skylight was a stained glass golem guarding the temple.
Inspired Unreality open game chat tonight at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic. Vivian and I have been meandering on about pre D&D roll playing so if you have any knowledge there fill us in. Or any topic is good. As long as it's gaming.
NEA Game Fest starts today! This year's event will be held online and has been expanded to run from Oct. 12 to Oct. 18.
http://www.neagamefest.com/
So I just went and bought my badge and signed up for Game Master Round Table Discussion tonight at 8:00. So I may be doing a little bit of double Discord by 9:00.
Yes. It's another Fringe Review: The Terran Trade Authority Roleplaying Game from ZDL's blog. As usual she goes into detail with insightful commentary.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/350
Follow Me And Die says, "I just published my latest video in my Roll20 series. Roll20 For The Absolute Beginner No. 20 - Quick Macro Tips."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2913
And here's a Writer So Good He's a Master: The Return of John M. Ford. He's been out of print but Tor is republishing his award winning fantasy. Ellid writes this review/overview.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2730
Stay in touch. I hope to see you online at the NEA Game Fest.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on my Friendica)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Today's game is The Terran Trade Authority Roleplaying Game (henceforth TTARPG – and yes there's a reason why I'm using such a clunky initialization) released by Canada's Morrigan Press in 2006. It's a science fiction RPG that …
Let's roll back the history a bit, because this is really unusual.
History
In 1978, Hamlyn Publishing released a book called Spacecraft 2000-2100 AD by Stewart Cowley. It was a large, hardback art book filled to the brim with science fiction artwork of spaceships, planetscapes, and future cities/bases that were rendered by some of the greatest SF artists of the time: Angus McKie, Gerard Thomas, Chris Foss, Peter Elson, and others represented by J.S. Artists.
More than an art book, however, it was also a detailed future history with little vignettes of space battles, a future history, etc. all paired with pictures showing the subject. It was a brilliant concept that was well executed, leading to more books in the series authored by Cowley—Great Space Battles (1979, with Charles Herridge), SpaceWreck: Ghostships and Derelicts of Space (1979), Starliners: Commercial Travel in 2200 AD (1980).
All of these books were tied together in a future history involving the name of the Terran Trade Authority (TTA) hence the name of the RPG.
... more
Join us tonight on Inspired Unreality open game chat at 9:00 PM Central. We will be in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern there's an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
We have moved If You Play You Win to 1:00 PM Wednesdays, Central Time. Actual play. I'm not sure what the game will be but I'm pretty sure it will be OSR.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/26
Follow Me And Die posted Episode 192 - Death of an Anti-Paladin. I guess they're getting revenge for the near TPK.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2714
And he has a new video out too. Roll20 For The Absolute Beginner No. 19 - GM View A Map As A Player Without Other Players Seeing It
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2716
I took a picture of some mushrooms in my back yard.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2692
And also of three miniatures I printed and painted.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2694
Stay in touch!
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Tonight on Inspired Unreality the Gamer+ Book Club discusses "The Epic Of Gilgamesh". This will be our last book club meeting this year, we are taking off for the holidays. There is a link to a free download of Gilgamesh here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/28
Last week we finished the "Milyagon Treasure Hunt". I've been blogging our gaming sessions. Now I've combined them together in one story and posted it on SFF Short Stories.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2571
Follow Me And Die reported a near TPK. The players all said, Man, he means it.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2548
And now all of this stuff but mostly music is going on over at my new website, Hairy Larry Rocks.
https://hairylarry.rocks
Please let me know what you've been doing.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (follow me on mastodon, friendica, etc.)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Caper and Bones found a bench under an oak tree and sat down to rest while Ari and the witch made the squamish salve.
They ground the squamish mushrooms into a paste with wild cherries and sage to make the salve which is good for treating carbuncles and other skin ailments and can also cure light wounds. About 2/3 of the salve filled a jar the witch had set aside so she went and got a smaller jar which she filled and gave to Ari.
With that task done Ari and the witch walked over to Caper and Bones and the witch said, “The items are for the Ogre up in the foothills Northwest of Milyagon. He has been under pressure from orcs and hobgoblins moving in. The branch makes a magic quarterstaff to fend them off and the mushrooms are the important ingredient in a salve for his carbunkles. And the feather? That's for his hat. The Ogre has a magic hat and the owl's feather, willingly given, is a component of the spell. He is smart for an ogre because of the hat so it is very important that the feather in his cap does not become bedraggled.”
Enlightened but still very tired the party made their way back to the inn where they ate a hearty supper and turned in early for the night glad to be sleeping on beds under a roof instead of on the ground under the stars.
In which we recover all the loot, branches from the ancestor tree, squamish mushrooms, and a tailfeather from an owl, and complete our quest.
Last week we left off talking to the fairies near the fairy circle. Cautious not to ask a favor and indebt ourselves to them we finally found out that the fairies remembered when the woodcutter came through here and found the ancestor tree. When the fairies pointed out the trail that the woodcutter took, Caper couldn't see it but Ari and Bones could and Caper soon discovered that it was a game trail and he could also help follow it with his tracking skills.
After hiking for about 4 hours we found ourselves at the foot of a large hill. The trail seemed to continue up the hill but it was not distinct. We decided to climb to the top before dark even though we were already tired.
It was dusk when we got to the top so we waited for dark to see if the big tree at the top of this hill was the ancestor tree. Ari detected magic on the tree and it was magical. She detected magic on branches on the ground and they were not. So this might not be the ancestor tree but at least we were in the right vicinity.
The moon was already up in the sky when the sun set. Soon it was dark and the moon lit the treetops but we didn't see a fey glow. Bones helped Caper up to the first branch and Caper carefully climbed to the top where he could look out over the moonlit forest. After Caper got back to the ground he said, "I think we've come too far. The moonlit glow is brightest to the northwest and I think the ancestor tree is back a ways in the direction we came."
In the morning Bones suggested that Caper climb the tree again for a daytime view but it was slick with dew and Caper couldn't do it. (I rolled a 4) So we headed back down the hill the way we came and at the bottom with the sun peeking up over the eastern horizon we searched for a path up a hill to the northwest. Soon we were climbing the next hill and were at the top well before noon.
Of course there was a big tree at the top of this hill too. Bones boosted Caper up and he was easily able to scramble up to the top. When Caper climbed back down he said, "The next hill to the northwest is even taller than this one. I'm not sure the ancestor tree is there but I'm pretty sure this isn't the ancestor tree." So after we ate we continued on to the northwest again. Ascending the next hill we found a huge tree. It was time for supper. After we ate we thought we would look around for squamish mushrooms just in case this was the ancestor tree. Bones found a patch of them due west and then Ari found a big patch north of them.
After the sun set the big tree glowed brighter than the moon. We went to the big patch of mushrooms and followed the moonbeams penetrating the forest canopy and shining on the ground. With half the night gone Bones finally saw the moonbeams light some mushrooms and he was able to pick five of them which barely covered the bottom of the witch's bag.
In the morning we ate and although we were tired we decided to search for a branch from the ancestor tree before we slept. We searched here and we searched there and then Ari found a big branch just north of the tree. She detected magic on the branch and sure enough it was a branch from the ancestor tree. Caper searched again to the northeast and Bones searched around close to the tree. Bones found one but Ari couldn't tell if it was magic or not. Caper suggested that Ari carry her branch and that Bones should carry his back to the witch to find out if it is magic.
After their naps Ari searched for medicinal plants and Caper searched for mushrooms. Ari found a fever plant and harvested leaves. Caper found two large mushrooms he knew to be edible but when Ari detected magic on them she discovered that they were magical and Caper decided not to eat the magic mushrooms until he had talked to the witch about them.
It took two more nights to find enough mushrooms. The third night we spread out a little with Bones looking at the patch to the west while Ari and Caper looked at the big patch. We had good luck toward morning. With the moon near full it didn't set until almost sunrise. We ended up with 30 mushrooms. 20 filled the witch's bag half full and Ari put the other ten in another bag stowing them carefully in her pack.
Although we were tired we decided to hike on back to Milyagon. We found a game trail heading east and we left the Wilken Woods in the farmlands to the west of Milyagon. Soon we were across the bridge and at the Inn having a hot dinner, something Caper really missed while they were camping.
After we ate it was a short walk to the witch's cottage to the northeast of town and she was vary glad to see us. She kept the branch Ari was carrying saying it would do fine. She looked at the branch Bones found and said it was also from the ancestor tree and was in fact a magic quarterstaff. She told Bones to keep it and thanked him for his help. When Ari showed her the two bags of mushrooms she was delighted and said that she would teach Ari how to make the squamish salve and she could keep the extra for her medicine kit. She grinned wide when she saw the tailfeather, stuck it in her bonnet where it looked right at home, rolled her eyes three times, touched her nose, and said, "Yes, this will do nicely. My thanks to all of you." Then Caper showed the witch his magic mushrooms found beneath the ancestor tree and the witch said, "Now these are nice. These mushrooms are not dangerous but they should be consumed in moderation. One half of one of these large mushrooms will affect three people as if they had two large tankards of ale. And, of course, the mushrooms are much easier to carry then a keg of ale. Unlike ale the mushrooms don't slow you down in fact they do the opposite and make you slightly more dextrous for about four hours."
XP
Group XP
For finding the ancestor tree and completing the quest - 400
Ari
For finding mushroom patch - 20
For finding mushrooms - 40
For finding a branch - 100
For finding the fever plant - 20
Following fairy trail - 40
Detecting magic - 40
Total for session - 660
Bones
For finding mushroom patch - 20
For finding mushrooms - 80
For finding a branch - 100
Following fairy trail - 40
Total for session - 640
Caper
For finding mushrooms - 60
For finding edible magic mushrooms - 40
Tracking - 20
Climbing trees - 40
Total for session - 560
Happy Autumn. Fall is here. Summer is over. Winter is coming.
Tonight on Inspired Unreality we continue our quest in Wilken Woods. If You Play You Win in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Starting at 9:00 PM Central. Jump in jump out. Everyone is welcome.
Here are the session summaries from our game so far.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/259
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/258
Next Monday the Related To Geeks Book Club is discussing "The Epic Of Gilgamesh".
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/28
ZDL has posted two more Reviews From The Fringe, "Starships & Spacemen" and "Story Engine". These reviews are top notch placing the games in history as well as discussing game mechanics and playabiility.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/261
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/263
Follow Me And Die passes 100,000 views on YouTube and he is moving up close to his 1000th subscriber.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2475
Yourbuddy75 posted a link to his Searching For Destiny stream where they are continuing their endeavors in the Forest of Hope.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2474
And I mean what I say there in the comments. Always let me know about any projects you are working on and we will promote them at Gamer+. We have so many creative people on Gamer+ that I know I'm not keeping up with them.
Welcome our new gamer, MyrddinWyllt. He's into a lot of horror gaming and literature and he has an interesting blog.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/MyrddinWyllt
Keep in touch,
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix..cc (on my friendica)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Today's review is going to come from the weird side of game publishing. The game is Story Engine and it has a fairly convoluted history that led to its demise and current fate.
History
Our story begins in 1996 with a small indie press outfit called Hubris Games. Hubris published a little game called Maelstrom Storytelling, that had some decent indie success spawning four follow-in products in the process. They also published a free game called Story Bones with the essence of the ideas behind Maelstrom's game system but the setting excised. Then in 1999 they published this game, Story Engine (sub-titled "Universal Rules") and followed that up with a revised edition in 2001.
... more
We're reaching deep into the wayback machine for this review. Today's fringe gem is another game from the (in)famous game publisher Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU). As I said in an earlier review of Psi World, FGU was a game company willing to champion and publish any game concept imaginable (with predictable mixed results in quality and sanity). One of the games I mentioned in my capsule history of them is a very rare beast called Starships & Spacemen (S&S).
... more
Tonight is the Related To Geeks Podcast at 9:00 Central. Our topic this month is DIY Gaming. Please join us in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invite for you at Gamer+.
http://archive.gamerplus.org
In two weeks the Related To Geeks Book club will finish out the year discussing The Epic Of Gilgamesh. It's a free download and it's a pretty short read so this could be an easy one for anyone to join us. More info here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/28
Follow Me And Die has been improving his studio. He says, "I use it to record YouTube videos, and also for livestreams." I've been trying to catch up on his project because I have been preparing the Icosahedron for a similar setup.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2444
So DM Hairy Larry has been running a quest on our available Mondays. I wrote "Milyagon Treasure Hunt" and we're playing in Just Quest, a rules light OSR system. We've got an owl's tailfeather and we're talking to the fairies at the fairy circle. Can we find the ancestor tree? We'll be playing next Monday at 9:00 again, in between our podcasts.
If You Play You Win. Here are our session summaries for the first two weeks.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/259
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/258
On the music side of my life I have been working on a new website called Hairy Larry Rocks. Hairy Larry Rocks is one ring to rule them all. A Hairy Larry portal at the center that connects all my music, writing, videos, publishing, ... I could go on. But I won’t.
I am sure I will add more in the near future. Enjoy the music.
https://wordpress.hairylarry.rocks
Be sure you let me know what you've been doing. I'm on the internet.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on the fediverse)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Ari, Caper, and Tude (Ari's wildcat) got a message from Kendrick to go see the witch at Milyagon. The witch gave them their quest, to bring back an owl's tail feather, some squamish mushrooms, and a branch from the ancestor tree in the Wilkin Woods. She also mentioned that no one knew more about Wilken Woods than the woodcutter.
The party went and talked to the woodcutter who drew them a map and gave them sage advice about the fairies.
They entered Wilkin Woods and traveled nearly all the way across it on Woods Way. About halfway across they ventured south and found the first marked owl's eyrie. Returning to Woods Way by traveling due north they found a landmark, a tree with a burl on it that looked a little bit like a face with knotholes for eyes.
Continuing along Woods Way they realize they must have passed the second marked eyrie. Caper leads the party back, leaving the road to the west of the eyrie which they also find. It is now evening so they eat supper and prepare to camp hoping for more luck with these owls in the night.
XP
---
group XP for surviving a day in Wilken Woods - 200
for getting the quest from the witch - 50
for getting the map and advice from the woodcutter - 50
Ari - finding the first eyrie - 50
Caper - finding the second eyrie - 50
- climbed two trees successfully - 20 + 20
Our story so far:
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/259
Ari, Tude, and Caper were joined by Bones under the owl eyrie. The party erected a large tarp using rope and Bones' tent hoping to catch a naturally falling owl's feather. Caper climbed a tree trying to make friends with an owl but when it started to get dark he had to come down. They attracted two owls by putting out some meat in a cook pot on a tripod.
Then Ari threw Tude's ball under some bushes. Tude ran over and flushed a bunch of rodents and bunnies. For a few minutes there was a flurry of owls feeding. The next time Tude ran under a bush Caper shot a little bunny rabbit. Holding the dead bunny Caper called to the owls with a series of hoots. An owl landed on Capers outstretched arm and started feeding. With his other arm he slowly petted the owl. And then he had a hold on the tail feather that had been bothering this owl. Bones said we should scare the owl. Tude tried to scare it and Caper added in some cat noises and the owl flew off leaving one tail feather behind. Caper handed the feather to Ari for safekeeping.
We went south looking for the fairy circle trying to get some help from the fairies finding the ancestor tree. Ari and Caper kept true south while Bones scouted east and west. Bones was about a quarter mile to the west when he found the fairy circle. He jumped right in it and started dancing but fortunately he made his saving throw and didn't fall into Feyland.
Bones stayed near the fairy circle and after a while Ari and Caper noticed he was late. Ari asked Caper if he had anything with Bones scent on it so Tude could track Bones by scent. Caper held his rope out for Tude to smell and then they followed Tude west to Bones.
Caper found some rocks for chairs and sat down about 20 ft. from the fairy circle and played his flute. Sure enough some pretty fairies came to listen to the music and the party started up a conversation with them.
XP
---
group XP for surviving a half day in Wilken Woods - 100
group XP for getting an owl's tail feather - 200
group XP for talking to fairies - 50
Bones - idea about tarp - 20
Boosted Caper into tree - 20
Finding the fairy circle - 40
Ari - working with Tude at Owl's Eyrie - 30
working with Tude finding Bones - 30
Caper - Climbed a tree - 20
Held owl on arm - 30
played flute for the fairies - 20
Some D&D players meet a stranger on the road and start into talking and just blurt it all out. I mean, "He seems nice enough." is not a good excuse for giving him too much information. Obviously your antagonist, The Boss Of The Big Bad, is going to pick someone with high charisma to weasel your party's secrets out of your big mouth.
Too Open!
But then there are other players who just never get to the point. They're trying to start a conversation, or talk about the weather, or listen at the next table over when a simple question would likely get the information they need and not really have a dangerous downside even if they are asking the enemies spies. (Except they might lie to you.)
Overly cautious!
But ... asking a question is in fact giving information and it is possible to give something away or be killed just by asking the wrong question in the wrong company.
Now here's where we get all meta and start looking at the same thing from two different points of view.
As a player you want to be careful what you say around strangers. Loose Lips sink ships. But you also shouldn't be afraid to ask anyone a question, ever. I mean that's why DMs have NPCs so they can get on with the exposition.
So this is a strategic decision about game play. Finishing the quest and staying alive.
And when you can't make up your mind? Is this real dangerous or is this maybe just a little dangerous?
Look to your player character. Ask yourself what your character would do. Is he timid or is he brave? Is he drunk or is he sober? Is he smart or is he an idiot?
Let your player character be your guide. Play your role and act it out and the hell with the rest of the party for griping about how you are always getting them into fights.
Prerelease text from the If You Play You Win game now on Inspired Unreality Monday nights. When this is published I will add the link here.
---
Ari is a human wizard trained in healing and defense. Ari has a pet wildcat named Tude, she has raised from a kit. The cat is not a familiar but there is a very close bond and the cat is always alert for danger. Caper is a halfling bard with a storied past. Although designed for two player characters this quest could be played by any low level party.
Kendrick uses a telecommunication spell to send Ari a message. (calls her on her cell phone) He says "Big things are astir so small things must be put in place. Contact the witch at Milyagon. She has a task that needs done."Ari and Caper travel to Milyagon and talk to the witch. She needs three things from Wilken Woods but she cannot go herself because her daily rounds helping the elderly keep her busy. She's been putting this off but evidently Kendrick thinks it's important enough to send help.
The witch says:
"You have to go to Wilkin Woods to get a feather from an owls tail, some squamish mushrooms, and a branch from the ancestor tree.
"The feather cannot be stolen but must be given freely. If the owls
suspect foul play they will attack as fowls do. Do not let the feather touch the ground. If you find a feather on the ground it will not work.
"The squamish mushrooms grow in leaf molds under large oak trees. Their magic concentrates under the moonlight and they are best picked with the moon shining directly on them. Here is a small bag. It needs to be more than half full but not all the way full or the mushrooms will bruise.
"The ancestor tree grows large in the heart of Wilken Woods. It's a giant oak. The legend is the ancestor tree was the first tree in Wilken Woods and the forest started from this one tree. The ancestor tree is big magic, the other oak trees less so. The magic dilutes with extended lineage those grown from ancestor tree acorns have half the magic of the ancestor tree. Those grown from their acorns, half again. You will know the ancestor tree because it shimmers with a fey glow in the moonlight.
"Do not to cut, break, or chop any tree in Wilken Woods. The oak trees will defend the forest. It is safe to pick dead branches from the ground for firewood but fires should not be started under a tree. Never burn a branch from the ancestor tree.
"Branches on the ground have no magic except for the branches fallen from the ancestor tree. So you can detect magic on branches around the ancestor tree to make sure that a branch fell from the ancestor tree. A branch doesn't fall far from the tree so first find the ancestor tree and then find a branch. Get a big one.
"The squamish mushrooms close to the ancestor tree have the most magic. So after you get the branch search the area for the best mushrooms.
"Wilken Way deliberately avoids the most magical areas of Wilken Woods. The ancestor tree is to the south of Wilken Way. Nobody knows Wilken Woods like the woodcutter. He lives at the north edge of the woods in the least magical area. Still, all of the woods are magical and you should be on your guard at all times."
The witch points to the sky and says, "See the half moon up in the blue sky. You have come at a good time. The moon is full in a week and you will have strong moonlight over the next two weeks.
Last week on Inspired Unreality Vivian and I went to Milyagon. We are doing a task for the witch, getting some supplies from Wilken Woods, a magic forest.
Tonight we're going back. And you can come too. If You Play You Win, actual play DnD, in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. 9:00 PM Central.
Follow Me And Die says "Today on the blog, I write about Session Summaries."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2415
Made sense to me so I wrote up our session summary.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2416
Follow Me And Die also introduces us to Devin Rue. He says "Deven Rue is an awesome cartographer, who also makes various other things for table props."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2428
See you in Milyagon,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Tonight, actual play on Inspired Unreality. I will be running my quest, "Milyagon Treasure Hunt", in Just Quest, a super light rule system that I wrote based on Carl's "Wizards and Heroes" RPG. Yes, If You Play You Win is back. If you want to play you are welcome. It takes less than 5 minutes to roll up a character. Inspired Unreality starts at 9:00 PM Central every Monday night in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord.
Inspired Unreality - https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/9
If You Play You Win - https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/26
In September the Related To Geeks Podcast will be on Sept. 14 and the Related To Geeks Book Club will be on Sept. 28 so we may play again next Monday. If you have an idea about something you would like to do contact me.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/relatedtogeeks
FollowMeAndDie posted "Episode 185 - My Campaign - Did They finally Reach The Sand Vikings?" on Anchor.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2410
Most of you know I'm into music. I am also a Free Culture/Creative Commons advocate promoting Mix Culture where you reuse other people's art to make your own. Put them both together and you get MixRemix Radio. Give it a listen, play it for background at your table, or find some music to use in your vlog, podcast, or other project.
https://mixremix.cc/mixremix-radio
Stay in touch. Let me know about your projects. Post them on Gamer+ and I will include you in this newsletter.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on the fediverse)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Tonight at Inspired Unreality open game chat our opening topic will be RPGs as collaborative story telling. Feel free to bring your own topic. All gaming is on topic and everyone is welcome.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/9
Inspired Unreality is held every Monday night at 9:00 Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you have never been to Tenkar's Tavern we have an invitation for you on Gamer+.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Last week the Related To Geeks Book Club discussed "Armada" by Ernest Cline. Next month we'll take on The Epic Of Gilgamesh, the story that started fantasy literature thousands of years ago. Needless to say Gilgamesh is public domain. There is a download link to the translation we're reading here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/28
I like to write fantasy as well as read it. My specialty is super shorts, one page short stories. Here's a link to one I wrote called "Elphonium".
https://sffshortstories.com/?x=entry:entry170714-062937
Lately I've been following #microfiction, #10wordstories, and #sixwordstories. So here's my six word story.
And then the sun went nova.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/248
Send me your short fiction.
Role playing games are collaborative story telling. Join us tonight on Inspired Unreality to talk about it.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on the fediverse)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
#SixWordStories is a thing.
Xan is an expert.
Here’s my first shot at #SixWordStories.
And then the sun went nova.
- by Larry Heyl CC-BY
There’s a website.
And a Flickr group.
https://www.flickr.com/groups/sixwordstory/
Prefaced by “Just as a reminder here is the story that started it all. For sale: baby shoes, never worn. “.
Cross posted from SFF Short Stories.
Tonight at 9:00 PM Central the Related To Geeks Book Club will be discussing "Armada" by Ernest Cline. Find us in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Ernest Cline also wrote "Ready Player One" and like with that book "Armada" has a strong gamer component. Some of the characters even have a regular D&D campaign.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/28
Last week Alan joined us on Inspired Unreality open game chat and we discussed the recasting of Monsters as regular people in D&D 5e among other things. That was fun. I might decide I want to play and Orc or an Ogre but I'm not sure how much I want to be a civilized Orc or Ogre.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Alan
FollowMeAndDie posted "Episode 184 - My Campaign - Continued Desert Travels by Follow Me, And Die! A podcast on Anchor."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2389
Megan posted Episode 3 of Indie Five. She says, "I talk briefly about five indie games I've played recently." Check it out.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/video/view/62
worldofwarcraftlee discusses a hidden insect in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I think the insect is actually a bug. Read it for yourself.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/243
After years of one offs and intermittent schedules I find myself in two weekly campaigns. Family game is 5e and the other game is "Chronicles Of Ember" which is Furry and Dangerous. What games are you playing? Are you lucky enough to be playing or running a regular campaign? Sounds like a good topic for Inspired Unreality. Message me.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/9
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (on the fediverse)
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Open Game Chat on Inspired Unreality tonight. Bring your own topic. Inspired Unreality is held in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord at 9:00 PM Central.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/9
Last week on the Related To Geeks Podcast we discussed D&D as portrayed in media. Executive summary. Best portrayal of a D&D game - Freaks and Geeks last episode. Best D&D media overall - Tripod Vs. The Dragon. Don't believe me? Just ask Carl.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/CarlHeyl
Next week we will be discussing "Armada" by Earnest Cline at the Related To Geeks Book Club.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/28
FollowMeAndDie is about to hit some major Youtube landmarks. He says, "Wow! 95,000 total views of all my YouTube videos! coming up on 900 subscribers! Mostly due to my series Roll20 For the Absolute Beginner."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2384
ZDL posts pics of some interesting dice. She says it's, "A d18 design based on dice used over 2000 years ago. First glimpse."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/view/644/albumPhotos?albumId=71
If you have a gaming blog, vlog, podcast, or website we want to feature you. So here's all my contact info. Stay in touch.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc (follow me on the fediverse)
hairylarry@gmail.com
Tonight on the Related To Geeks Podcast we will talk about Dungeons &
Dragons as represented in other media like movies, television, books,
and music. This is an open game chat and everyone is welcome. The
Related To Geeks Podcast will be held at 9:00 PM Central in the
gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord.
The Related To Geeks Book Club podcast about Brandon Sanderson's
"Warbreaker" has been posted.
https://anchor.fm/relatedtogeeks/episodes/Related-To-Geeks-Book-Club--- Season-1--Episode-7---Warbreaker-ehi53j
Alan made a couple of announcements about his Chronicles Of Ember
Starter Set that should be available now. This looks like a good way to
get into this cold, dangerous, fuzzy RPG. If you like games where you
actually get scared The Chronicles Of Ember is for you.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2377
And added to Links:
https://archive.gamerplus.org/links
Here's an interesting Youtube channel called Tabletop Bellhop, your
cardboard concierge. Interesting videos about all kinds of tabletop
gaming.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCez3_cu7peTRAcb1ZJF4j5A
If you haven't read Order Of The Stick you've got hours of fun in front
of you.
https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots.html
Let me know what's new in your world of gaming. Message, email, or,
best of all, post about what you've been doing at Gamer+.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@gmail.com
Tonight on Inspired Unreaity we will be discussing strategy and tactics.
Does your party set things up in advance of a conflict? Do you plan
escape routes? Have a plan B?
Inspired Unreality is open game chat held every Monday night at 9:00
Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord.
Last Monday Megan, Vivian, and Larry enjoyed discussing "Warbreaker"
at the Related To Geeks Book Club. Although we all had
different problems with the book our shared opinion is "not Brandon
Sanderson's best." I'm already reading our book for next month,
"Armada" by Ernest Cline.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/28
Please welcome Alan, the creator of The Chronicles Of Ember, a unique
role playing experience.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/Alan
FollowMeAndDie reports "My YouTube channel passed 850 subscribers
today!"
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2363
Lately I've been enjoying #SixWordStories. Here's my six word SF story.
And then the sun went nova.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Tonight at 9:00 PM Central the Related To Geeks Book Club will discuss
"Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson. The book is licensed Creative Commons
and can be legally downloaded here.
https://unglue.it/work/7775/
The Related To Geeks Book Club is part of our Inspired Unreality open
game chat held every Monday night in the gamerplus chatrooms at
Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern
there's an invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Megan, Vivian, and I were joined by Alan of Chronicles Of Ember fame
last night at Inspired Unreality. We discussed the post apocalyptic
genre, literature and movies. We also spent a little time on podcast and
vlog production. Plus, of course, dad jokes and other miscellany.
I talk about my recent Point Crawl-Like Session Planning. This is my
blog's eleventh anniversary post!"
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2346
I've been doing some coding on one of my not game projects, MixRemix
Radio. If you want to listen:
https://mixremix.cc
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@curators.mixremix.cc
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
On Inspired Unreality tonight Vivian and I will be discussing the DnD
we know and love best, OSR before it was OSR. Sometimes before it was
even DnD. What can I say. We're old.
And next week, July 20, the Related To Geeks Book Club will discuss
"Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson. Follow the link to the Gamer+ Group
for the Related To Geeks Book Club where you can download this Creative
Commons licensed novel.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/28
Inspired Unreality open game chat is held every Monday night at 9:00
Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord.
Everyone is welcome. If you haven't been to Tenkar's Tavern there's an
invite for you here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
ZDL posted The best good luck charm EVAR!
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2316
Here's the Related To Geeks Podcast we did Monday night featuring Megan,
Vivian, and Larry discussing Murder Hobos and pre DnD roll playing in
Beebe, Arkansas.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2319
FollowMeAndDie posted his new podcast, Episode 183 - My Campaign: The
Broken Lands.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2328
And a big shout out to our new gamer, chuckdee, who posted our link on
Mastodon. If you use social media, have a blog or a website, please add
our link. (https://archive.gamerplus.org) Or even better post a link to your
profile. Like this.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/chuckdee
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
We will be hosting the Related To Geeks Podcast tonight at 9:00
Central on the Inspired Unreality open game chat held in the gamerplus
chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. The topic for tonight is
"Murder Hobos Are Boring - how to avoid see something, kill something,
...". Everyone is welcome to participate.
If you've never been to Tenkar's Tavern there's an invite for you on
Gamer+.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/index
Just scroll down until you see the Tenkar's Tavern graphic and the Join
Server link in the left hand column.
FollowMeAndDie posted an interesting blog about "My thoughts on RPGs,
Alignment, and Race."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2312
ZDL posted some interesting trinkets in her Fun Toys photo album. I
like the Misadventure Awaits badge showing a 1 on a 20 sider.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/useralbum/ZDL/71
I just posted the Related To Geeks Book Club on Anchor. We discussed
"The Ocean at the End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2308
I hope to see you tonight on the Related To Geeks Podcast.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Inspired Unreality beginning topic
hairylarry
There are three levels where magic can be created
The writer of the game or of a module or setting for a game can create magic
This includes all the spells in the players handbook to a specific item created for a quest or module
DMs can create magic tailored to their table and their game
So instead of looking in a book for a magic item the DM can instead imagine a new magic item out of whole cloth
And, for me the most interesting is a player character creating magic during game play
So a dwarf can go to a forge and create a magic weapon that is needed to complete a quest
Or a wizard can occupy himself entirely with spell creation
The creation of magic by player characters is a little dance between the PC and the DM
The DM calling for dice rolls during the creation of the magic
And then, of course, the dice rolls to test the magic during play
Untested spells would have a lower reliability level so are more difficult to successfully deploy than tried and true spells
And the first time a wizard tries a new spell he better not roll a 1
Or he opens himself up to the DMs imagination as to what could possibly go wrong
vivian
Unfortunately it is not a guarantee that a die will comply with a
command not to land on a 1. Crossing fingers probably won't work
either.
hairylarry
I think rolling 1s is more fun than rolling 20s
vivian
I'll try to remember that. Maybe I can wish into exsistence many 1s for
you to enjoy.
hairylarry
Is a wish a type of spell?
vivian
As a matter of fact. The problem is it's not reliable.
hairylarry
Meaning maybe it doesn't work at all. Or maybe it works but you don't
really get what you're wishing for
Or worst of all you do get what you wished for but it wasn't really what
you wanted (be careful what you wish for)
vivian
Prezactly!
hairylarry
or perzackly - where's the spell check for imaginary words
vivian
LOL in your noggin.
hairylarry
for that we need a spelling spell
vivian
Hmmmm where's Webster at when you need him?
hairylarry
Djini's are magic creatures that grant wishes
vivian
OH? how many of your wishes have they granted?
hairylarry
If you tell your djinn that you wish you could spell better
you will find yourself spelling better correctly and mispelling every
other word
Better iz teh enema off gudnough
vivian
Go figure!
hairylarry
you get the idea
vivian
Yup!
hairylarry
If wishes were horses beggars would ride
vivian
Only if they can saddle it, well maybe if they ride bareback and don't
fall off.
hairylarry
or is the wish for a horse and the tack
vivian
You mean presaddled and ready to go?
hairylarry
Wish is the mightiest spell a mortal creature can cast. By simply
speaking aloud, you can alter the very foundations of reality in accord
with your desires.
https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Wish#content
Tonight on Inspired Unreality open game chat we will be discussing
making your own magic items, spells, and worlds. Join us in the
gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkars Tavern on Discord. In the open game
chat anyone can change topics and all gaming is on topic.
ZDL posted another great fringe review on Mythic, a game system
designed for winging it. This game can be played with a DM or without.
Solo or group. It has an interesting and simple mechanic. Read about it
here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/blogs/post/218
FollowMeAndDie reports on his Roll 20 game. He says, "In today's session
of my AD&D game, the party managed to get through a week of game time.
This included introducing two new players & characters into the party,
surviving an ambush, & finally getting to the sand ships to sail across
the desert to face the Son of The Necromancer." Read more here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2296
The Related To Geeks Book Club is reading "Warbreaker" by Brandon
Sanderson this July. Here's a link where you can download "Warbreaker"
as an epub, a mobi, or a pdf.
https://unglue.it/work/7775/
Please welcome our new gamers, mmdozer and worldofwarcraftlee.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/mmdozer
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/worldofwarcraftlee
Spread the word. Invite your friends.
Thanks
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
... more
Tonight, at 9:00 PM Central, on Inspired Unreality we will be talking to Vivian Heyl about family games, how to play DnD with kids, expecially your kids. Please join us in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Inspired Unreality is an open game chat. Everyone is welcome.
Last week at the Related To Geeks Book Club Megan and I talked about "Circe" by Madeline Miller. We both liked "Circe" and we're going to read Miller's earlier book "Song Of Achilles", another fantasy novel based on Greek mythology.
Then we decided on the books for the next three months.
July 20 - Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson
August 17 - Armada - Ernest Cline
September 21 - Gilgamesh
The Brandon Sanderson book is licensed Creative Commons. Sanderson discusses what this means here.
https://www.brandonsanderson.com/warbreaker-rights-explanation/
"Warbreaker" is available for free download on unglue.it. Mobi, epub, and pdf formats are available.
https://unglue.it/work/7775/
I've done a lot of work on the Related To Geeks website, integrating it into Gamer+ and reposting photos and links to Gamer+.
Here's the photos.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/photo/userphotos/relatedtogeeks
Here's the links.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/links
And here's the website.
https://relatedtogeeks.com/
I also posted a Related To Geeks Podcast about House Rules.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2282
Join us tonight on Inspired Unreality. It's going to be a good discussion.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
Megan, Larry, and Carl are joined by Alan Wortman, creator of "The Chronicles Of Ember", discussing House Rules in board games and role playing games.
https://anchor.fm/relatedtogeeks/episodes/Related-To-Geeks---Season-2-Episode-7---House-Rules-efo4qa
Monopoly Board photo by Horst Frank, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3627036
Here's the script for the outtro.
You have been listening to the Related To Geeks Podcast, recorded March 2, 2020 on the Monday night Inspired Unreality open game chat held at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. For more about our geeky family visit relatedtogeeks.com. For more information about Inspired Unreality join Gamer+, a social network for gamers, at gamerplus.org.
The music for this show is "Spam" by Hairy Larry from the "Collaborators" CD.
Megan and Larry will be hosting the Related To Geeks Book Club tonight on Inspired Unreality open game chat. The book for tonight is "Circe" by Madeline Miller. We will be in the gamerplus chat rooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord.
Besides our book discussion we will be proposing books to read next quarter. I have a Brandon Sanderson novel to suggest. What do you want to read? Make suggestions tonight at Tenkar's or here.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/28
I posted our discussion of Little Brother by Cory Doctorow on Anchor. I have also uploaded most of Season 1 of the Related To Geeks Podcast. Season 1 was recorded in 2015 and 2016. Yeah, I know. Better times. The podcasts posted include Playing Microscope, Gateway Games, Geek Literature, and Role Playing Tips And Tricks. Here's the link to the Related To Geeks Anchor page.
https://anchor.fm/relatedtogeeks
Put those on your phone and listen.
Now here's the most important link in this newsletter.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/
Share, join, participate. Let us know what game stuff you've been up to.
Thanks and stay in touch,
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com
The Inspired Unreality open game chat is tonight at 9:00 PM Central in the gamerplus chatrooms at Tenkar's Tavern on Discord. Our opening topic will be character classes in fantasy gaming. Are you an elf, a dwarf, a ranger, a paladin? What characters do you like to play and why do you like to play them? Tell us some stories about your role playing history. Everyone is invited. All gaming is on topic.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/9
I just finished Circe by Madeline Miller. It's delightful. We will be discussing "Circe" next Monday, June 15 at the Related To Geeks Book Club. Still plenty of time to read it and join us.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/28
Have you ever played The Battle For Wesnoth? Here's some Wesnoth artwork in the Tabletop Inspiration group.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/groups/35
I just posted a Related To Geeks Podcast called Board Game Resurgence. It's a blast.
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2234
Read Appendix N at the Internet Archive. No, not the list. The books.
"This list of fantasy books was drawn up by the late E. Gary Gygax toward the end of the 1970s. While formalizing the advanced rule set for Dungeons & Dragons, a game he created with Dave Arneson, Gygax added an appendix to his Dungeon Master's Guide listing the books that inspired him to create his fantasy role-playing game."
https://archive.gamerplus.org/newsfeed/2235
That's it for now. Stay in touch and keep on gaming.
Hairy Larry
https://archive.gamerplus.org/user/hairylarry
hairylarry@deltaboogie.com