Rose Red Vs. Shocker

* = I have blogged my ASS off this week.

You can always tell my mind set by the amount of blogs that I churn out in a given week. This week has been hectic. As you could tell by my previous blog there is a lot swirling around in my social circles. I’m also going through another bout of poor sleep. The place that signs my checks is really stressful this week as a people in the department I’m somewhat attached to are leaving and there is no plan by the higher ups as to what is going to happen. I’m not a fan of uncertainty.

Usually when this happens I find some sort of respite in nerdiness. I either throw myself into a book or books, a television show, a game, painting minis, etc. I use something as a distraction to remove myself from the ‘Now’ so I can get to the ‘Then’. I’ve been making a concerted effort to do this a bit less. It’s an effective tactic for stress relief, but I don’t think it’s the healthiest. Not to mention if I can’t tackle my feelings, ideas, and turmoil head on, then am I really the person I want to be?

What I’ve found this week is this crap is exhausting, which is even more ironic, because it’s things I’m only peripherally involved in. So it’s like looking at someone running and saying, “Man, watching you work is EXHAUSTING!” So instead of uttering something that goofy, I’m taking an alternative path, I’m embracing the exhaustion!

When I’m tired my mind races, it takes me to places in my imagination, it generates tales of ‘High Adventure’, and gives me a bit of that rush of energy that is only a product of a boundless imagination. I know it sounds a bit like bragging, like I’m saying “…look at me, look at me, my brain is on FIRE with wonder and the fantastic, HAHAHAHAHA!” And it is, and I am. However, instead of using this for ill, I’m choosing to use my powers only for ‘Good’. So today I’m concentrating on something I’ve been dying to get off the ground and that is the Basement Sci-Fi War.

I know Mighty Mike is insanely busy, and that his forces are primarily ‘Space Barbarians’, so basically his Warhammer 40K Chaos Space Marine forces, I’m not going to touch his stuff. He most likely has a great handle on it. I on the other hand have a few forces that I have really not explored, or even finished for that matter. The first are my WWII style Germans, so pseudo-Space Nazi’s. Dave has graciously volunteered to take this force on as it’s General. The army is made up of some interesting forces. There is a definite commander, five squads of Troopers each with a leader, then a crap ton of Trencher Foot Soldiers. On top of that there are I believe five large Super Soldier types. These were cobbled together with Space Marine Terminator arms and the bodies of Indy Heroclix Major Maxim. They’d work a lot like Ogryns, in my mind. Throw in with that some AT-43 vehicles and you have the potential for a solid complete army. When they get painted I’m going to go black, red, and silvers, ominous colors. I’ll let Dave fill in the actual background. Hear that Dave, that’s a creative challenge.

Secondly I have the mass of Space Marines, a lot of them put together with different heads and arm swaps from other companies. These would be my analogy for the British Empire in decline. This is especially true since some of the pieces sport lion iconography. The backbone of these forces would be the Trencher units. These would be the fodder conscripts, low cost, numerous in number, and easy to kill. I’d say overall that this would be an army built around specialist troops, ‘Hero’ units, and small unit counts. I’m also thinking of this army being built on the back of a Battle Cleric/Medic piece of unit. That would allow them to stay in fights where they are dealing with massive amounts of enemy troops. I think the feel should be decidedly an anti-swarm force. It would be cool too if I could find another troop type to add. I have some really great pith helmeted Bulldog Men heads from the game Brushfire. If I could find some cheap Orc bodies they would be a solid fit. They could serve as an Ogryn type troop option. Overall, I think they lend themselves to being sort of the Protagonists of our little Space War Universe. They are the last bastion of an Empire that is crumbling, so maybe as much Rome in the final days rather than the sun setting on the British Empire.

This leaves me with my Alien Legion force. This is made up of primarily Imperial Guard bodies coupled with Alien heads and parts. Sort of a galactic French Foreign Legion. I think this is the army I’d most likely want to play. I imagine them as a thrown together group of volunteers, conscripts, criminals, and mercenaries. I had hoped to figure out some type of large troop type for them to have, but I’m beginning to think that I’d rather just have them be a pure Swarm Army. Outfit them with stolen artillery units, AT-43 Human troops as Corporate Mercenaries, and walker vehicles, as well as them having Robot Dogs. That’s right they have Robot Dogs! I’m contemplating grabbing some of the AT-43 large Ape Men as a supplementary close combat unit. I think they’d fit in perfect with this mish mosh army. I need to put together more of these pieces so they get that swarm feel, not to mention I have a TON of minis that just need an arm here, or a head there.

This leaves me with the a crap ton of unassembled 40K Orks including vehicles, some miscellaneous parts like some Tau with no heads (who most likely will become specialists units in the Alien Legion Force, and the Therians from AT-43. I’m thinking that the Therians and Orks could be mercenary troops. High cost to add to an army, highly specialized, and available only based on mission. In addition I’d like to get a hold of some cheap Star Wars minis to use as ‘Insurgents’ or ‘Irregulars’ or Slaves or even conscripted native troops. This would also be supplementary to an actual army. It allows for options. It also would allow us to use them in scenarios as enemy combatants that none of us control.

As for play space, I have a board to use, I just need a Battle Map to put over it. I also have a crap ton of terrain, and the ability to throw more together with minimal effort. It shouldn’t be difficult at all to make things interesting battle field wise. With all the 40K and other war game rules I have it also shouldn’t be difficult to come up with game scenarios or even a campaign model. The real struggle is getting everyone together, getting rules in place, and getting those dice rolled.

Since I’m in that creative head space right now here are...

Five Things I’m Contemplating For D&D;

5) Does the group have a moral center? If so who is it, and where do they lean? I know Joe’s character just wants to find the human woman he sacrificed his place in the City Of Brass noble courts for. Does he really love her, or is it something else? The group, and myself if we’re being completely honest, knows next to nothing about Mike’s Drow character. Hell he didn’t talk until one session ago. He disappeared for a whole session to Gawd’s know where and did Gawd’s know what. I’m curious as to what he wants to get do in the game and who he wants to do it to. Cassandra’s Changling was a ‘blank slate’ until finding out that the faces she’s been wearing were once real people. Why can’t she remember who she was, and why does she change her appearance so often? Is she running from something or someone? When it comes to Dave’s Shade/Vampire he hates those that made him what he is, but what if he was confronted with something he doesn’t expect, acceptance? Not to mention you have to trade a part of your soul to become a Shade, and the PC’s traded their souls in agreement with the ‘organization’ they serve in Shadowspire, so how much of a soul does Dave’s PC have left? What happens to someone with no soul? And what would happen if he was offered a chance to get back what’s been taken? Zack is the hardest to pin down since his motivations are his own, but he’s shacked up with an enemy turned ally Necromancer, and the two have proven to be useful to the group if not equally unpredictable. He obviously worships something ‘different’, and even his healing has consequences for his allies, what happens if he is finally able to show them the beauty and the glory of the ‘Stars Finally Being RIGHT’? Of all the players I KNOW where Zack is headed the real question is how I get him there in a way satisfying for me, the other players, the story, but most importantly him. Last, but not least is Bob’s man falling through time. On the surface he’s the character with the most developed back story and really the most to ‘lose’. He’s also the most pinned in by the fact his character has supposedly already lived this life. So what happens if he finds out his decisions have caused the timeline to splinter? What happens if he finds that he is now in the ‘Darkest Timeline’ or the ‘Brightest’ for that matter? Is he defined by who he was, or who he could now become? How are we toys of destiny or ‘Higher Powers’ has always fascinated me, I’m thinking it might begin to fascinate Bob’s character as well. When you have this diverse and somewhat Anti-Hero orientated groups it means that a moral center or compass of the group can be difficult to define or have. I don’t think the group has necessarily had one up to this point, especially after what happened in Cold Mine, but what happens when you go somewhere that will tempt and test you to such a degree that the possibility of alignment shift is real? The group is going to have to very quickly decide who they are as individuals as well as a ‘team’.

4) What does it take to be a Deity? Are fantasy gawds fail able, and more in line with the Greek/Roman pantheons or the Norse Myth Cycles, or are they more like the Judeo-Christian monotheistic model of perfection? What happens when a Gawd fails its followers? What happens when there is a hole in a pantheon or something wrong with the abstract Lattice Of Heaven model? In addition what if a PC had motivation or cause to want to take up a cause or strive for Gawd hood? Thus far religion has had very little impact on most of the characters, the exceptions being Joe & Zack. That is about to change.

3) Setting the table for something grand at the next Tier. I have a pretty solid idea of what I want to do in the next tier of play and right now I’m simply building in, dropping ‘Easter Eggs’, and laying a foundation for the Paragon Tier of play. A lot of my ability to customize it to the PC’s depends on what happens in the next portion of their adventures. The Erathis Monastery will be the catapult to everything that comes after. It’s the end of the first chapter, the Heroic Tier, and the gateway to what comes next. The real question is how can I make it amazing without overloading the narrative or the players?

2) How to work in the Weird, without it going Gonzo? I have played and run in very vanilla fantasy games. It’s usually Good vs. Evil, all the fantasy tropes are in their place, and deviation has been disconcerting at best and disruptive at worst. I’m trying to break free of that. I want that ‘Anything Goes’ feel, without it degenerating into something decidedly NOT D&D. I mean if I really want a Gonzo game then I should just play Gamma World. That being said I want to do something different; I want to surprise the players, to challenge them, and to take them on a journey that is as interesting as it is fun. I have plots and plans to do so, I just want to be organic and not feel forced. Too often things like this can feel like tacked on elements or just gilding the Lilly. I want to be something where they go ‘HOLY CRAP!’ and then nod and go, ‘Oh, well that makes sense now…’

1) Getting the game back on track. We are currently on a strange hiatus due to schedules and a lack of solid communication. This has to change. If I can get us back to once a month, that would be ideal. It’s hard to do that when everyone has ‘Real’ lives and relationships that demand attention. This is just about having a good time, rolling some dice, and telling a story. It can’t compare to our everyday existence. That being said I want it to be something that the players don’t like to miss or cancel. I want to be so fun that they make time an allowance for it. I know sometimes we hit that sweet spot, but not always. That’s on me, and it’s fixable.

All I know is if we don’t get a session in before the middle of July I might explode from an overabundance of awesome. And no Dave that wasn’t a masturbation joke. At least not this time. Anywho, let’s wrap this bad boy up with some…

RANDOM CRAP!

- Today on the way to work we rocked out to the first two Fairly Secret Army CD’s. I had forgotten just how much I enjoy them, and the jump in quality made between the first and second. On the way home it’s going to be Waves Of Mercury, The Great Darkness. I know, I know, I’m a shill for Dave, but the reality is I’m just he and Greg’s biggest fan.
- Its official, the Drive Way Food War this year will be Pizzas on the grill in September.
- I grilled last night in the rain, and the while the environment sucked a bit the results were unbelievable. That might have been the best steak I’ve ever cooked. It was tender, had the color we both like, had a bit of a smoke ring, and the taste was off the charts. I’ve come to realize that really all I need to knock out a rock solid steak, regardless of the cut, is some balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and Montreal steak seasoning.
- Making new friends is an exhilarating and terrifying endeavor. For some reason I really enjoy it.
- The herbs are going crazy right now in their little pots, but most impressive is the jalapenos! We already have like five little ones growing and a ton of blossomed flowers. If the weather stays like this then both that plant and the tomato plant are going to yield like mad.
- Tomorrow it’s off to ‘The Cloud’ for some teachin’. To say I’m unenthused would grossly underestimate my disdain.
- Speaking of the sojourn west, Ant we should get some grub together. I’ll call you tonight.
- Maybe tonight I can convince Cassandra to play some Baldur’s Gate. We keep talking about it and teasing one another about it getting cancelled all the time, but neither of us makes the other commit. I think tonight I’m going to bother the HELL out of her and get her to play. I’m really good at being a pest.

And, I think I’m done…Oh and remember kids, living well is the best revenge…

“City authorities in your area
Have reported that the bodies of the dead
Are rising from the graves
And attacking the living

When did this begin?
This curse as old as sin
Reality is bleeding at the core
Brilliant savagery
Decapitate and bleed
Off the spoiled seed until it's pure

The darkest devil nightmare blacker than their evil souls
You gotta fight 'em
I'll end you
God save us prayers fall on deaf ears so put your faith in force
You gotta fight 'em
I'll end you
The murder in your eyes is just the will to stay alive
You gotta fight 'em
I'll end you
'Cause there's no humanity when the dead come back to feed
You gotta fight 'em
Fight 'em

In the end of everything
Dead will rise and sing
Fight ‘em ‘til you can’t fight no more
The world is only blood
When rage becomes your love
Fight ‘em ‘til you can’t fight no more

I will end you
Kill and kill the thing
It’s mind-shattering
When murder is the only cure
Brilliant savagery
Decapitate and bleed
Off the spoiled seed until it's pure

The darkest devil nightmare blacker than their evil souls you gotta fight 'em
I'll end you
God save us prayers fall on deaf ears so put your faith in force you gotta fight 'em;
I'll end you
The murder in your eyes is just the will to stay alive you gotta fight 'em
I'll end you
'Cause there's no humanity when the dead come back to feed you gotta fight 'em
Fight 'em

In the end of everything
The dead will rise and sing
Fight 'em 'til you can't fight no more
The world is only blood
Rage becomes your love
Fight 'em 'til you can't fight no more

The darkest devil nightmare blacker than their evil souls you gotta fight 'em
I'll end you
God save us prayers fall on deaf ears so put your faith in force you gotta fight 'em;
I'll end you
The murder in your eyes is just the will to stay alive you gotta fight 'em
I'll end you
'Cause there's no humanity when the dead come back to feed you gotta fight 'em
Fight 'em

In the end of everything
The dead will rise and sing
Fight 'em 'til you can't fight no more
The world is only blood
Rage becomes your love
Fight 'em 'til you can't fight no more

In the end of everything
The dead will rise and sing
Fight 'em 'til you can't fight no more
The world is only blood
Rage becomes your love
Fight 'em 'til you can't fight no more

No more
No more
No more”

* = "OH GOOD FOR YOU!"