Monday, February 2, 2015
MarsJournal
Just finished reading Designers & Dragons: The '90s. I dug it. The '90s was when I really came into gaming, so this volume had a lot more direct interest than the last two. I wasn't sure what to read next, but knew I wanted to read something else before starting the '00s. Ben recommended The Martian. I read through 30 pages or so and the writing is not to my liking. To this point it's reading like a bad blog. And having read some of my old LiveJournals lately that's sticking in my craw more than I would have expected. Maybe I'll give it a little bit more. It's not a particularly long book anyway.
Phantom Phatness
Quick trip to Carlsbad this weekend for Ross and Julie's birthday. Ross has been digging on Dungeon World a whole bunch lately, so I picked him up a copy of Class Warfare. Apparently he's got a group of about 8 of his swim team playing in a game. Good on him.
Yesterday was Super Star Wars Sunday. Our annual 'We don't watch the Super Bowl' thing. I doubt Carrie would be too against going to a SB party but I'm glad she's down with doing this too. We watched Phantom Menace. Haven't seen that one in a long time. Wow. Bad, bad, bad. Also, we picked up rolled tacos, chile con queso, and guacamole from El Sombrero Express and we junk food-ed ourselves miserable. However, the kids were all asleep by 7, so Carrie and I had a lot of time to relax and let the food settle out.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
iSaac
Isaac was in town for Amtgards this weekend. Met up with him at Spotted Dog Thursday night. Their amber ale is delicious. And there was parking this time, unlike when mom and I tried to go a few weeks ago. Haven't had a chance to just sit and chat with Isaac for a while, was refreshing. Wish he was still living in Cruces. Friday we picked up El Sombrero Express and had him over for dinner and to visit with the whole family. Isaac graciously helped me slay the Smaug Stout I got for Xmas while we watched Frozen.
Alex stopped by for a little while before heading down to El Paso. His dad has had some recent health complications and his heart isn't doing good. They're just starting up home hospice. Sad.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Home/Life
I looked back at old LiveJournal entries yesterday, expecting to be mostly embarrassed at whatever it was I was talking about 10 years ago. Or at least bored. I wasn't expecting to be kicked in the gut by nostalgia. I had thought that all the minutiae would engender more boredom upon rereading but I think it frames all the other crap I was talking about and gives it context. Man, I had a lot of time on my hands back then.
So, what's home life like now...
Abigail May. She was born on September 22nd. Four months old now and I'm finding that equating this new baby to whatever we went through with the twins doesn't track. Carrie's mentioned more than once, since she was born, that we deserve medals for dealing with twin infants. I don't disagree. It's easier, for sure, but this time around Carrie and I have vastly different obligations. Since she's breastfeeding there's only so much I can contribute. But I'm doing what I can.
My day-to-day for the past four months has looked something like this:
Get up in the morning, feed Piper, shower, then we get Owen and Paige dressed and fed while they watch a little tv before daycare. One of us takes the twins to daycare and I'm off to work, generally getting in between 8 and 8:30. Work 8 hours then home where Carrie's picked up the kids. She's a lot better than I am about keeping the tv off till I get home most days. Then fix dinner, feed piper, and get the kids baths and into pjs. Let them watch a little tv before brushing their teeth, reading books, then into bed for them and Abigail. After the kids are down Carrie and I watch some tv then she goes to sleep and I stay up a while watching tv or reading (books or comics or internet). Sleep.
That's pretty accurate I think. It doesn't account for Monday being swim lessons for the kids, which means Wendy's (usually) for dinner. Or for when the kids were in soccer this past fall. Or when I get home and there's still some light out so we actually get outside for a little while.
Abigail starts daycare on Monday. Constant flux, this parenting thing.
So, what's home life like now...
Abigail May. She was born on September 22nd. Four months old now and I'm finding that equating this new baby to whatever we went through with the twins doesn't track. Carrie's mentioned more than once, since she was born, that we deserve medals for dealing with twin infants. I don't disagree. It's easier, for sure, but this time around Carrie and I have vastly different obligations. Since she's breastfeeding there's only so much I can contribute. But I'm doing what I can.
My day-to-day for the past four months has looked something like this:
Get up in the morning, feed Piper, shower, then we get Owen and Paige dressed and fed while they watch a little tv before daycare. One of us takes the twins to daycare and I'm off to work, generally getting in between 8 and 8:30. Work 8 hours then home where Carrie's picked up the kids. She's a lot better than I am about keeping the tv off till I get home most days. Then fix dinner, feed piper, and get the kids baths and into pjs. Let them watch a little tv before brushing their teeth, reading books, then into bed for them and Abigail. After the kids are down Carrie and I watch some tv then she goes to sleep and I stay up a while watching tv or reading (books or comics or internet). Sleep.
That's pretty accurate I think. It doesn't account for Monday being swim lessons for the kids, which means Wendy's (usually) for dinner. Or for when the kids were in soccer this past fall. Or when I get home and there's still some light out so we actually get outside for a little while.
Abigail starts daycare on Monday. Constant flux, this parenting thing.
Friday, July 25, 2014
The Ghost Ship of Sezrekan the Mad
The Ghost Ship of Sezrekan the Mad
Here's a basic rundown of what I've got, partly because David Jenks asked, and partly because I need to write this down.
So Sezrekan, back before his apotheosis, traveled around looking for stuff to make that happen. That took him to some pretty weird places, both in and outside this reality. The ship he took to these places sucked up the weirdness in various ways. Here's some of those ways:
The ship is possessed by some alien intelligence from BEYOND. The ship's all rotted and torn up, but the possession by this thing keeps it from falling apart. It also keep the ship sailing, on some enigmatic route. Partly this thing either (depending on campaign needs, and I haven't really decided yet myself) either hates Sezrekan and is traveling to places that could facilitate destroying him, or it is drawn to/loves him and travels to places that could better bring his attention. Probably both.
There's a hole in the bottom of the hold, straight out into the water. Water doesn't flood the ship though, the alien possession keeps it out. If somebody dives through the hole they get stuff to help them underwater: gills, webbed hands/feet, nictating membranes on their eyes. Coming back up through the hole into the ship reverses it. The more someone does this the more likely this stuff is to become permanent.
The captain's quarters is haunted by the sadistic ghost of Grokkus Brell. If someone sleeps in the cabin they wake up having been tortured, and the ship coughs up one of a number of magic items tied to it. The torture gets worse the more nights someone has slept in the cabin. I have some tables written up for this one, but the items bit is unfinished. Each of the items corresponds directly to some kind of ship's business, some of them interacting with other places on the ship, or being required to make certain effects work. Most of them are in the good/bad vein of magic items. Ex: Bos'n's Pipe - a whistle that allows you to command people. Commanded people (npcs) get increasingly pissed off by this and will eventually snap and attack the user.
The crow's nest pokes up out of reality to a space in-between (the phlogiston?). Arcane magic works crazy well there, although there are also automatic corruption effects and mercurial magic is rerolled each time a spell is cast (caster keeps the last mercurial magic effect rolled for the spell). Getting up the mast to crow's nest is a little wonky as you have to climb up out of reality and that can make one dizzy. Clerical magic only works on a critical, and automatically incurs disapproval.
The boy's cabin is a little closet off the main cargo hold and requires the key from the captain's quarters to get in. There are a slew of small portals embedded into walls and ceiling, each leading to a seemingly idyllic pocket dimension that turns out to be a nightmare realm. Should probably come up with some kind of multiple column random table for this one. These pocket dimensions are also centered around objects of power the ship's boy pilfered during the ship's journeys and squirreled away.
There are four rune-inscribed barrels secured around the mizzen mast that contain the pickled, quartered remains of one of Sezrekan's old rivals, Gor-Mal the Butcher. Each quarter of the body has a magic item on it but opening the barrels is dangerous and could end up resurrecting the crazed wizard, who's been conscious since Sezrekan 'killed' him.
That's most of the detail I've got so far. I've got some other ideas too. Something about potentially killing yourself to contact the alien possessing the ship and then gaining some limited control over it. Also, there's probably a skeleton tied to the bowsprit that talks and lies a lot.
If I statted this thing up fully I think I would probably dual stat it for DCC and LotFP.
Here's a basic rundown of what I've got, partly because David Jenks asked, and partly because I need to write this down.
So Sezrekan, back before his apotheosis, traveled around looking for stuff to make that happen. That took him to some pretty weird places, both in and outside this reality. The ship he took to these places sucked up the weirdness in various ways. Here's some of those ways:
The ship is possessed by some alien intelligence from BEYOND. The ship's all rotted and torn up, but the possession by this thing keeps it from falling apart. It also keep the ship sailing, on some enigmatic route. Partly this thing either (depending on campaign needs, and I haven't really decided yet myself) either hates Sezrekan and is traveling to places that could facilitate destroying him, or it is drawn to/loves him and travels to places that could better bring his attention. Probably both.
There's a hole in the bottom of the hold, straight out into the water. Water doesn't flood the ship though, the alien possession keeps it out. If somebody dives through the hole they get stuff to help them underwater: gills, webbed hands/feet, nictating membranes on their eyes. Coming back up through the hole into the ship reverses it. The more someone does this the more likely this stuff is to become permanent.
The captain's quarters is haunted by the sadistic ghost of Grokkus Brell. If someone sleeps in the cabin they wake up having been tortured, and the ship coughs up one of a number of magic items tied to it. The torture gets worse the more nights someone has slept in the cabin. I have some tables written up for this one, but the items bit is unfinished. Each of the items corresponds directly to some kind of ship's business, some of them interacting with other places on the ship, or being required to make certain effects work. Most of them are in the good/bad vein of magic items. Ex: Bos'n's Pipe - a whistle that allows you to command people. Commanded people (npcs) get increasingly pissed off by this and will eventually snap and attack the user.
The crow's nest pokes up out of reality to a space in-between (the phlogiston?). Arcane magic works crazy well there, although there are also automatic corruption effects and mercurial magic is rerolled each time a spell is cast (caster keeps the last mercurial magic effect rolled for the spell). Getting up the mast to crow's nest is a little wonky as you have to climb up out of reality and that can make one dizzy. Clerical magic only works on a critical, and automatically incurs disapproval.
The boy's cabin is a little closet off the main cargo hold and requires the key from the captain's quarters to get in. There are a slew of small portals embedded into walls and ceiling, each leading to a seemingly idyllic pocket dimension that turns out to be a nightmare realm. Should probably come up with some kind of multiple column random table for this one. These pocket dimensions are also centered around objects of power the ship's boy pilfered during the ship's journeys and squirreled away.
There are four rune-inscribed barrels secured around the mizzen mast that contain the pickled, quartered remains of one of Sezrekan's old rivals, Gor-Mal the Butcher. Each quarter of the body has a magic item on it but opening the barrels is dangerous and could end up resurrecting the crazed wizard, who's been conscious since Sezrekan 'killed' him.
That's most of the detail I've got so far. I've got some other ideas too. Something about potentially killing yourself to contact the alien possessing the ship and then gaining some limited control over it. Also, there's probably a skeleton tied to the bowsprit that talks and lies a lot.
If I statted this thing up fully I think I would probably dual stat it for DCC and LotFP.
The Ghost Ship of Sezrekan the Mad
Here's a basic rundown of what I've got. I need to write this down before it slips from out my head.
So Sezrekan, back before his apotheosis, traveled around looking for stuff to make that happen. That took him to some pretty weird places, both in and outside this reality. The ship he took to these places sucked up the weirdness in various ways. Here's some of those ways:
The ship is possessed by some alien intelligence from BEYOND. The ship's all rotted and torn up, but the possession by this thing keeps it from falling apart. It also keep the ship sailing, on some enigmatic route. Partly this thing either (depending on campaign needs, and I haven't really decided yet myself) either hates Sezrekan and is traveling to places that could facilitate destroying him, or it is drawn to/loves him and travels to places that could better bring his attention. Probably both.
There's a hole in the bottom of the hold, straight out into the water. Water doesn't flood the ship though, the alien possession keeps it out. If somebody dives through the hole they get stuff to help them underwater: gills, webbed hands/feet, nictating membranes on their eyes. Coming back up through the hole into the ship reverses it. The more someone does this the more likely this stuff is to become permanent.
The captain's quarters is haunted by the sadistic ghost of Grokkus Brell. If someone sleeps in the cabin they wake up having been tortured, and the ship coughs up one of a number of magic items tied to it. The torture gets worse the more nights someone has slept in the cabin. I have some tables written up for this one, but the items bit is unfinished. Each of the items corresponds directly to some kind of ship's business, some of them interacting with other places on the ship, or being required to make certain effects work. Most of them are in the good/bad vein of magic items. Ex: Bos'n's Pipe - a whistle that allows you to command people. Commanded people (npcs) get increasingly pissed off by this and will eventually snap and attack the user.
The crow's nest pokes up out of reality to a space in-between (the phlogiston?). Arcane magic works crazy well there, although there are also automatic corruption effects and mercurial magic is rerolled each time a spell is cast (caster keeps the last mercurial magic effect rolled for the spell). Getting up the mast to crow's nest is a little wonky as you have to climb up out of reality and that can make one dizzy. Clerical magic only works on a critical, and automatically incurs disapproval.
The boy's cabin is a little closet off the main cargo hold and requires the key from the captain's quarters to get in. There are a slew of small portals embedded into walls and ceiling, each leading to a seemingly idyllic pocket dimension that turns out to be a nightmare realm. Should probably come up with some kind of multiple column random table for this one. These pocket dimensions are also centered around objects of power the ship's boy pilfered during the ship's journeys and squirreled away.
There are four rune-inscribed barrels secured around the mizzen mast that contain the pickled, quartered remains of one of Sezrekan's old rivals, Gor-Mal the Butcher. Each quarter of the body has a magic item on it but opening the barrels is dangerous and could end up resurrecting the crazed wizard, who's been conscious since Sezrekan 'killed' him.
That's most of the detail I've got so far. I've got some other ideas too. Something about potentially killing yourself to contact the alien possessing the ship and then gaining some limited control over it. Also, there's probably a skeleton tied to the bowsprit that talks and lies a lot.
So Sezrekan, back before his apotheosis, traveled around looking for stuff to make that happen. That took him to some pretty weird places, both in and outside this reality. The ship he took to these places sucked up the weirdness in various ways. Here's some of those ways:
The ship is possessed by some alien intelligence from BEYOND. The ship's all rotted and torn up, but the possession by this thing keeps it from falling apart. It also keep the ship sailing, on some enigmatic route. Partly this thing either (depending on campaign needs, and I haven't really decided yet myself) either hates Sezrekan and is traveling to places that could facilitate destroying him, or it is drawn to/loves him and travels to places that could better bring his attention. Probably both.
There's a hole in the bottom of the hold, straight out into the water. Water doesn't flood the ship though, the alien possession keeps it out. If somebody dives through the hole they get stuff to help them underwater: gills, webbed hands/feet, nictating membranes on their eyes. Coming back up through the hole into the ship reverses it. The more someone does this the more likely this stuff is to become permanent.
The captain's quarters is haunted by the sadistic ghost of Grokkus Brell. If someone sleeps in the cabin they wake up having been tortured, and the ship coughs up one of a number of magic items tied to it. The torture gets worse the more nights someone has slept in the cabin. I have some tables written up for this one, but the items bit is unfinished. Each of the items corresponds directly to some kind of ship's business, some of them interacting with other places on the ship, or being required to make certain effects work. Most of them are in the good/bad vein of magic items. Ex: Bos'n's Pipe - a whistle that allows you to command people. Commanded people (npcs) get increasingly pissed off by this and will eventually snap and attack the user.
The crow's nest pokes up out of reality to a space in-between (the phlogiston?). Arcane magic works crazy well there, although there are also automatic corruption effects and mercurial magic is rerolled each time a spell is cast (caster keeps the last mercurial magic effect rolled for the spell). Getting up the mast to crow's nest is a little wonky as you have to climb up out of reality and that can make one dizzy. Clerical magic only works on a critical, and automatically incurs disapproval.
The boy's cabin is a little closet off the main cargo hold and requires the key from the captain's quarters to get in. There are a slew of small portals embedded into walls and ceiling, each leading to a seemingly idyllic pocket dimension that turns out to be a nightmare realm. Should probably come up with some kind of multiple column random table for this one. These pocket dimensions are also centered around objects of power the ship's boy pilfered during the ship's journeys and squirreled away.
There are four rune-inscribed barrels secured around the mizzen mast that contain the pickled, quartered remains of one of Sezrekan's old rivals, Gor-Mal the Butcher. Each quarter of the body has a magic item on it but opening the barrels is dangerous and could end up resurrecting the crazed wizard, who's been conscious since Sezrekan 'killed' him.
That's most of the detail I've got so far. I've got some other ideas too. Something about potentially killing yourself to contact the alien possessing the ship and then gaining some limited control over it. Also, there's probably a skeleton tied to the bowsprit that talks and lies a lot.
Monday, July 7, 2014
New Job, Same as the Old Job
Not really the same, but I'm driving to the same place every day and working around a lot of the same people (for better or worse.)
Having the past few weeks off was pretty great, especially falling in the summer as it did. It meant the family got to spend a lot of quality time together, and do some honest-to-goodness road trip summer vacationing. After my last day with Harris I flew up to Jon's and hung out there for a few days while Carrie and the kids were off on a trip to Leadville with her family. Dad flew out too and we got in some brewery visits before Carrie and the kids came down and joined us. Hung out at Jon's for a couple more days then Carrie, the kids, and I drove back home together.
Summer Vacation, how I've missed you!
Summer Vacation, how I've missed you!
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