Few Quick Updates...

...before I start my A-Z series of posts.

• Last night's game WAS short-handed (three of last week's eight players only). However, Steve-O made an appearance rounding the party out to four and bringing his normal standard of craziness. O my God...I laughed so hard I had to excuse myself from the table a couple times. The only downside? We ended up cutting the session mid-mission (and mid-assault). Steve's borg character has already passed the point of no return, being kept alive solely by the temporary hit points provided by his combat drugs. I'm sure he'll be concluding his story next week.
• As for the others, they seemed to have a good time. AB finally got to use the 25mm autocannons on his gunship, though now that I've completed the vehicle rules his initial budget got shrunk a bit (that 10% hike in vehicle prices due to "troll modification" really hurts!). Heron got to prove his worth as the charismatic front man in the team's detective work (and by doing so prevented any back-alley confrontations with Steve-O), and Hans the dwarf got to go shopping...for smartguns, goggles, and military grade armor. The last bit came in handy when the frag grenades started flying in the assault. All in all, an excellent play-test.
• The group (including Steve) berated me for my "bad review" of Neuromancer...apparently a favorite novel of everyone. I liked the book...did I say I didn't?...I just didn't see what was so "cyberpunk" about it. HOWEVER, Matt and Heron did point out that in 1983 (when the book was published), compared to the other science fiction of the time, the mainly-Earth-setting and no-aliens-of-any-stripe WAS a big difference from the offerings readily available...one might call Neuromancer a humanist form of futuristic fiction, but coupled with the high tech tropes of space opera, unlike (say) Soylent Green. And that IS interesting. I might just have to go back and read the thing again.
• The book writing will continue throughout April, but I will be keeping non-A-Z posting to a bare minimum...y'all have been warned.
• Best of luck to everyone else blogging the A-Z challenge...to me it looks like a real mental stamina test. We'll see if I can stick to it!

; )