The Lost And The Damned

A strange thing about having children...to make family life work (at least in a sane and effective fashion), you really appear to need one more parent than the number of children you possess. Just for the "rotational value" of "getting stuff done," I mean. As I've said before, my hat goes off to any single parents out there...how you cope is quite beyond me. But giving attention to two kids AND getting housework done and whatnot is just tough...and neither my wife nor I are going into work at the moment! Since the mother-in-law left the building, small snatches of free time have been divided between catching up on sleep and doing those chores that absolutely need doing; it IS possible, of course, just not (as I said) particularly efficient/effective, and certainly not easy.

But whatever: that's just me giving a lame excuse for not blogging more. Sure I could have written something a couple mornings ago when D and his mama were sleeping and I was in charge of the slumbering baby, but I chose to watch the Norwegian-fake-documentary "Troll Hunter" instead. See, it's really all about priorities.

Priorities, yeah. Last week, I spent most of the week doing wedding stuff for my buddy, Steve-O (congrats Steve!) as I was acting as both his Best Man and his Confirmation sponsor (he's "all in" on the Catholic church these days). It got me out of the house five out of seven days, but I'm not sure the free booze at the reception was really enough to compensate for the energy expended [well, maybe]. Next week, the family will be concentrating on getting our return trip to Paraguay organized (buying all that shit you can't get in South America and packing it), and no compensatory hootch on the horizon...well, not the free kind, anyway.

[*sigh*]

Despite the lack of time for writing and the closing of my local game shop (denying me easy access to gaming product), I have managed to score a book I've been wanting in the collection for over a decade: Games Workshop's old (out-of-print) Realm of Chaos: The Lost And The Damned.

$200? Better than selling one's soul!

Well "score" probably isn't the right term...I bit the bullet and found a guy selling a copy on Amazon for close to $200 and sent him the money before I had the chance to second-guess my action. But these days my patience for delaying gratification is just razor-thin...like I said, I've been looking for a copy in used bookstores for more than a decade, and have been kicking myself for not buying it for fifteen years.

[why didn't I buy it back in 1990 when there were stacks and stacks of it at the local game shop? Because I'd already missed the boat on getting Volume 1 of the the two volume series and figured Volume 2 by itself would be a waste of money. However, a few years later I was able to get not one but two good, used copies of Volume 1 (Slaves to Darkness) and have never again seen The Lost and The Damned available for purchase]

The copy was near mint condition and I'm quite satisfied with the purchase, as it packs all the info/content I was hoping for and more. At the same time, I find myself disappointed with the book: The Lost And The Damned introduces the whole concept of the WH40K Emperor being some sort of All-Wise benevolent Messiah and the primarchs as genetically engineered "superheroes" specially-crafted to fight the evil of the Warp. I hate this storyline, and (previously) had always thought this radical departure from the Rogue Trader setting had taken place in the 2nd Edition of the game. After all, Slaves to Darkness first introduces us to the Horus Heresy when the Warmaster is nothing more (nor less) than the Emperor's greatest soldier-general...not some vat-grown Superman used to spawn a bunch of mutated freakazoid space marines. Sorry...outside of the superhero genre, I've always preferred my protagonists to be human, even though they may be the toughest of the tough and the bravest of the brave.

[I mean, why would you need bionics if you can just give them extra organs/glands and incredible regenerative power? I, of course, prefer bionic replacement of lost human bits]

But that complaint will probably only make sense to long-time 40K fluff-readers like myself. The book is still quite enjoyable and despite my reservations back in 2009 my first, near obsessive thought is to do a conversion of the Realm of Chaos books...or of their basic themes anyway...as a B/X supplement. Yes, yes, I'm still in the middle of doing several other projects, but this one really calls to me (*ahem*).

On the other hand, if you don't want to wait to add the antagonists of Chaos to your B/X or LL or other old school D&D game, might I strongly recommend a great compilation-conversion by Steven Cook (the Prismatic DM) posted to his Borderlands blog. You can get his Fortnight of Chaos Hordes PDF here. It's pretty good. My own project has a slightly different focus and will be a bit more B/X-specific (and a bit more "serial numbers filed off").

: )

Iceberg Tips

A bit of free time today, though perhaps one of the last instances of such in the very-near-future. I'd like to say I'm using it to bang out something excellent and noteworthy, but mostly I've been catching up on old emails and blogs and whatnot.

Also, I've spent a lot of time reading Mel Birnkrant's recounting of his years as "creative director" for Colorforms...a truly fascinating, fascinating look inside one of the bigger toy producers of the late 70s - early 80s. I spent a lot of time playing with Colorforms back in the day, often on long road trips prior to my learning how to read. My introduction to Spider-Man came about through Colorforms when I was three years old and flat-on-my-back in a body cast because of a broken leg.

Had this exact set as a child. Hours of fun!

ANYway, it's really interesting stuff (and a real suck-age of time, too). I can relate to a lot of his issues and frustrations as a designer...especially, his assertion that the toy biz is one of spotting icebergs...for every toy that gets produced, there are many more lurking below the surface of the water. I look at my own "To Do" list of games that are in partially produced stages and see the truth of this: my current count of unfinished "products" numbers...hmmm, let's see...seventeen.

[probably one of the reasons I don't bother entering competitions like Game Chef and the One Page Dungeon]

And that's just counting stuff that I've done some initial work/writing on. There's plenty of other ideas/concepts floating around in my head that haven't yet managed to make it to paper/computer. Maybe some day when I have a team or staff of people working for me and a lot of capital to throw around. Right now, I'm blessed to just live in a day and age that even allows self-publishing.

The history of toy/game manufacturing...or rather the big businesses we've come to recognize like Hasbro and Mattel...is quite fascinating, especially considering the slim profit margin in the industry and the financial missteps that have nearly sunk the biggest players. It's interesting how the Big Boys have benefitted the most...and managed to stay afloat...mainly due to expansion into overseas markets, outsourcing jobs to China, and acquiring other toy and game businesses (like WotC, Fischer-Price, Milton Bradley, Kenner, American Doll, Cranium, etc.).

But...well, now I'm starting to ramble. Let me get back to you when my head's a little more clear.

Spoiling the Child: DC Adventures

The wife and baby are sleeping at the moment, and my boy is at daycare. There's a lot of things I could (and probably should) be doing at the moment, but drinking some coffee and plugging a few words into the blog feels like the thing to do.

Despite the lack of recent posts, I've spent a lot of time mentally composing posts in my head (not that this is particularly useful to my readers...). Most of these have been on the subject of comic books, superheroes, and superhero RPGs. I really need to sit down and do a week or so of posts on the subject but, well, time is limited these days due to the kids.

Not really the baby, mind you. Having a second child is, in many ways, less a challenge than the first time around. My wife and I know what to expect and how to handle it. I'm more useful than I was before and the whole thing is a lot less stressful...plus I've gotten used to sleeping less than five hours a night over the last three years (a combination of 1st baby, beagles, time zone shifts, early morning jobs, and night owl wife). Yes, I spend a lot of time in "grump mode" but I can survive and function. No, Sofia's actually a bit of a snap at the moment. The real time constraint on my time is the attention I need to lavish on my first born (in addition to household chores). The refrain of "Papa, you play with me" is near constant in my waking hours.

Which isn't a terrible thing, by the way (soon enough it will be "Papa, leave me alone" I'm sure)...but it does use up any time I might have for writing. That's just the fact, friends.

On the other hand, my play with D has been a source of inspiration. One of the reasons my brain is stuck in superhero mode lately is my sharing in my son's obsession with super types. We dress up as, and pretend to be, superheroes, we play with superhero action figures (Fisher-Price has a great toy line for toddlers), we color superhero coloring books, and we read superhero comic books...when we can find ones that are child friendly (Batman '66 is good in this regard and has pretty cool/interesting stories, too).

In fact, it is due to my son that I have a newly acquired appreciation for DC comics and its characters.  I stopped being interested in most of the DC universe (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.) sometime between the ages of eight and ten with a couple notable exceptions (Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters and the Wally West Flash of the 1990s). I just wasn't much interested in those classic Justice League types, tuning out about the same time Richard Prior starred opposite Christopher Reeves in Superman III. I watched Keaton's first Batman movie mainly because of Tim Burton (and the Prince soundtrack), and failed to catch the rest of the franchise, only picking it up again with the more recent Nolan trilogy. No, for almost all my comic book and movie franchise viewing pleasure, I've been saying "Make mine Marvel" since roughly 1984.

But now? I think I'd pick up an old school Barbara Gordon Batgirl comic over anything X-Men or mutant-esque at the moment. Scratch that: I'm absolutely certain I'd pony up the dough for the former over the latter. Part of this is that Diego loves Batgirl and has very little idea who Wolverine is (he's colored a picture or two)...but I truly mean that's only part of it.

Even Aquaman is pretty damn cool (and my son's second favorite superhero after Batman), and I don't mean the pony-tailed, one-handed warlord version. For what it's worth, my favorite depiction is probably the big-ego (if good-hearted) Aquaman found in the animation Batman: The Brave and the Bold, but Diego and I have (since Paraguay) logged a lot of time viewing old episodes of the 1960s Aquaman on YouTube, complete with "Aqua-Lad" and Tusky, their trusty (somewhat bungling) walrus mascot. Black Manta vies for top position in Favorite Villains of All Time, though he's got stiff competition with Gorilla Grodd.

[a super-intelligent, huge-ass gorilla with mind control powers? What's not to like?]

Good with a filet knife.

But, yeah, I've started to acquire a real appreciation for all those old "cheesy" DC characters: Robin, Hawkman, Supes and Bats, Wonder Woman (who's a little over-powered, if you ask me...), Aquaman, Red Tornado. It still bugs me that DC has uber-powerful characters like Flash and Green Lantern and then the classic bad guys are so weak (Captain Cold, Penguin, Cheetah, etc.). But for a child...and maybe it's because I'm looking at these dudes through the eyes of my child...these power discrepancies don't matter. Diego considers Riddler to be the baddest, toughest bad guy of the bunch "because he has bombs."

[though I believe he considers Gorilla Grodd to be the scariest]

And goons. A bad guy's entourage of goons is a big part of their prestige in my household.

ANYway, having immersed myself in DC supers for the last couple months, it was probably inevitable that I would pick up a copy of Green Ronin's DC Adventures Hero's Handbook, AKA Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition. I've had the chance the peruse it over the last three days or so ad I'm still having a hard time making sense of it. I mean...ugh. Maybe I'm just getting stupider in my old age, but I got lost right around when they started talking about conditions (even before constructing "power effects"). It seems like the game is part M&M, part "Champions Lite," and part Magic the Gathering (you know, the recent versions of the game where you need to know a bunch of specific jargon for card effects that have been created over eight or ten releases?). My guess is that game play would become relatively easy with practice (as one becomes used to the particular conditions and effects and how they interact) and that character construction (a better term than "character generation" for a process like this) is an art form in and of itself...one that can lend itself to abuse and one I don't have much interest in mastering at the moment.

BUT...for a rules crunchy supers game, IF I wanted to play such a thing, it would appear that DC Adventures is the book one would want to have. Much more than HERO System (i.e. Champions) or GURPS Supers or that old Mayfair Games DC Heroes with its logarithmic craziness, it captures much of the "soft reality" of superhero comics/programs that is missing from other meaty systems.

I just don't think I want to play a game that's quite so crunchy. Let me see if my mind changes over the next couple days/weeks as I continue to  digest the meatier bits, but right now the game is more interesting for the lovely artwork and concise information on the DC Universe (in-book character write-ups also include both Black Manta and Gorilla Grodd, though it leaves out both Riddler and the Penguin to my chagrin).

As an aside: I consider Heroes Unlimited and the original Marvel Superheroes RPG to fall into the category of "rules light" RPGs, in terms of both gameplay and chargen. A rulebook doesn't have to be a 30 page indie-publication to be "light." Just so folks understand what I mean when I say DC Adventures is anything but light.

Sofia Jeanne, Born April 21st, 2014

Another healthy, happy (sometimes grumpy) baby in the world. This didn't take nearly as long to birth as my son (under seven hours compared to 40+) and thank goodness...leaves a lot of energy for giving attention to the first child.

Well, "a lot" may be stretching it. Hopefully "enough."

Anyway, I'm a tad busy at the moment (making breakfasts and whatnot); hope everyone has a good week. Oh...and happy Easter (belatedly).

: )

Sawed-Off Rifts

What month is it? April?

I won't bother going over everything that's been going on, save to say that preparing for a new baby (due sometime in the next week or so) takes up a lot of your time.

'Course, we've been enjoying ourselves, too. Being back in Seattle has been a wonderful and welcome change from Paraguay and we (the fam and I) have been soaking up as much of its delights as possible the last few weeks. We sure are going to miss it once we're back in Asuncion...no lie. Yeah, best not to think of that right now...spoils the buzz.

Let's just jump in.

Sometimes, flawed execution means little to game design. If an idea is powerful enough to capture gamers' imagination in a particular way, shape, or form they'll cross hell-and-highwater to make it work...even if they can't (or won't) particularly put up a fight in defense of said system.

That's a very cool thing, by the way. A game like Rifts or Champions or Deadlands or Shadow Run or Vampire might be a turnoff to some snooty folks (like myself) due to a perceived lack or fault of design, but it doesn't stop people from buying and supporting those games. Heck, it often doesn't stop ME from purchasing these games...I picked up four new Palladium books lately (in the last couple weeks) even though I hate-hate-hate myself (at times) for doing so. I mean, I've got a bit of an Immortal Iron Fist fetish-thang going right now, and despite knowing how absolutely useless a book of "real world" martial arts would be for modeling the alien dimension fighting styles of IIF, I still picked up a copy of Ninjas & Superspies. And, yes, I was absolutely right: NSS is worthless for modeling Immortal Iron Fist (or even "real world" martial arts, if you want to get down to brass tacks).

But again, flawed execution doesn't necessarily matter when it comes to selling books. Just look at me: I picked up the two South America "world books" for Rifts (during Gary Games's retirement sale...the sadness of that transition deserves its own blog post), even though I have no intention of running a Rifts game in the near future and even though any Rifts game I might run is more likely to be in Russia or Wormwood rather than South America.

Today, I was down at The Dreaming comic book store in the University District (the 4th or 5th comic shop I've been in the last couple weeks, though for reasons other than Rifts) and I met a man who had driven a long way, girlfriend/wife in tow, looking for a copy of Rifts: Ultimate Edition specifically in order to update his upcoming campaign with the most recent cyber-knight rules. Dude was a large African-American man, about my age, who'd been playing Palladium since 1988 and made no bones about Palladium being his preferred system for gaming. That's the kind of dedication I just don't often see these days...outside D&D devotees, that is.

I spent a lot of time last week on the Palladium forums (mainly Heroes Unlimited) reading posts and threads and I just found the whole thing so terribly depressing. I mean, the type of posts were mainly how to reconcile the crazed or faulty mechanics, and most answers were just suggestions for patches and house rules that wouldn't even work except on a case-by-case basis...it just made me dizzy and a little nauseous. I'm not saying that to be funny or snarky...I mean, it made my head spin to read the same "how does one reconcile X or Y" type posts over what is so obviously a fucked-up game design. But it's one that has such a devoted following who loves it...why else would they keep coming back to a game that was so damn irritating? The guy at the comic book store was just one of the many hundreds loyal to a warty game, who are simply inspired by its ideas and want to adventure in its world...not because of but in spite of its warts.

Maybe my main problem as a designer is being unable to come up with an inspiring enough premise. Find the right button to push, and people will flock to your banner regardless.

Ugh...sorry, I actually have to cut this post short. Just got a call from my wife that one of the running beagles is on the run (again) and I need to go track her down. I'll try to come back to this subject later.

[just typing from Ye Old Baranoff]

The Limits of Technology

Still haven't started packing yet, but I think we'll be okay. Mainly, we plan on packing empty suitcases in empty suitcases for the journey home...suitcases that will be full upon our return in June. That's the kind of logistics issue that is easy for a bone-head like me: stuff it so it fits.

What's the harder thing is getting my computer to do what I want it to do. Spent most of the morning (so far) surfing the internet and "help" sites and coming up empty on a variety of topics.

I woke up this morning (blearily) with the great idea of rewriting Cry Dark Future as a "smart document;" something that links weird, technical terms with the rules and definitions within the document; something having pop-up boxes for equipment items (like guns and whatnot), rather than forcing players to scroll by finger through their ebook (or comb through a thick print-book by hand). It seems to me that here would be a great use of fancy-shmancy technology and the young 'ins preference for hand-held devices. And CDF is small enough that this wouldn't be too burdensome, and complex enough that such an undertaking would be worthwhile for navigating the game.

Unfortunately, Mac Pages cannot create links to other sections of the document. Nor can it create pop-up text. Nor can it create a damn index. What a stupid, worthless waste of my time.

I will be purchasing Word (again) when I get back to the U.S. I should have got a frigging PC. Arrgh!

It's Five O'Clock Somewhere...

...here actually, in Paraguay.

I'm cracking a beer in part because I'm unemployed, in part because there ain't much more to do at the moment, and in part because I feel a mini-celebration is in order. Turns out the family will be heading home for Seattle on Wednesday after all. All of us.

Thank goodness.
: )

Not that it means "the hard times are over" or anything. Au contraire, mon frere. We're just (finally) starting to settle in to our Paraguayan house, which is anything but "hard times." Here I sit in my solarium, watching a gardener clean up the unsightly jungle that is my backyard, while I drink ice cold Stella and listen to the air conditioner hum. It is grey and overcast today...82 degrees...and the maid is taking a break, watching Mexican telenovellas on a giant 3D flatscreen in the other room...a TV that even I, marked TV watcher that I am, would be hesitant to include in my Seattle home for fear of it becoming more of an altar/shrine than it already is. Life is not hard here...especially not for me...and as frustrating as it has been (at times) to adapt to a different style of living, almost all of my complaints can be filed in the category of "bitchy-whiny-ness." Once you find two-three decent restaurants and the Paraguayan equivalent of Whole Foods, the only other things you need are the car and internet service to feel comfortable...and we've got all that. Everything else...really...is just frosting.

SO...our three month sojourn in Seattle (to have our second child) will be much more trying in many ways. The home stretch of my wife's pregnancy. The adjustments that come with having a second child. Not having daycare/school for our first child (that puts me in the nanny role again). The stress of figuring out what things we will absolutely need to take with us when we return to Asuncion for the rest of the 17 month contract (especially the extra things for the baby...D is almost completely potty-trained at this point but the diapers down here are pretty shitty). No, I doubt I'll be cracking many afternoon beers in the near future!

Yes it feels good to know we'll soon be back in cold and drizzly (it IS still March, right?) Seattle soon. But it's coming right as we're finally getting used to life here. And everything both here and in Seattle is scheduled for dramatic upheaval...inevitable, unstoppable upheaval. What's that ancient Chinese curse again? "May you live in interesting times." I'm looking forward to being home, but oh boy. At least if the beagles wake me up at 4am, that'll be 8am Asuncion time (and I usually get up at 7ish here).

Ah, well...inevitable is the operative word, really. I wonder if any of the old crew will be up for some Thursday night gaming this week. Might need to try organizing something via email.
; )