Oregon FLGS Gets a Local Newspaper Write Up

It was great to see one of my (relatively) local game stores written up in the regular press recently - Ancient Wonders, whom I’ve praised here before, was featured in Thursday’s Tigurd/Tualatin/Sherwood’s The Times newspaper. Last sentence of the article: “Yes, you can find this stuff cheaper online,” Rains said. “What we offer is a place to play. We provide an atmosphere that you can’t get over the Internet.”

"Hey, There's Something Different About These Orcs..." (d20)

d20 Table of Odd Orcs

1. Obviously blind (but pretending not to be).
2. Speak with a Scottish accent.
3. Drink tea. Use silverware.
4. Totally high on dungeon fungus.
5. Moss suckers - afraid of water.
6. Stay well away from anyone with a ten foot pole.
7. Wearing dapper hats.
8. Knife cult: Only use knives as weapons. Tolerate those who carry knives. Admire those with fancy or magical knives. Scorn those who don’t like knives or use weapons other than knives. Knives. Knives. Knives! They really like knives.
9. Wearing expensive, fashionable dresses.
10. Vegan, dirt-worshipping pacifists.
11. Coin eating Xorn worshippers.
12. All carry copies of a little red book entitled “Underground Equality” written in gnomish.
13. Tracheotomies apparently the latest fad in orken body art.
14. Sing taunts in a dramatic opera-like fashion when attacking (a la Ring of the Nibulung)
15. Best looking orcs you’ve ever seen. Still ugly though - just sayin’! Smell nice too.
16. Zebra striped. Highly contagious.
17. "You guys play boneball?" Totally obsessed with some strange sport.
18. STONE DEAF FROM WATERFALL IN NEARBY ROOM
19. Mumblers.
20. All have the same tattoo of a hot elf chick.

Rolling more than once is encouraged.

Got lucky with a buck...

I read with interest Sean’s announcement that he’s planning on writing a secret agent rpg in the spirit of TSR’s Top Secret. It’s not something I’d ever played a lot of as a kid, but I did own it and we had some good times with it. Coincidentally I’d managed to pick up a copy on eBay a few days earlier… for $1. It arrived today, complete, except for the dice. It’s the April 1980 printing, and all parts including the box (corners too) are in perfect condition. Not too shabby! Maybe I can rope someone into a session of this some time.

In flipping through the books, the thing that quickly stood out for me is how generally weak the artwork is, especially compared to the D&D books. I mean, check out even the Erol Otus piece in the included module (below). Yawn! I wonder if they might have created a little more excitement in us about playing it back in the day if they’d pushed (paid?) these guys more.

Portal

I took this photo (slightly gimped) not far from Middlesbrough years back and thought I'd set it free... hereby released as Public Domain.

Miniatures for an Island Hopping Campaign

On a whim, I’ve been searching around for miniatures that would work well in an island hopping campaign with a Polynesian/Hawaiian feel. Here’s what I’ve found so far...

Bloodaxe Miniatures has a selection of 15mm “Ancient Hawaiian” figures. I suppose these might work opposite 25mm minis as pygmies. Detail is hard to find in 15mm. My favorite of this bunch is the priest with a carving held over his head.

I found a couple of brief reviews. They’re much better looking when painted (more examples here and here).


Eureka Miniatures has a similar line of Hawaiians, also cast in 15mm. Here’s their version of a priest holding a mask over his head.

Yet another is Mick Yarrow's collection. I couldn't find any decently sized pictures of them though.

Pulp Figures has a number of 28mm Melanesian Island Warriors available.

My favorite find was Crunch Waffles' selection which ranged in size from 19mm to 80mm. I really like their Ogre Mage (below) as well as their "gobbo"...
I wondered how easy it would be to find plastic miniatures that might be sold as souvenirs - apparently some of the older ones are very collectible. I didn't run across anything that jumped out as suitable though (at least not for what I had in mind). I did find some 3" tiki carvings that would work well as statues of temple gods or maybe as monsters themselves.

I'd be curious to hear if anyone knows of similar minis, especially in 25mm... there are definitely a lot of Amazons that could be reworked, as well as probably Native American or even Innuit figures that might do.

Japan Earthquake: Toll Free Number Information (Updated)

For information on the whereabouts and welfare of your family and friends in Japan, you can consult the State Department website, call the toll free number 888-407-4747 or else call 202-501-4444.

Update: RPGNow is offering Ronin: Oriental Adventures for $5. All proceeds will go to the Red Cross for Japan earthquake relief efforts.

Dropping Monsters Into Other People's Art

There's this guy who goes to yard sales and Goodwill, buys other people's landscape art, and then paints in his own monsters. I love that someone is doing this - it reminds me a bit of what we do here in our blogs and games.Found on reddit - further discussion here.

The Undead Parrots of Omo Toao

Among the tribal peoples of Omo Toao in the Sea of Os’r, the rare zombie can be found carrying out chores as a way to repay a debt that could never be repaid in life. The arrangement has a number of strict rules involved, including the authorization of the village chief and several witnesses being present at the time the contract is agreed upon. In addition, a witch doctor who initially revives a body and binds its service to another must terminate the arrangement and zombie after an agreed upon time - usually not more than a year.

More commonly found there are the undead parrot heads, or “makemanu”. These are highly prized as novelty items but also have some practical use. Through a process carefully guarded from outsiders, an Omo Toao witch doctor takes a parrot trained to repeat sentences, kills it, and revives only its head - somehow managing to preserve the bird’s ability to speak and repeat short phrases. Each makemanu’s ability varies, but generally only the best birds are used for this purpose. Repeating a phrase to it several times while holding it close to one’s face (a rather unpleasant experience) imprints the sounds. Thereafter, the head will hoarsely squawk the phrase every few minutes. For this reason the heads are usually kept stored away in small baskets tightly wrapped in cloth, especially before being transported.

Makemanu are most often used during yearly celebrations where they’re pitched on poles. Typically in these settings, they’re used to playfully shout insults at passersby or sometimes in tandem with another; one telling a joke and another its punch line, over and over. During the celebration of the vernal equinox, they’re used as a way to convey amorous sentiment. A short love letter or verse is spoken to the makemanu before being hidden somewhere for the target of affection to find at a later time.

They are fragile items, and tend to lose their feathers and fall apart after a couple of years. It is traditional to dispose of a makemanu by fire as destruction by any other method is considered very bad luck. The blue feathered makemanu are most rare and possession by anyone other than King Gramatira or the royal family is a crime punishable by death. He carries a scepter with a makemanu mounted at its apex, and any time the king clears his throat, it announces “That paragon of potentates is going to speak!” Anyone who interrupts this announcement is also punishable by death.

Geordie Goes Gaming Goes MIA

Anyone know what happened to Geordie Racer's "Geordie Goes Gaming" blog? It was up just a couple of days ago but has since been removed (though it's still available via Google's cache). I wonder if his user name caused BBC copyright or trademark complaints, as crazy as that sounds.

The Riddle of the Three Runes

A subject that comes up irregularly at the weekly magic users’ tea party in Domme is the Riddle of the Three Runes. Whoever originally devised the runes is lost to antiquity, but for several years now the social gatherings at the home of Geronymous have been plagued by this curse. In essence, three plain looking runes, when simply placed next to one another in a certain order, arouse in all magic users who behold them (or hear them pronounced) a nearly irresistible need to argue for the lesser or greater importance of one of the symbols and how it relates to their shared occupation. Like a bad case of dungeon funk, the riddle seems to never quite go away, and rears its ugly head most often when a gathering’s banter has begun to wane or become an awkward silence. Once the subject’s been broached, the effect dominates the rest of the social and continues preventing any kind of productive communication between affected magic users for several (d6) days.

The true nature of these runes are known to only a few (those who have made their saving throw at -8). Of course, this cannot be communicated to anyone else (not even to those who have also successfully made their saving throw). What seems a riddle is really a curse: whether read or heard, the effect is also viral, and if one has become infected, he becomes a carrier. From then on, whenever two or more magic users are gathered, there is a 2% cumulative chance per person that the Riddle of the Three Runes will be mentioned yet again.

Sadly, even those who successfully make their saving throw against it are only immune for about a year.

A Brief Interview with a Game Store Owner (Video)

Brett White is the owner of Heroes Haven in Roseburg, OR. He describes himself as primarily "a comics guy" who happens to sell games as well. On a recent visit, he kindly agreed to be recorded, sharing some of his thoughts on the current game market and its history.

Engravings by Matthäus Merian

I found this great map of Algiers tonight which led me to the collection of engravings by Matthäus Merian in the Wikimedia Commons.

FLGS Video Walk Through: Heroes Haven in Roseburg, OR

I was in Roseburg on business a couple of days ago and thought I'd check out what it had in the way of game stores. I couldn't find the first one I looked for (bad Google directions or out of business now I think), but I did find Heroes Haven. It's probably 3/4 comics, but there's an excellent selection of games and miniatures too. The owner was very friendly and willing to be on video sharing some of his thoughts as a store owner. I still have to go over what I shot and see if there's anything I can salvage, it's nearly impossible to shoot steady with something as small as an iPod, even with image stabilization added afterwards.

S&W Sessions Journal: I Was Blind, Now I Can't See

Considering their magic user was now blind, everyone quickly agreed to return to town. Though it was dark, they managed to arrive at the Turnapeak Inn without incident, where their room and board had already been arranged for by their employer. They didn’t see Stebbins in the main hall, but they were very happy to see their old traveling companion and adventurer, Gulch. After gratuitous back slapping and a couple of introductions, they all sat down and began drinking in earnest - a bit cold heartedly considering the condition of their magic user. Skithath (their spastic porter) joined them after helping Kitoth to bed, and once everyone had put away a few pints, the subject turned to their leadership.

After some discussion, two votes were made. The first was open - everyone who wanted to keep Kitoth on as part of the group raised their glass and drank. Only one of the henchmen thought he should be let go. It was then agreed that he would no longer get a share. He'd be reduced to the status of a hireling in terms of pay, since all he would be able to do at best would be to pack loot out.

The second vote was about whether someone else should lead the group, considering how things had turned out recently. Gulch put up Agnal’s name as an alternative, and a secret vote was made using the dungeoneer method of dropping different types of coins into a sack. These were turned out by Gulch and surprisingly the results were unanimous - Wagstaff must have voted against himself. This improved the spirits of the crew considerably, although whether Wagstaff simply saw the writing on the wall or genuinely thinks Agnal will be a better leader is uncertain. Agnal does seem a strange choice, and it may be that Gulch is conniving to take the lead himself in the near future. It’s true that Agnal has saved the lives of more than one of them with his healing ability, but he’s generally quiet and introverted.

That night, the dice said that Agnal was to receive an important message from his god in a dream. In the morning, he awoke with an image still fresh in his mind: Kitoth praying to Agnal’s god and begging for guidance. He went to see him in his quarters and found him crying (or as close to it as he could given the state of his face and eyes). The cleric consoled him in slithering low tones, even sitting beside him and holding the magic user close to his chest. There was some pretty funny role playing going on here, as the blind magic user saw the light and accepted Corrno as his own god. “I…I want to believe…” etc.

After that, Agnal led him downstairs to the main hall where their employer Stebbins was waiting. They were all handed decent sacks of gold for their information. Having defeated a giant shrew, Wagstaff had thought to have the thing’s snout cut off and kept as proof. Stebbins seemed particularly excited by this when they presented it to him, and gave them an extra bag of gold for it. “My master will be very pleased!” Their thoughts then turned to better equipment, perhaps at an armory in Castelnaud. At this, our short session ended.

I’m trying to figure out how much experience to give Agnal for this conversion. The magic user had only a few hundred points himself and has opted to become a cleric, following in the footsteps of Agnal. I threw out all his experience and started him over, and he won’t be getting any magic until 2nd level, which should take ages given his blindness. It seems unlikely that he’ll survive many more sessions, but I’ve a couple ideas about how to make his blindness still more interesting.