June 2024 in a Nutshell

This month has been somewhat of a wash.  Early in the month, a tornado passed through this area.  Tornadoes are a pretty common occurrence here in Oklahoma, so it seemed like this would be a case of "another storm, another alert".  When the sirens sounded, I tried looking out of my window, but all I could see was total darkness. The nearby transformer blew, and I could hear metal dinging that I thought was a neighbor's shed flexing in the storm. We did our best to take cover in the house and ride it out until the morning.  Eventually, my son and I dozed off at some point in the night.

When I woke up the next morning, I realized how close the tornado had been.  The metal clanging I heard was a neighbor's barn scattered around my backyard.  A tree had also split and fell on the privacy fence on the west side of the lawn, so the fence came down between that and the high winds that were coming off the tornado. The craziest thing I saw was a piece of my fence that had been blown around and then forced into the ground.  I would let it stay for a few days just to see how long it would stay.  A week later, I pulled it out of the ground and a solid foot of that board had been shoved into the ground.  It wasn't easy to get out and took several minutes of pushing and pulling that board back and forth to get it out. 

We were without power that morning and remained so for the next ten days.  Most of the town was without power but it was slowly restored during this time.  We were fortunate that we had a place to stay with power after the first 3 days due to a friend on the other end of town getting their power back.  I discovered we were only 6 blocks away from the main path of the tornado, but it did zig and zag around so that's why all the damage occurred nearby.  Fortunately, our house wasn't damaged at all.  I'm very thankful for that.

I did get a little reading done this month after everything calmed down.  I'm almost 50% complete with The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee.  I am confident that I will buy the other two books in this trilogy because I'm digging the story and I want to see how it ends.  More to come on that.

Something else I will cover in a future post is the Dragonbane game. I bought the boxed set and was so impressed that I went back a few days later and bought the Bestiary and the Monster Standees as well.  this game has really captured my attention and I plan on buying the supplements and expansions as they are released.  More to come on this also.  

What about you?  Have you been impacted by a tornado or some other natural disaster?  What are you playing?  What are you reading?

April 2024 Reading Progress

I caught up on some reading this month as I completed two books and I have started on a third.  

People of the Dark: The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard Volume II was the first book I completed reading in April.  I should have finished it much sooner but between work, my daughter's competitive cheer commitments, and every day demands that I wound up dragging my feet.  It certainly wasn't due to a lack of interest.  Simply put, I've never read a Howard tale that I didn't enjoy tremendously. I'm always pulled in by his storytelling and I have completed his books in a single setting back in my youth before I had other real-world commitments.  I may not be able to give a truly objective review of his work and I will no try.

Dave Arneson's True Genius by Robert J. Kuntz is the second book I read in April.  This book is a good read, but I ultimately felt like it lacked a little meat on the bone.  Don't get me wrong at all, I enjoyed it tremendously, but it was just too short and a little too light in some areas.  I'm guessing it's meant to serve as a teaser for his planned book, A New Ethos in Game Design, that I suspect will be much more detailed.  I'm waiting...

I have begun reading The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee.  I'm a big fan of his YouTube book review channel.  His reviews are always entertaining, so I decided to see what he had to offer in the realm of fantasy fiction.  I've read almost 100 pages so far and I'm looking forward to reading the rest.  that has me at 3 books read out of a goal of 8 this year; 37% to be exact.  

Now that my reading is updated, what else is coming up?  I will do at least one post each about the Cha'alt trilogy. and I'm working on a post about the Cults, Sects, and Faiths of my campaign world.

March 2024 Reading Progress & General Update

March has been topsy turvy at work so I haven't been able to post as much as I would like to but here's a general post over a few subjects that will serve as an all-encompassing update.

Gaming: I still have no face-to-face group, but I am playing in two different play by post campaigns at The Ruins of Murkhill forum and blog.  The first game is an OD&D campaign ran by Halenar Frosthelm  celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons.  It's interesting because I have never actually played OD&D.  I've done Basic (many forms), Advanced, and 3E.  The second game I am playing in is the sequel campaign to the original Sunflower campaign.  I am playing the son of my character in the original campaign so it's definitely making for an interesting campaign as well.

Reading: I had planned to be finished with People of the Dark, The Weird Works of Robert E. Howard Volume Two and well into my third book of the year by this point but that has not happened.  I am currently at 55% but that is not from lack of interest.  As stated previously, work has been so hectic the last month that I have been wiped out every day and couldn't give the book the attention it deserves.  I always find Howard interesting and the tales he weaves have always caught my attention.  

Writing: I have three projects that I'm currently working on completing as well as diving into the Cha'alt books in finer detail.  I will post on these as they are completed.

That's it for now.  Maybe April will prove to be more fruitful.

A Little Catch Up...

I had planned on posting about my reading progress through the end of February, but my son and I came down with a wicked case of strep throat. That should have provided the opportunity for some prime reading time, but it did not happen. Consider me paused at the last update for anyone keeping score. Both of us were wiped out and he missed a week of school while I missed a week of work.  I've been focused on getting us both caught back up in our respective responsibilities.  It seems to be the case now, so I will return to regularly sporadically posting from time to time.  

I did receive a copy of the three Cha'alt tomes from the recent kickstarter by Venger Satanis so I will be making some posts on those books as I make my way through them.  As far as first impressions go, he made some excellent choices with artist and the book construction.  These manuals are top notch quality and much better than many of the professional products I have purchased over the years.  They are sturdy and I am not concerned with being overly cautious as I read through the contents.  More to come on these in the future and I look forward to the fourth Cha'alt volume when it is released. 

January 2024 Reading Progress

I started off 2024 by reading Murtagh by Christopher Paolini.  This is the fifth book written in the world of Alagaesia but not the fifth book of the series.  I've read and enjoyed the original four books in The Inheritance Cycle and was looking forward to reading this book as well.  My daughter bought it for me at Christmas, so I began reading it a few days after the holiday.

I enjoyed this fantasy tale quite a bit.  I welcomed the change in focus from Eragon and Saphira to Murtagh and Thorn.  I have no doubt there will be more books focused on Eragon but it's nice to see the series feature other characters.  Although Eragon and Murtagh are both Dragon Riders - and half-brothers as well - there are plenty of differences between the two.  They approach situations and obstacles differently.  Murtagh is a little bit rougher in execution and a bit of a darker hero.  Just as this book changes the central character, this book is also about change.  Murtagh and Thorn are fighting to change by overcoming their enslavement by Galbatorix and the reputation that followed.  

I find Paolini works to be a smooth read.  I don't mean that in a negative manner at all.  I mean that it's easy to follow and easy to read large chunks at one time.  There is world building and lore sprinkled throughout the book, but it's not labor intensive to keep the facts straight.  There are also several illustrations, a small section on Runes, and another brief appendix or two.

Rating: I gave the book a 5-star rating on Goodreads.  The site only allows full star ratings so that somewhat limits how accurately you can rate your experience. I definitely thought it was better than a flat 4 and somewhere closer to 5 so a 5 seemed closer than rating it lower.  I'm not a professional reviewer by any means so when I rate a book, I'm just looking at stuff such as "did I struggle with staying interested" or "would I read more books in the series" and similar topics.  

Progress: I have completed 1 out of 8 books on my planned reading list this year.

Next: My second book is People of the Dark by Robert E. Howard.  I'm ending January with completely 24% of this book.  Let's see what next month brings...

2022 Reading So Far...

I don't have any gaming posts right now.  I have been posting a large amount at the Ruins of Murkhill forums lately.  I have read several books in the last month.  Here's a quick look at what I have read and some quick impressions upon completing the books.

                                                                                                                                        

1. Dune Messiash by Frank Herbert

2. Morlock Night by K.W. Jeter

3. Foundation by Isaac Aasimov

4. Foundation & Empire by Isaac Aasimov (currently reading)

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

[5 stars]

I began reading Dune Messiah after seeing the new DUNE movie.  I read the original DUNE novel before seeing the new film, so I was a little late to the party. The original novel was amazing and so was the film.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the sequel.  This novel is set 12 years after the first novel.  The first thing I noticed was that this novel was much slimmer than the first.  I still thought it was an excellent follow up.  I hear some people don't enjoy it as a sequel compared to the first book, but I did.  Yes, it is different from DUNE.  That's good.  I don't want a carbon copy of the first book.  DUNE MESSIAH was still a grand epic, but everything was on a more personal scale.  Maybe that makes sense, maybe it doesn't?  Focused might be the right word.  The bigger scale is implied but not on full display like DUNE.

Morlock Night by K.W. Jeter

[3 - 3.5 stars]

Two things made me want to read this book. First, it is a sequel to the classic The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.  I'm intrigued by the thought of another writer picking up a story and continuing on with it.  I know it's been done before with The Second War of the Worlds and other novels.  Second, this book has been described as the first steampunk novel.  The visuals of cogs, gears, top hats, and steam-powered technology replacing real world developments grabs my attention.  I decided to go ahead with this book so I could mix up my reading a bit.  The momentum is easier to keep moving if I mix up genres.  I will most likely read a fantasy novel next and then return to the Dune series.  Enough with the background remarks and on to my thoughts upon completing this book.

Morlock Night was a really quick and easy read.  The print is larger than the typical novel printed today so the page count of 322 may be deceptive.  That's definitely not a knock against it.  There is nothing wrong with having print large enough to be easily read or having a distinct lack of diarrhea of the word processor.  The novel reads like it was written in a modern take on the classic science fiction adventure tales more concerned with moving the story forward rather than giving finely detailed scientific explanations for things.  It is not hard sci-fi at all.  The story is easy to follow but it also lacking.

I believe the biggest omission in Morlock Night is further details about the story.  From reading we learn that the Morlocks have the Time Machine and have used it to not only invade but conquer the future Earth.  We're only shown one glimpse of that future under Morlock rule.  There are a few hints and suggestions scattered throughout but why not show the Morlocks going through time with the machine?  Did they go straight to the future?  Did they try several stops along the way like the traveler in the original novel?  How fruitful were their efforts?  I would have preferred a longer, more detailed book (or two) in that manner.

As to the claims about it being the first steampunk novel?  I wouldn't consider it as such.  There is minimal meat on this bone.  "Victorian Adventure" or another label might be much more accurate, but I wouldn't call it steampunk at all.  I just really don't get that kind of vibe in the least.  

It's not a bad book but it isn't great either.  I found the premise more interesting than the story upon completion.

Foundation by Isaac Aasimov

[4 stars]

I know I'm probably going to have people wondering why I would give a sci-fi classic like Foundation only 4 stars so I will try to explain.  I enjoyed Foundation.  I thought it was an easy read and the chapters were not overly long.  Foundation seems to check many boxes for my impression of the game Traveller as well.  So, why did I give it only a 4?  Simply put, Foundation was really good, but I went in expecting something a little bit different.  For instance, Foundation is actually 5 short stories in a novel length book.  The story does not follow the path of one or a small set of characters from start to finish.  Basically, you get a peek at the characters, but you don't follow a character arc from the beginning of the book until the end.  I prefer following a cast of characters from beginning to end in a longer story.  It feels like to me that Dune could have been written as a response to Foundation since it basically does the opposite of Foundation in those respects.  Now, on to Foundation & Empire.  

A Little Bit of Necromancy...

I have not posted since my birthday two months ago so I will give a few words on what has been going on around here.  The slowed pace of posting has been due to work demands;  while that sucks for free time it is good for other things.  I do hope it cuts back a little bit though.    I would like to get back to posting at least once a week and will attempt to do so soon.  So, on to some assorted updates.

House Hunting: We are this close to making the jump to home ownership.  We have been browsing a lot but we have not found the perfect match yet.  There has been several that we really like but we also have to take into consideration the special attention that my oldest son will require at times in school.  We were assured that his current school would have an isolated classroom with a specially trained and certified teacher.  In short, the school failed to make that happen but they are not required to transport him to a school that is set up like that because they have a designated classroom; yeah, that's a loophole that means just because the space is there and the teacher is not then they do not have to provide that service.  I suspect that they get a tax break, kickback, discount, reimbursement or some other such incentive for just having the space available but that is unconfirmed.  There are two schools that are much better qualified but the rules say we have to be in the school district for him to attend.  I think we are on the right track and may have some packing to finish soon...

Reading: I am still plugging away at A Song of Ice and Fire.  I have currently read 617 pages of A Dance with Dragons, the fifth book of the series.  I am still enjoying the series but I am definitely going to do some lighter reading next;  maybe something similar to the Narnia or the Prydain books.  I am curious about taking on Jordan's Wheel of Time series or Sanderson's Mistborn series but I may wait until I get some less dense reading completed.  

Watching: I just completed watching the entire fourth season of The Walking Dead this weekend.  I may just be my favorite season yet. It was interesting to see everybody get separated and then come back together in the final episode.  The ending has me excited about seeing the conclusion of the Terminus story-line.  It looks like some intense stuff is coming soon on the show.  I am really curious about the spin off show coming soon.  I also discovered Deadwood and I am currently halfway through the second season.  If western gaming was as intense as this show then I would definitely be doing some!

Gaming: I am really interested in the Dragons at Dawn system after reading the rules.  Expect some posts about this great game in the future.  I have also started a new project - I am going to attempt a clone game of Adventures in Fantasy.  I can understand more and more of it with each examination but I would rather have the rules restated in a fashion that is more player friendly to understand.  I think there is a reasonably well done game hidden in the boxed set but it is a jumbled mess as the rules are currently presented.  No telling how long this will take but there will be some posts and previews coming soon...

Kickstarter: I recently received notification that the products rewarded for backing the SteamCraft RPG: The Supplements Edition project have been shipped!  There will be posts about the adventures and supplementary material I will receive in a short time.  This was the first Kickstarter I backed and I am looking forward to seeing the end results.  Hopefully, my shipment makes it today...

Playing Catch Up

Well, it has been almost a most without a post on this blog.  For anyone interested, I am not shuttering the windows and barring the doors.  The bus manufacturing business really picks up in the summer time and this year has been particularly busy so far.  While my pocket book might not be hurting, my free time has taken a hit so the blog had to be put on the back burner for a bit.  I suspect I will be posting somewhat regularly in the near future so here is a summary of what I have been doing and what is coming in the future.

Forums

While I have not had a lot of spare time to devote to blog posts, I have been reading and posting at OD&D Discussion and The Comeback Inn sporadically here and there.  I have become quite interested in further investigating gaming from the Arneson perspective.  I was even able to track down a copy of Dragons at Dawn through these boards.

A Second Look at Adventures in Fantasy

All of the discussion about Arneson and his gaming methods has prompted me to delve back in and take a second look at Adventures in Fantasy.  The main focus will begin on pointing out problem areas in the rules that need addressed.  Once that is completed, the solutions will be gathered together in a Book of House Rules & Clarifications.  From there, I plan on at least taking a serious look at assembling a game built in reaction to the problems I have had with AiF similar to the way T&T was developed as a reaction to D&D years ago.  Other posters at the forums above have expressed interest so I hope this little project takes off.

SteamCraft Kickstarter

The funding for the SteamCraft supplements has been successful with $2,077 of the $850 goal raised.  There is only 58 hours left to buy in.  If you are interested, then follow this link for details.  You can get the entire product line from core rules to all of these supplements & adventures in pdf or print through this offer and the prices are very reasonable.

Themed Posting

At some point in the future themed posting - Toldara Tuesday, Steampunk Saturday, etc. - will return to the blog on a consistent basis.

Vacation & MagiQuest

We recently went on a family vacation to Six Flags Over Texas and The Great Wolf Lodge for a very relaxing time away.  Among the various things to do on our stay, my 7 year old son noticed the live-action role playing game MagiQuest from all of the other young males wandering around pointing their wands at jewels, paintings, and treasure chests scattered around the resort. I am pretty confident about what my son enjoyed the most about vacation.  More details in a later post. 

Reading

I am currently reading A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin and Dragons at Dawn by D.H. Boggs. 

That should have all the bases covered.  I am going to return to enjoying the first Friday off in a while... 

Insomnia Induced Rambling

My original plan was to do a post about the professions and guild system in Perilous Journeys today but that has changed after a bout of insomnia AND my 5 year old absolutely not sleeping steady at all last night.  I am posting some gaming related thoughts instead; some will relate to this blog and some will be related to just gaming in general. 

D&D Online: During my insomnia I noticed that the client for D&D Online had finished downloading.  I had wanted to try it so I did the final install and got the game up and running.  It isn't completely terrible BUT the only reason I tried it is because it is free to play now.  Don't be fooled, though, because only SOME of the options (this includes basic choices such as races or classes) are free and others have to be paid for.  I wasted a few hours on it but I would rather be playing real D&D or something like Diablo, Ultima, etc.   

The new Conan film: I saw it recently thanks to the redbox.  I enjoy the Howard stories the best but do realize that some of the pastiche work is worthwhile.  Although the film was nowhere close to authentic Howard I actually enjoyed it as a general fantasy movie. 

Netflix: I have been watching the hell out of some Netflix during the Christmas holiday this year.  I have seen some damn good stuff like The Beast and the True Grit remake.  I have also caught up on some stuff I missed in the original airing like Twin Peaks.  Finally, I have also seen quite a bit of crap to go along with it. 

Dungeon Crawl name change: I have some assorted notes on my blog about the Dungeon Crawl board game that I wanted to design at one point.  I pretty much figured the name was taken but I looked it up on board game geek and it definitely is in use by another product offering a similar play experience.  If I were to continue with the design then I need a new name and that seems to be my dilemna.  Many good names are already taken - Dungeon Crawl and Dungeon Delve (4E book) are just two examples.  I am not always good with naming stuff so this could wind up being a real challenge for me.

Gamer ADD:  I fully admit that I have a problem with taking on too many projects when it comes to gaming.  I don't think it's a bad thing and it seems to be pretty common.  I am just going to try and focus a little more on the completion of several that are important to me. 

Reading: I have surged in my reading lately; probably due to the fact that my employer took two and a half weeks down at Christmas/New Years.  The last book I read in 2011 was Christopher Paolini's Inheritance.  I know he has his fair share of haters out there, but I did enjoy it and thought the ending fit the story.  The first book I will finish reading in 2012 will be Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings.  I have tremendously enjoyed it and will pick up more books by Sanderson in the future.  Anybody following this blog have any recommendations for Sanderson's other works?

Enough rambling for now.  Maybe I will get to take a nap soon?