Midnight Titles, and Shadowspawn's Guide Updates

It looks like there are now product pages over at Fantast Flight Games for both Star and Shadow and Hammer and Shadow. The cover art is pretty nifty, I think. See to the left and right, and click to see them a little bit larger.

Though I had nothing to do with it, the latest Midnight supplement, Heart of Shadow has been released. I'll need to score a copy at Gen Con SoCal, I think.

In other news, Shadowspawn's Guide to Sanctuary is available in PDF format on RPG Now. No news yet on when we expect to see it in print; soon, I hope.

I finished the last bit of Terror in Talabheim today. Yay, me!

The Game Mechanics have posted their Gen Con SoCal schedule. It looks like Marc, JD, and Stan! will all be there. I can't wait to see them all again (regardless of the fact that two of them now live quite close to me). I'll see if I can't wheedle my way onto a couple of their seminar panels...

Oh, About That Gen Con SoCal Game

I guess it's a bit on the late side, since the games are already sold-out, but here's my SoCal schedule:

Game: Streets of Sanctuary
ID #: RPG00315
Time: 11/19/05, 4:00pm - 7:00pm

Game: Streets of Sanctuary
ID #: RPG00316
Time: 11/20/05, 11:00am - 2:00pm

I've got a three hour slot, but I reckon the game will go for up to four hours in length. We'll see. The winds of change are fickle.

When I'm not running these games (which will be much of my remaining time), I'll be hanging out with The Game Mechanics and the swell folks at Green Ronin Publishing. Drop in and say hello!

Looks As If I Spoke Too Soon

My work on Terror in Talabheim continues.

Lest I sound ungrateful, let me say that I am happy for all the work I get or am offered. In less than a week, I'll be back to the "I'm bored" stage once again.

Next weekend, my work on my TW scenario will begin. Until then, it's back to Talabheim...

And Now: The Boredom

As of today, I've got no projects due. I just sent in my latest turn-over, albeit three days late. I'm not generally late, mind you. I make it a point not to be. There were some events these past couple of weeks that were well beyond my control that sort of got in the way of writing. Either I was too emotionally-drained to get the work done, or I was too damn busy with the important things in life. Like family.

I don't want to make excuses, though. That's not what I'm about. I probably could've had the stuff in on time, but then again, I don't think I could've vouched for the quality. Then again, I can rarely vouch for my own quality when I'm not embroiled in extraordinary circumstances.

Just ignore me. My brain is burned.

Okay, folks. Everyone into the way-back machine. I want to talk a little bit about something. In fact, I want to talk about the reason I started this blog in the first place. In a title, the reason was Children of the Horned Rat. It was my intention to keep a web log of the creative progress if my work on that title here, a sort of simultaneous dev journal.

As it is, I got halfway through my first post and decided not to go forward with the journal. The project was very much a secret at the time, and I didn't want anything to slip out into the bit stream that would've been better left in my head or on my hard drive. At the time, I'd just discovered blogging (for myself), and I was exploring the potential of the medium.

Children of the Horned Rat, or CotHR for short, was my first WFRP project. I'd never been a player of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, but I had done my share of Blood Bowl. Though the two games are very different from one another, BB does give you some idea of what to expect from the non-Human races in the Warhammer universe. Coincidentally, the Skaven team in Blood Bowl was my favorite one (next to the Undead team). So, in that respect, I'd had some small experience with the Skaven.

When I was offered a piece of CotHR, it was probably the last thing I'd expected. My prior work for Green Ronin had been on the Thieves' World Player's Manual (as well as a few thousand words on Shadowspawn's Guide to Sanctuary). I was excited and nervous about it all at the same time.

The first thing I did was pick up everything that had been released up to that time for WFRP 2nd Edition. Research was the word of the day in the beginning. I have a copy of the original WFRP game (who doesn't?), but I needed to update myself on the mechanics of the system as well as the changes that had been made to the setting. I was profoundly impressed with WFRP, which made me even more eager to work on CotHR.

One thing that really did it for me was The Loathsome Ratmen and All Their Vile Kin. My Aussie co-author on CotHR, Steve Darlington, was snarfing around on the web one day and he discovered that there was a book with that particularly long-winded title. He wrote a quick email with a link and asked something to the effect of, "Should we be aware of what's in this book also?"

Rob Schwalb, the final part of our triumverate, managed to secure a few copies of Loathsome Ratmen for us. When mine finally arrived, I devoured it in a single sitting. It's a really great book, well worth the money (even though I got mine for free). Compared to the other books I'd picked up (Skavenslayer by William King being the first, and the Skaven Army Book for Fantasy Battles), Loathsome Ratmen was meaty, juicy, and did a wonderful job establishing a lot of mood for the project.

Skavenslayer was a horse of a different color. I'd never read any of William King's work before, so I wasn't sure what to expect from Skavenslayer. I can't say that I really liked the style of the writing, though the character development wasn't bad. This isn't a dig on Bill King, it's just the way that I'm wired. I'm not sure that I'd've actually read Skavenslayer on my own if I hadn't been working on CotHR. That said, the novel was still instrumental to a lot of the development I did on CotHR. It served a noble purpose.

I can't really get into the content of CotHR. I'm not entirely sure how much of what I wrote will make the final cut, so it'd be silly for me to make any assumptions on that count. Especially considering that the book won't see release until summer 2006. It feels like it's such a long time from now, too. I know that it will pass in a flash, and I'll be sitting down to ice cream cake on my 33rd birthday only to wonder where in the heck the time went.

One other thing about working on WFRP: English. You have to write in UK English. It's "colour," not "color." "Neighbour," not "neighbor." That sort of thing. It took some getting used to, and even now I find myself correcting these typos in private emails I send to friends. All I can say is, thank god that Word has a spellchecker than can be set to UK English, or I'd be one sorry buffoon.

Working on WFRP has been a lot of fun up to now. I hope it continues. I've had two projects for the line so far, and I'm hoping there will be a third (and a fourth and a fifth). It's an awesome game (and I even ran my group -- the guys you met last post -- though Through the Drakwald, the adventure in the WFRP 2nd Edition core rulebook). If I don't break down and run a Thieves' World or Midnight game, I think I'll probably end up running an original Warhammer game. That is, one that isn't based on a published scenario.

So that's it, for now. I think I got a lot of my chest, without actually saying much. Don't you think?

Oh, and what was that I was saying about being bored..? Well, I'm glad you asked. You see, I've got nothing to write, so I'm liable to be kicking around acting bored and being a nuisance to my wife (bless her heart for tolerating my neurotic self). Then again, it's not a bad thing: I have time to work on my Gen Con TW scenario. Plus, my slate will be clean for Gen Con SoCal in less than two weeks.

Well, Hastur (the Unspeakable Cat) just spilled a full glass of iced tea all over me. And he doesn't even care. I must get dried off.

Why do we have pets, again?

Those Thursday Night Games

In case you were wondering who I'm playing D&D with these days, I'm happy to introduce you to them. So, in no particular order...

As mentioned in previous posts, my long-time friend Alan has taken up the helm as the Dungeon Master, running us through the Shackled City campaign. Things are starting to get moving, and I think he's doing a good job of keeping us all in line. I'm not entirely sure where the game is going just yet, and I'm wary of posting any spoilers. After all, this is about my fellow players!

We met Alan a few years back, and he and his family have become very dear to my wife and I. In fact, I firmly believe that it's Theresa's (Alan's wife) fault that my wife and I ended up having a baby. After all, if she'd never given us that copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting, I don't think we would've been expecting in the first place.

Still, you never know.

Next on the roster is Adam, my bother-in-law. I've known him about as long as I've known my wife. He's no longer the annoying thirteen year old that he used to be when I first met his sister. Adam's a very character-driven player. It occasionally takes him weeks to formulate the precise character that he wants to play. This isn't a bad thing, necessarily, but it makes playing off-the-cuff games interesting. In this case, Adam is playing Talmin, a human bard.

Mike is the third player. Mike is the lunatic of the group. I'm not sure if he's really insane, or just a damn good actor. My actual take on Mike is that he's so bloody smart, he can't help but be a little bit eccentric. His characters all come with incredibly detailed (and disturbing) backgrounds, and they are invariably cursed with names that average gamers have no hope of pronouncing properly (such as "Xicohtencatl" or, in the case of the current game, "Kaukomieli"). Mike's character (who I may start referring to as "Kook," for short) is a dwarven paladin of St. Cuthbert. As my wife has said on many occasions, Mike plays the sort of paladin who must burn the orcs in order to save them.

The role of our elvish rogue, Theriel, is being played by Alex. My wife and I met Alex in another fellow's game a few years back. Alex is a braniac. He's a scientist, working on his doctorate or something like that. When he's not in the lab, he's hanging with his wife or geeking out at the gaming table. Alex is a cool dude, and he knows his stuff. He's got an excellent grasp of the game rules without being a rules lawyer (which means I can be myself when he's around, nyuk). He has recently relocated nearer to us, so we can actually play together on a more regular basis.

My wife would normally be playing; in the case of the Shackled City game, she rolled up a wizard of some sort...but she hasn't yet played. Time and the child have both conspired to keep her away from the action that occurs at the dinner table every other week. Look here at what she's missing: the attack of the giant water-based marker pen! Aiiiie!

Of course, then there's me, your host. I'm playing a human cleric of no god in particular. I made sure to give my character a rather mundane and uninspired name: Marcus. He's based on the hospitalers of the Crusades, wandering and aiding the pilgrims of all good deities. For some reason unknown to me at present, he's in Cauldron. The more I see of the city, the less I understand why anyone would want to live there.

So that's our group, as it is. They hate it when I bring out the camera, but that's okay...they can deal with it, for the sake of my blog.

November Already

Where did the year go?

This is a brief news item, mostly to say that Gary Astleford Dot Com has been updated (at least, the news section has). The two secret WFRP products I was working on have been revealed by Black Industries: specifically, Children of the Horned Rat and Terror in Talabheim. Both are due out in Summer of 2006. You can read all about BI's upcoming releases here.

Not much else to say, aside from reminding everyone yet again that Gen Con SoCal is coming up very soon. I still need to reserve hotel space for Saturday night.

I'm off to work. I'll be sure to post again later...

Time Flies When You're Writing Like Mad

Warning: The photos in this blog entry have nothing to do with the actual content, and are merely examples of a shameless father showing off his progeny.

So, my work on Hammer and Shadow is done; it was done on Sunday night, in fact. I sent the turn-over in to FFG, and I've spent the last two days pretending I don't have any more deadlines. Of course, I'm only fooling myself. I've got a WFRP project due on 11/1. It's not a huge project, but I am obligated to treat every book I work on just like it's the biggest, most high-profile one yet.

I'm currently waiting on several books to see release. In regards to electronic products, the last Future Player's Companion should be released relatively soon, as should Template Trove III. On the print front, Shadowspawn's Guide to Sanctuary will likely be out in November. I'm not sure when the last Warhammer book I worked on will come out; I've seen the second draft, and it looks like it's going to be great. As for Star and Shadow, Fantasy Flight's "upcoming" page says it's due for a November release (with Hammer and Shadow due in December).

Next month is Gen Con SoCal, the best four...er, rather, the best three days in gaming. Heh. I'm planning to be there for at least two of them, and will be running a Thieves' World game for Green Ronin. Speaking of which, I need to put together some hotel reservations. I'm thinking I'll aim for something cheap this time...of course, I'm only planning to stay over a single night. Hm.

Anywho...I need to get to bed soon. It's been a long day.

Another week gone by...

...and here I sit.

For some reason, it seemed to last forever. I haven't been particularly productive outside of work. After all the writing I'd been doing, I guess I figured that I deserved a break on the weeknights. So, in an attempt to do so, I've been playing Fable on the Xbox almost continuously since Monday.

My brother-in-law bought me the game for my birthday. That was in July. Three months ago. For me to sit on a game that long and not play it (heck, I didn't even take off the shrink wrap) means that I must be busy. The point of the game is that you're a hero, starting out as a young 'un, and the actions you take determine the way people treat you (whether they hate/fear you, or love you). You can grow to become so good (or evil) that you begin to show outward signs of your holiness (or unholiness, as the case may be).

Fable is pretty good. I didn't know what to expect, but it's alright, so far. I'm playing a good guy (by choice). My character has a visible halo and little ethereal butterflies flutter around his head. My wife, conversely, is playing an evil fellow. Her character already has a pair of stubby little horns.

Well, the fun has only just begun. I go back to writing this weekend, and will try to keep on top of things over the next week or two. I'd like to get through the current Midnight book so that I can get involved with another Warhammer supplement. I'll be at Borders tomorrow, bright and early, so we'll see how much actual work I can get done (as opposed to outlining, like last Saturday).

Sunday, between house cleaning and shampooing our carpets, we intend to go see Serenity at the local Monsterplex. Between then and now, I need to watch the last episode of the series. Let's hope it's a good flick; I'm sure I'll find something to enjoy.

Well, it's bed time. Sleepy! Not much sleep to be had this week, what with my late night forays into Fable and getting up at 5:30am to crawl my tired butt to work.

Thieves' World Review at Gaming Report

As it turns out, there's a very nice review of the Thieves' World Player's Manual up over at Gaming Report. You can check it out here. Thanks to Chris Pramas for the heads-up!

I should've been at Borders nintety minutes ago, but my wife's not feeling too well this morning, so I'm staying around the house for the time being. I plan to get some work done this evening, after my son goes to bed. I may not get as much done that way, but I'll still get some time in at the keyboard.

A little bit of whine with my cheese

It used to be, I could afford to buy just about any of the gaming supplements that I wanted to buy. After a time, I saw writing RPGs as a way of paying for my habit, much the same way as a drug addict might see dealing as a way of keeping him in the goods. As with most fantasy tales, it was not to be.

The paychecks arrive infrequently, and like as not, there's a pressing need that requires that I spend the money on more important things. Like food or rent, for instance. It's gotten to the point that I (half-)jokingly say, "Aww, I could've bought [insert number] of books with that money," whenever we buy baby necessities (or anything else, for that matter). For example, when they raised our rent $90, I said, "Awww, that's, like, three game books every month!"

Back in the day, when I was young and lived at home and my income was more or less expendable, I acquired quite a collection of gaming books. I worked for a local game shop for a little over a year (13 months, precisely) in the mid nineties, and I made excellent use of that 20% employee discount. It didn't help my pocketbook that I had first pick of the new titles, since I was the guy stocking the shelves.

Part of that collection is shown here; there are two other book cases full of this stuff in my "office" (which is currently carpeted in baby clothes), along with a smaller bookcase that is filled with D6 Star Wars stuff and a small collection of paperback books. My wife's game books got folded into mine when we turned my office into a baby room, so the whole collection pretty much belongs to us both.

So what's my point?

I guess that I'm merely lamenting that I'm pretty far behind in what you might refer to as my "reference library" of gaming material. As much as I'd love to throw the payoff for my last book at games and accessories, the money was more or less spent before I got it (between this fancy new laptop and the cost of Gen Con Indy). My credit card bills are fat and ugly (though I'm sure they're small compared to most).

I have managed to keep up with my Warhammer Fantasy Role Play collection. It's not hard to do, really, since the new edition's line is relatively small. I'm up to date on Midnight, too, given that I've been obsessed with it since it came out, and the releases aren't necessarily on a regular basis. Plus, they're typically inexpensive when compared to the hardcovers that WotC releases.

What I'm missing is a whole slew of D&D books, as can be seen by taking a quick look at my Amazon.com wish list. I'll buy the stuff eventually (or so I keep telling myself), since every title is a business expense, anyway. Writing games means I need access to some of the newer books so that I can see what's been done and what hasn't. When a product outline refers to an obscure rule in The Book of Snails, I will know what in the heck the reference means.

Okay, I'm done whining (for now). Time to get ready to work. As mentioned yesterday, I'm going to Borders so that I can write. I reckon I'll be there from 9am until noon. If you happen to show up and see a fat guy staring at his laptop, it's probably me. Be nice and buy him a D&D book.

My chive! My precious chive!

I got my pocket knife back yesterday, but there was some concern that having a knife at work is a Bad Idea (tm).

For the record, and in my own defense, I've carried a blade of one kind or another every day since I worked in my company's warehouse. It's habit, and I still open a lot of boxes from time to time. It's nice to have it available, especially when I'm restocking the office supplies.

Still, with today's environment, it's been suggested that all such things should be left at home. Not wanting to inadvertantly violate my workplace's violence policy, I'm more than happy to comply. I'm just glad to have the thing back in my possession.

Tomorrow...I will work on the latest Midnight book. I've got an October 17th deadline, and I'd like to get my portions finished a little bit earlier than normal. As it turns out, I've got a wee little WFRP project on my agenda, due a couple weeks after the Midnight sourcebook is. With all this work, you'd think I was in demand or something.

I'm going to make my trips to Borders a habit. I plan to go there and write every Saturday and Sunday morning for at least three hours each day. That gives me the rest of the weekend to play. Plus, I've been managing a rate of 1,000 words per hour (albeit, on fluff) when I write at Borders, so that makes for a good amount of work being done if I can keep it up.

Besides, my wife is happy to be rid of me. She says she doesn't need to worry that she's going to be bothering me when she moves around, cleans the house, vents nasty gas, or whatever.

What about tonight? you ask.

I'm not sure yet. I may mess with my blog templates a little bit, by moving a few things around between Freelance Father and here. Mostly, I'll be modifying the links on the right.

I also need to go to the store. The cupboards are absolutely bare. Nothing to eat but ramen noodles, spaghetti, and baby food.

I might just get around to watching Krull, too. Just try and stop me.

I did go by Drive Thru RPG and open an account so that I could download a free copy of Eden Studios' Witchcraft RPG. I've known for a time that they have free downloads of interesting stuff on occasion, so I reckon it can't hurt to be able to snag those when they're available.

News Item - It looks like Green Ronin has put the two current Thieves' World role-playing titles up for sale on RPG.now. I'm surprised, but I think that it will probably increase the sale of the product. Knock on wood.

A Frenzy of Updates

I updated all my blogs today. All one, two, five (three, sir!) of them. I mean, there's the Freelance Father blog, which is mostly about personal, non-gaming-related stuff (especially as it relates to my son). Then there's this blog, which is mostly about personal, gaming-related stuff (especially as it relates to my writing). Finally, there's the third blog...the one that shall not be named.

In the news...

(Insert annoying teletype noise here.)

The second installment of the Future Player's Companion, entitled Tomorrow's Hero, was released today on RPG.now. The first volume, Tomorrow's Foundation, has received some pretty good reviews so far. With luck, the newest addition will receive similar acclaim.

I'm not sure when TGM plans to release the third volume, but I reckon it will probably be in October, or just prior to Gen Con SoCal in November. The print release, which will combine all three volumes into a single softcover, is scheduled to be released by Green Ronin in January '06.

I've just recently discovered that the Thieves' World Player's Manual is available on Amazon.com, but with a 3-5 week wait. Ouch! I can only hope the distribution improves a bit.

Lacking any writing to do at lunch (which isn't precisely true; I've got a new Midnight book due in October that I should get working on right bloody now), I've been working on the Thieves' World scenario that I'll be running at SoCal in November. Mostly concept and characters so far. I'm not 100% sure which direction I'll take the game, but I've got a general idea.

I'd like to kill one or two characters within the first hour or so of the game, just to show them how easy it is to get waxed.

I lost my pocket knife today. It was a nice Kershaw that my father-in-law gave me for Christmas last year. I've taken it just about everywhere since then, and I've come to rely on it a great deal at work (opening boxes, etc.). I had no idea how much the damn things cost ($59.99 retail). It makes me feel even dumber knowing that.

The story goes like this: I was on my lunch break, and one of the other employees came and asked me to help them put a new toner cartridge in one of the printers. Now, being on lunch, I'm not specifically required to help anyone, but I'm a nice guy (to a fault) and I always do whatever I can, even if it's not in my job description.

I used the knife to open the thick plastic wrapper that the toner cartridge was packed in, and I set it down on a filing cabinet near the printer while I installed it. Seeing as I only had about two minutes of my lunch hour remaining, I rushed off to clock in and went about my day...completely forgetting that I'd left my $60 knife behind.

I realized my mistake about an hour later, but by then it was too late. Someone had come along, found the knife, and taken it. I figured they might've taken it up to reception (the default Lost & Found), but no one had. I asked the receptionist to send out a memo, and then I asked a few people in my area if they'd seen the knife. No on all counts.

It's frustrating to me. That someone would see the knife and pick it up and pocket it without thinking:

"Hey, this is a nice knife. It probably belongs to another human being in my workplace. I should take it to the front desk so that whoever owns it can get it back."

...just completely floors me.

Maybe they did think such thoughts, but didn't care. After all, it's "only a knife." Being small, it's obviously not of any great worth, so why not keep it? Who's going to miss it?

Of course, that's theft, plain and simple. The same thing happens day in and day out where I work, only it usually involves pens or other kinds of office supplies. This probably makes people less likely to feel any manner of guilt for these sorts of deeds.

I guess I've gotten off on a rant here. I remain angry about the whole incident. Angry at myself for being so spacy that I forgot the bloody thing, and angry at whoever found it for not being honest about it. I suppose that it's possible that someone will turn it in at reception tomorrow...but I doubt it. I figure it's gone, plain and simple.

The moral of the story is: don't do anything nice for anyone. And if you do, don't use your $60 pocket knife in the process.

::sigh::

An hour until bed time. What shall I do? I guess I'll relax, read, take a load off, and brood for a bit.

P.S. - If you find a nice Kershaw Chive 1600SS in a pawn shop somewhere, it's mine!!

Done! Done, I say!

The WFRP project is finished for me. My art order has been sent in, and I'm free as a bird..!

Well...maybe not. I've got other work to do now...like that other Midnight book. This means that I'll need to brush up on certain pieces of the setting's history so that I can correctly portray their results in the supplement.

I really do prefer writing to research, but you can't put the cart before the horse. All things in good time...

You know, I was thinking about it. The "Art Order" is something I never knew existed prior to my professional writing career. I always assumed that the artists read the books and extrapolated the art based on what they've read. In some ways, that's not entirely untrue, but art orders take the guesswork out of it.

For those of you who might not know, an art order is a list of suggested illustrations that the authors detail. They give the art director a place to start, and they can be assigned to the artists once they've been approved. For the WFRP product, I produced one illustration description for every 1,500 words I wrote.

As an example of an entry in an art order, I'll go back in time to one that I wrote for Artifacts of the Ages: Rings. To wit:

Illustration #B7: Diablatorio, the Ring of the Black Pontiff (1/4)

Description: The Diablatorio is wrought from adamantine, and resembles a coiled serpent with gleaming emerald eyes and tiny fangs of polished ivory.

Key Words: SNAKE RING

The artist, Pete Schlough, came up with this interpretation from my description of the ring. I have to say, I was quite pleased with the outcome.

That should give you some idea of how the art orders are supposed to work. Every publishing house has its own way of doing things, though. I've worked on products where I haven't issued a single art order. Still, I think it's groovy to have some manner of influence on what the art looks like in regards to words that I've written.

Other things on my "To Do" list:

1.) Write my Thieves' World adventure for Gen Con SoCal.
2.) Write a history for the character I'll be playing in Alan's "Shackled City" campaign.
3.) Watch Krull for the umpteenth time. I can't help myself.
4.) Cross my fingers and pray that I'll have more work lined up once this Midnight supplement is written.

Expanding my Borders

Well, maybe not literally. After talking with my friend Stan!, I decided to give a go at doing my writing at a local coffee shop ("Seattle's Best") which just happens to be attached to a Borders Books in lovely Carlsbad.

Are you wondering why I chose to try this? Do you realize that I'm going to tell you, even if you aren't?

Writing at home is all well and good, but there's too much distraction. Between the cats that meander around (and over) me, the siren call of the television, the tractor beam-like pull of Al Gore's internet, and easy access to a relatively comfortable bed or sofa for when I can't keep my eyes propped open, there's a lot to compete with my desire to sit down and get actual work done.

Long story short, I hopped in my car yesterday and drove to Borders. I found a nice table against a wall with easy access to a wall outlet, plugged in my Dell Inspiron 600m, and got to business. Three hours later, I had 3,000 more words done than I'd had when I'd arrived. Despite the occasional distraction (the espresso machine, girls in skin-tight denim, high school kids bitching about calculus homework), it worked out really well.

After all, it was crunch time. It still is crunch time, come to think of it. I've got a little more work to do before I can send in my final for the WFRP project. The latest deadline for my turnover is tomorrow. I was apprehensive earlier in the week, but things seem to have turned around. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I can send my work to Rob Schwalb and be proud.

In other news...

I've been invited to work on another Midnight project, and will be contributing about 16k words to it. I could've handled more than that, but I'm trying to take it somewhat easy on the off chance that I get an offer of work from the guys in the Big Leagues. Knock on wood.

Anyway, I want to put my head down for a few minutes (what was that I said about comfortable beds and sofas getting in the way of work?), and then wash my hands of that last Chapter.

The Kilt Girl

As I mentioned in my Gen Con Indy report, there was a girl there in a kilt, and I snapped a picture of her and her friends while they were checking out the prints in Ne Ne Thomas' booth.

I guess she reads blogs, because she sent me an email today and thanked me for mentioning her. I find this exceptionally amusing, all told. What a small internet world it is!

Her name is Ada, and folks will be able to see a lot more of her when Gnymphs.net (Beware: Adult content!) goes live. I won't lie; the first thing I did when I got back from Indiana was to check and see if that URL was authentic or not. Sure enough, it is.

I'm still chuckling to myself.

Thanks for the email, Ada. It's good to know you got home safely. If you guys come to Gen Con SoCal this year, drop on in and say hi!

Concerning Gen Con SoCal: They've changed the format! I guess the con hasn't done too well these past two years, so not only have they changed the dates of the show from December to November (which we already knew about), but they're also cutting the show back from four days to three days. No more Thursday for SoCal's Gen Con. I guess the numbers on Thursdays really bit for SoCal.

It looks as if they'll still have gaming on Thursday, but no exhibit hall.

As far as SoCal goes, I'll be there. At this point, I only plan to attend on Saturday and Sunday. Finances are such that I'm not really comfortable dropping a wad of cash on a hotel room for more than a single evening.

I will be running two Thieves' World games. This is to help out my friends at Green Ronin, as well as to support the Thieves' World Player's Manual. The games are going to be scheduled for Saturday, 4pm - 8pm, and Sunday, 11am - 3pm. When I'm not whisking six lucky players off to Sanctuary, I'll be at the Green Ronin and/or Game Mechanics booth.

We've got a couple of months to go. I've already got some scenario ideas, and we'll see where they take me. For the time being, I'm going to hit the rack. It was a long day, I'm tired, and the roof of my mouth hurts.

Star and Shadow

I'm finally writing for a Midnight supplement, entitled "Star and Shadow." There hasn't been much information released on this supplement yet, but it is scheduled for release in October. My turnover is due next week, but I intend to have it done today. After that, I go back to finishing my work on the WFRP book.

Truth be told, Midnight was the game that made me want to write for the d20 system. It's a very neat setting, very dear to my heart. I'm glad I discovered it, though I haven't been able to run it as often as I'd like to. I had a campaign going for a while there, but the group split off on two occasions and it's been shelved until further notice.

When I contacted Fantasy Flight Games in 2003 in regards to writing for Midnight, I found there wasn't anything open at the moment. I met Robert Vaughn at Gen Con SoCal, and after that I was offered a spot writing for a Dawnforge supplement that, for one reason or another, never saw completion. It's a shame, really. Dawnforge is a neat setting; I guess it didn't sell.

Shortly after the Dawnforge gig was deep-sixed, I was asked to write for a new (at that time) game that FFG was calling Fireborn. That was my first big professional project, and it taught me a lot about how things work on the professional side of the game writing biz.

Prior to being publishing in Dungeon/Polyhedron magazine, I'd done quite a bit of writing on the amateur side of things. In addition to my own work on this web site or that web site, I contributed to Action Check, an ezine dedicated to the Alternity role-playing game. I also wrote an article or two (or three; can't recall) for the Star Wars Online Journal.

I won't say that the amateur publications are any easier to write for than the professional ones, but it's definitely easier to get your foot in the door. They don't pay you for your work, so they're eager to have someone who can actually string two words together on staff. Plus, it's tough for them to find reliable writers; since the articles aren't paid for, writers can oftentimes find other things they'd rather be doing than contribute their time to the 'zine. This results in delayed publication of the 'zine, which ultimate leads to a lack of interest in the target audience. I can't remember how many times I saw people whine, "When is the next OJ coming out?" on the SWRPGNetwork forums.

Working for a professional company was an eye-opener. First, they were going to pay me. Second, they were serious about their deadlines. None of this, "I couldn't get to it this week," stuff. If you don't get your work done on time, you'll be lucky if you write for them again...especially if you're a fresh face.

I take my deadlines very seriously. I'm a worry-wart by nature, anyway; having a deadline looming over my head like the Sword of Damocles is a sure-fire way to keep me up at night in a cold sweat. Maybe that's why I'm always on time.

Anyway...I've got two deadlines coming up, and I'm going to knock Star and Shadow's out over the next hour or two.

Death from a Single Cut

We played our third game of WFRP tonight. It lasted about two hours, and then it ended. After all, the scenario was over. While it was fun, I think we're going to shelve it for the time being. I'm not sure what we'll be playing next, but...such is life.



During the final encounter of "Through the Drakwald," I managed to give myself a painful paper cut on my WFRP rulebook. Is there a lawsuit in there somewhere, I wonder?



Once the game was done, we pulled out "Bang!" and played it for a while. Here is my brother-in-law, Adam, showing his Mancato!




I nixed Mike (in the foreground), but Alex (in the background) got his clock cleaned by exploding dynamite, virtually handing the game to the only remaining outlaw (my wife).



So the game is done, and I continue to work on writing for it. The project's over as of 9/14, which would be prior to our next game, but that's fine. I was looking forward to running them through Ashes of Middenheim, but I can save it for a rainy day.


All for now...

Interesting Post on RPG.net

A fellow wrote these and posted them on RPG.net. Being as I've been trying to promote non-selfish gaming for a long time, some of these really strike home. The original thread can be found here, if you're so inclined.

Anyway...thanks to Ratboy45 for posting these. I think they're pretty neat.

A good player will think about what his character would do before he acts.
A great player will think of ways to make his character realistically take actions that benefit the game.

A good player will seek out opportunities to get his character involved in things.
A great player will seek out opportunities to have his character help others get involved.

A good player will avoid doing things that makes the GM's job more difficult.
A great player will look for ways to make the GM's job easier.

A good player will make an effort to learn the rules.
A great player will remember that the rules must sometimes be broken for purposes of flavour or story.

A good player will seek out ways to build his character's story.
A great player will know when to let his character’s story end.

A good player understands that winning means having fun.
A great player understands that winning doesn’t mean much unless everybody wins.

I may even go over the ones I really like, as well as I why I really like them, later on. Right now, I'm a bit too mentally drained to even consider doing that.

More later.

Note: I edited the format of these a little bit.

Senseless Blathering

It's Sunday morning. I've been awake for about sixteen minutes (which explains any obvious typos). I hit the sack late last night, around 12am, after writing a number of words for the WFRP project. I'm driven to finish this chapter today, as difficult as it may be to do so.

After I returned from Gen Con Indy, I decided that I needed to re-prioritize my hobbies. I made an inroad with a large game company, and I may very well be writing for them come October. Their project sizes are daunting, larger than anything I've written thus far, but the paychecks...oh, the tantalizing paychecks..!

Outside of writing (which, I admit, I do less frequently than I should, even when I'm on a deadline), I have two primary hobbies: role-playing and re-enacting.

As far as role-playing goes, I've been playing with a group of guys that meets every Friday, rain or shine. Weekly games have always been tough for me to attend, and after my son was born, it was all but impossible to commit to a weekly session. I tried, though, I really did. In the five months since Stephen came along, I've felt further and further removed from the group (as detailed in this post on my Freelance Father web log).

While I'm up for gaming, I'm really not up for the weekly schedule. The games tend to run so long that they disrupt Saturday for me. Weekends are my primary writing time, and I can't really sacrifice them if I'm going to be committing myself to larger and larger projects.

So I sent the current DM an email and bounced my resignation off him before I wrote to the group as a whole and wished them adieu. It's not as if I'll never play with them again (at least, I hope not); at present, though, it seems to be the easiest route to take. I certainly don't want to burn any bridges. After all, they're really the only game group I've found in years that hasn't immediately scared me away.

I'll probably continue to DM/GM for my own group, though. I have to keep my finger on the pulse of the games I write for, which means running those very same games and keeping the rules fresh in my mind.

The other hobby is re-enacting the American Civil War. Between my current writing and my son, my participation in re-enacting has been pared down to one day out of every two that there is a scheduled event. I may need to cut it out entirely, depending on how things go. Our next event is in Huntington Beach next weekend. With my current deadlines (yeah, two of them, 9/12 and 9/14, respectively), I'm hesitant to attend. I've told my wife that I'll consider going up one day.

Re-enacting isn't as simple as it sounds. You don't just throw the uniform on and march around. Prepping for a Civil War weekend eats up lots of time. You've got to get your gear together, load your (blank) rounds (which takes up a good stretch of time), make sure everything is packed and ready. On the day of the event (or the day before, if you're staying over-night), you have to drive there, unpack your gear, run around and shoot, socialize, and then pack it all up again and come home.

Okay, so maybe that isn't complicated, but it is time consuming.

I want to succeed in the game industry. I don't yet know if I want to run the financial risks of being a full-time freelancer, what with a new child. It feels like we're barely getting by as it is, and that's with a steady paycheck. Freelancing is more like a second job, albeit a part-time one. If I want to succeed, I think I may need to step on the gas. Of course, this means that my other hobbies will have to suffer.

So that's what's been on my mind since last weekend.

In other news...

The WFRP game keeps getting pushed back. I'm not real concerned about it, since the adventure is pretty much written for me. I've never run pre-made adventures before, and I find them to be both liberating and, at the same time, unfulfilling. At any rate, I hope the players are enjoying them. We should have our third game this coming Thursday.

I'm not sure how long it's been since our first session, but we're probably averaging one game every three or four weeks at this point. Sad.

I'm a bit more awake now. I think I'll scrape together something to eat for breakfast, visit the WC, and then check on my family.

Cheers!

Gen Con Indy Update

As mentioned, I've returned safely from my trip to Indianapolis.

The convention was a success for me. I made some new contacts, and it looks like I've got more than enough work on the horizon to keep me happy. I got to meet a lot of people that I've been wanting to meet for a while, and the Thieves' World Player's Manual was released (and, by Sunday, sold-out).

I won't give you a blow-by-blow of the weekend. Suffice it to say that I'd be hard-pressed to remember every little detail. I know that I ate a lot of Indian food (well...two dinner's worth, which is twice as much Indian food as I've eaten in my lifetime). I have to say that I'm developing a taste for Indian cuisine. It's yummy in my tummy!

So...pictures. Here are a few.

The "Axis & Allies" collectible miniatures game is one of the new releases that Wizards of the Coast was driving home this time around. They had a full-sized tank on the premises, along with a couple of jeeps, a half-track, and armored car, and a motorcycle. I didn't get much of a look at the game; given my financial situation, the last thing I really need is a collectible game of any sort.

I was at the convention with my four-day badge, but I ended up spending most of my time in the Green Ronin booth. I even did a little booth work for both GR and The Game Mechanics. Trust me, at these events, they need all the help they can get! I don't really mind, either. It gives me a chance to socialize with folks I only see every so often. The alternative is walking the dealer's room, spending money I don't have.

Lynn Abbey, the co-creator of Thieves' World, was on hand to autograph copies of the Thieves' World Player's Manual. I've known Lynn for over seven years, but we'd never actually met one another. We'd planned to meet at Gen Con in 2000 (or maybe it was 1998 or 1999, I don't really recall), but it didn't work out.

When Chris Pramas asked her if there was anyone she knew that she thought should be working on the Thieves' World RPG, Lynn mentioned me. I'm thankful for the opportunity, because I doubt I would have had it otherwise. When I found out about it, she told me something along the lines of, "I've only opened the door; it's up to you to walk through it." Talk about performance anxiety. Gladly, it looks like I pulled it off well enough that Green Ronin is continuing to consider me for future work.

One of the other authors who worked on the Thieves' World Player's Manual with me was Robert J. Schwalb, pictured here. Rob has continued to amaze me with his integrity, his selfless dedication to his work, his wit, and his ability as a writer and game designer. It was great to meet him finally, after so many months of electronic correspondence. Unfortunately, our last co-author on the Player's Manual, Patrick O'Duffy, was not in attendance. He's an Australian, and he's retired from game design (or so I hear). His talent will be missed.

Of the Game Mechanics, what can I say? I've met them all, that is, except for Rich Redman. Rich is a lot different in person than he is at TGM's chat sessions. I wasn't sure what to expect, but he seemed a lot more reserved. Perhaps it was because he was wearing a Wizards of the Coast shirt.

Rich spent a little time at the booth, chatting us up. On Sunday, he even showed up and donned his official Game Mechanics work shirt! I wish I would've gotten a picture of that, but I didn't. As it is, here's a group shot of all the founding Mechanics, less Stan! Brown. Stan! couldn't make it this year, and we were constantly badgered by Upper Deck employees who dropped in to tell us, "Stan! says 'Hi!'"

Of the "Junior Mechanics" that were present at the convention (that is, freelance writers who work for the Game Mechanics), there were three (aside from myself). The first I will mention is Rodney Thompson, master of the Star Wars RPG Network, contributor to many Star Wars RPG products, as well as to d20 Future and a number of other books. I caught a rare photo of him here (trust me, Rod, it's much better than the other one, which I had destroyed).

The second Junior Mechanic on hand was Eric Cagle (or just "Cagle" for short, at right in the photo here). Eric's a funny guy, and he managed to maintain his sense of humor even after he had his hotel room burglarized. To make a long story short, Eric (who was rooming with JD Wiker) lost his wallet to a burglar who gained entry to their room on Wednesday night. JD woke up and confronted the guy, who shined a flashlight into his face and exclaimed, "Is this Bob's room?" before making his escape. Besides Eric's wallet (which contained money, credit cards, and ID), the thief got away with JD's business cards.

The last of the TGM freelancers on hand was Neil Spicer. Neil is a new face in the industry, having done work on the second and third volumes of the Future Player's Companion. I've known Neil for a long while, ever since I wrote some articles for Action Check, an e-zine for Alternity buffs. Neil kept himself busy, helped at the booth, and he and I shared a couple of lunches together. We're both new fathers, so we had a lot of notes to compare in that regard. Neil is also expecting his second child. Congrats, Neil!

The ENnie Awards were held on Friday night. I was at a meeting just prior to the awards, but I managed to catch the last few minutes of the ceremony. I'm glad I did, as my friends at Green Ronin walked away with several, including one for Best Publisher. This Gen Con was the first time I've been exposed to the Green Ronin folks in more than just a passing capacity. They are genuinely nice people who are dedicated to their work, and to creating quality products. I can't wait to see them again at Gen Con SoCal in November.

Speaking of the ENnies, I also ran into Hound (otherwise known as M. Jason Parent). Hound runs a Cyberpunk 2020 web site (The BlackHammer CyberPunk Project), as well as E.N. Publishing, and he and I have been in contact, off and on, for a long while. I met him for the first time last year, and we've maintained a closer relationship since then. We may eventually work with one another on a writing/gaming project; I certainly hope so.

How about products that I liked? There was a company there, just catty corner from the GR booth, called Steel Sqwire. They were selling a series of wire templates for mapping out spell effects and the like for d20 games. I damn near dropped the money on this product, because it was slick and I liked the look of it. In the end, my miserliness got the best of me; I wasn't figuring that I'd be using the stuff that much, so I couldn't justify the expense. If Steel Sqwire comes to SoCal, maybe I'll change my mind.

Oh, and then there was the kilt girl. Let me explain: my wife likes to take pictures of guys in kilts at cons. Considering how many guys own a Utilikilt, it's not all that difficult to do. She starting doing this in response to Sean Reynolds' "Babes of Gen Con," calling her version "Kilts of Gen Con." So, as I'm sitting in the Game Mechanics/Green Ronin booth, I see a girl in a kilt. Figuring I could kill two birds with one stone (first, she's a babe, second, she's in a kilt), I decide to snap a photo. The next thing I know, her friend in the blue is handing me a card and saying, "If you want to see more, check this out." The card says, simply, "Gnymphs.net: Softcore Porn, Hard Core Geek Girls." Signed on the back of the card is the name, "Morgan."

Well, I ain't never.

One other person I should mention seeing before I forget is Tom Lommel. Amy and I met Tom back in 1997, at Gen Con in Milwaukee. We were originally in touch with Tom in regards to the Cyberpunk 2020 role-playing game. He was a member of NASCRAG at the time, and since he was at Gen Con that year, we arranged to hook up and have lunch. Tom's a swell guy, and an actor by trade. He and I both have credits in Hungry Little Monsters. He may be moving to California in the next 12 months or so. It'd be swell to be able to see him more than once a year.

I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting. If it comes to mind, and I feel it's important enough, I'll add another entry. But, in a nutshell, that was Gen Con for me. The end of the year is looking to be busy for me, if things work out. I'm happy to have the work; with luck, I'll be doing more of this as time moves on.

See ya!

I'm Back from Gen Con

Just a quick note to say I'm home, as of Sunday night. I'll post a little more later on, along with some photos from the convention.

For now, I'm on baby duty.

Where Have I Been and Gone?

It's tough to pinpoint when I started role-playing. As in games, that is. I'd been doing the make-believe thing (from soldiers to Star Wars) with friends since I was seven years old. There wasn't any structure to it; I remember that we had a lot of arguments about who had shot who.

My seeds of interest in the fantasy genre were probably planted by (of all people) my father. He and I are estranged these days; he's someone I'd rather not know, so far gone now that I scarcely recognize him on the rare occasion that we are under the same roof.

I have a memory, and it has to be from sometime in 1977. I must've been 3 or 4 years old at the time. The animated version of "The Hobbit" was debuting on television. My father, mother, and I watched it together; I think we were living in Fort Gordon, Georgia, at the time. My mother would know for certain.

My dad loved Tolkien, and I think that had something to do with his own grandmother, Agnes (a wonderful lady that I knew, but I oftentimes wish that she'd had more time on this earth so that I'd've known her when I was old enough to appreciate her). He took me to see Ralph Bakshi's "Lord of the Rings" in the theater, but it was well after the movie had been released in 1978. I suppose it's possible it was a first-run movie at the time, but my time sense is that it was well after I was six or seven years old.

Most of the time that he and I went to movies, we were seeing movies that he wanted to see. That was par for the course, really, insofar as my dad was concerned. In some instances, this wasn't really a bad thing. In others...well, let's just say that he also liked horror films, a taste that I didn't really acquire until I was much older.

We saw titles like, "The Sword and the Sorcerer," "Krull," and "Conan the Barbarian" together. I assume that, from this short list of titles, he had a healthy interest in the fantasy genre. I know he'd read some of Robert E. Howard's stuff. So I'm assuming that he is partly responsible for the fact that I was drawn to fantasy gaming.

I didn't actually read "The Hobbit" until I was in the 5th grade. My teacher, Mrs. Chick, had a special reading group for the gifted children, and we read "The Hobbit" chapter by chapter. I recall reading the chapter "Riddles in the Dark" in the back seat of my parents' car as we drove to Palm Springs one weekend. I know that at some point I also picked up and read "The Sword of Shannara" by Terry Brooks, but it wasn't all that captivating to me.

What really got me into reading, and which eventually led to gaming, were elementary school book fairs. They sold lots of silly things (posters of kittens and ducklings, for instance), but they also sold a few things that I really liked. Such as "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, and (more to the point) "Endless Quest" books, which were set in Dungeons & Dragons campaign worlds. Dungeon of Dread was the first one I bought and read through.

There was an older boy who lived down the street from me named Jason. Jason and I used to read the Endless Quest books to one another in his garage, and we would take turns choosing which route to take. Jason's mother was a Seventh Day Adventist (I think; at the time, name brand religion wasn't something I really registered). The important thing was that she in no way approved of this activity, so when we read the Endless Quest books at his house, we were very careful about it.

Jason told me once that there was a game that the Endless Quest books were based on called "Dungeons & Dragons." He told me that it was better than the Endless Quest books, because instead of having two or three choices of what to do, you had an unlimited number. You could do anything you wanted to do, and you could play any type of character that you liked.

Wow, I thought. That sounds neat.

Jason also told me (in a whisper) that the guy who had created the game was a Satanist, which is why his mother didn't want us reading the Endless Quest books. In retrospect, I guess he was talking about Gary Gygax. My family wasn't much for religion, so I wasn't particularly worried about the religious leanings of D&D's creators.

That's how I found out that D&D was more than just Endless Quest books (which, at that point, I had a pretty good collection of; too bad they've all been lost or thrown away in the intervening years). I begged my mother to buy me a copy of the original "Monster Manual" at a local bookstore (which I still have to this day). The monsters in that book fueled hours of imagination, even though I'd never seen anything but six-sided dice up to that point.

I didn't play the game until I was in seventh grade. I ended up sitting next to a boy named Phillip in my math class. He and I got to talking, and he told me about his older brother, Jeff. Jeff played D&D, and a lot of other games besides. In time, Phil and I played with Jeff and his friends in their D&D games. Sometimes Jeff would run games for us, but this never happened as often as we wanted it to. So we started gaming ourselves. I picked up a copy of Top Secret/SI, and Phil and I played the heck out of that game. We played the Robotech RPG, not to mention West End's Star Wars. I'm sure there are other titles, but those were the ones that really stuck out.

So I guess that's where my gaming roots are. Not real impressive, but I suppose it's not all that unusual.

I eventually branched out into other games: Cyberpunk, GURPS, Vampire: The Masquerade. I made new friends, and lost some old ones. I think I did a lot of gaming, but my memories are vague and indistinct. Sessions run together into a series of highlights and anecdotes.

I don't see any of the people I used to game with while I was still in school. Phil and I had a falling out, but I managed to keep in touch with his brother, Jeff, for quite some time. I haven't seen him in years; don't even know if he's still gaming or not, though I think it would be easy enough to find out.

Anyway...I just got to thinking about it, so I figured I do the math. I might do more of this later, but for now I need to get to work.