A Very Blood Bowl Christmas

Yes, another blog post before 2024. Man, my blogging has trailed off these last three years, but at least I'm up from 2023. Which isn't say much (I took a couple months off in 2023 due to the death of my mother), so...improvement? Mm.

Still...well, never mind. This isn't the "New Year's retrospective" post...we'll get to that in a couple days.

Our Christmas holiday has been (mostly) spectacular, the one blemish being my idiot brother and his asshole behavior. But aside from that, it's been great...the shopping went off without a hitch, got the tree trimmed and the house decorated (mostly my wife), got to Mass on time, got invited to a Christmas party where we made a bunch of new friends, had some other new friends over for day-after-Christmas dinner (that was great), and...yeah, been mostly relaxing and eating stuff that other people have been making for a change.  I don't think I've had to cook in over a week, except maybe one or two breakfasts for the kids.  Between my wife making all her holiday favorites and my kids baking pies and cookies (yes, my children bake...a lot), the only thing I've had to cook is a hot pot of coffee every morning.

Yeah, my life is blessed. I know. And I am thankful.

My kids were pretty thrilled with the gifts they received, Diego going so far as to remark this was one of the best (if not the best) Christmases he could remember...despite not receiving a single video game system or massive Lego set on their list. One of their highlights was my own Christmas gift to them, something entirely NOT on their list: a portable carrying/storage case for their miniatures from GW, capable of carrying a single Blood Bowl team. While this in and of itself was pretty neat, they were quite astounded/pleased to open them up and find their own fully painted teams inside, decked out in color schemes I'd slyly elicited from them in conversation!

Damn, but that was a tricky one to pull off, and I don't mind saying I take quite a bit of pride in pulling it off. I believe it was last Christmas, that I want to get them their own (painted) Blood Bowl teams, and I ordered them on-line from an Etsy group that does really nice work. Unfortunately, the delivery was slow and plagued with issues (one team arrived without bases) and I was unable to do more than deliver the figures in a box with the promise that we'd "paint them together." Still a nice gift, but underwhelming considering my expectation. 

Well, it's been a year and they've never gotten painted (though we did prime them, we got into painting the SW Legion minis instead). And while they've been used several times for our BB games, it's just not the same, you know? Hard to keep track of which lineman is which when they don't have any numbers on the jerseys.

So it's been a few months since the last time we'd even pulled out the Blood Bowl, and longer still since the paint pots had come out.  And I saw those carrying cases at the Warhammer store in Lynnwood when we were out window shopping, and I thought: this is my chance. So for the last 5-6 days before Christmas, I started getting up between 4 and 5 in the morning, sneaking downstairs, gathering all my gear, and then painting-painting-painting like one of Santa's slave-elves. An hour or two before I estimated the kids would be waking up, I'd stow all the supplies and clean up any evidence of my nefarious work before grabbing a couple more winks of sleep.  It was a near thing: I stayed up Christmas Eve after the kids had gone off to bed, in order to finish the last bits. Then I boxed 'em, wrapped 'em and put them under the tree. It worked out to be a delightful surprise come Christmas day...and all the lost sleep was worth it for the excitement on their faces.

Personally, I'm just glad I could still paint. My eyes have gotten so bad with regard to close-up vision that I really can't see without reading glasses, even with really good light. And I'm one of the vain idiots that refuses to wear glasses (I never needed them for 50 years of life, why should I start now?)...heck, I can still read in bed with the use of a portable lamp. But for the painting project I HAD to wear readers (2.0 magnification!)...I just could not see to get the paint down without them. Plus, the eyestrain/fatigue of the early morning hours didn't help make things any less blurry.

*sigh* At least no one saw me wearing them. 

So, yeah. A very Blood Bowl Christmas. There were other games under the tree (including a murder mystery game and the latest versions of BattleTech and Crossbows & Catapults), but now we're all in the mood for some BB mayhem. Probably spurred on by the fact that the NFL play-offs are right around the corner (come on, Cards, we need you to bear the Rams tomorrow!), there's an excitement for the old pigskin (and elfskin and dwarfskin, etc.) that's been missing since September and the start of the football season. Yeah, I think today is the day we start our own little tournament. The board is already laid out on the dining room table.

The last couple days I've been re-reading the 2nd Edition Blood Bowl Companion supplement, again familiarizing myself with "Official NAF Rules" which attempt to model actual gridiron football, including downs, drives, punting, field goals, etc. For the most part, I think they are really quite good...much, much closer to American football than the rugby/soccer combo that has been the standard BB play since 3rd edition. I think I'd even be willing to simply adopt them "as is;" they'd work well enough with the other 5th edition rules once you get used to the idea that a guy falling over does NOT automatically create a turnover. But the urge to tart them up and make them even more in line with the NFL I know and love is...strong. Very strong. 

BUT (stifling that urge)...the other League rules, draconian as some of them are (the training rules, for example...wow!), make quite a bit of sense. For a dedicated group of Blood Bowlers, such a League (along with a commissioner armed with a laptop and spreadsheets) could be...entertaining? Yeah, I think "entertaining" is the word I'm looking for.

I find myself intrigued, rather than nonplussed (which I think was my previous reaction). These are worth a spin. 

An eight team league, divided into two conferences. Official NAF rules (except that we need to include halfling and gobbo teams. Sorry...can't play without 'em!). All the fiddly crunch of the old school league rules (including apothecaries, salaries, rookie drafts, "disenchantment" points, training, benchwarmers, etc.). We'll leave out some of the weirder items: dwarf steamrollers, hired assassins and pit traps, for example. But I'm feeling everything else. Yeah, man...I'm feeling it. I'm feeling expansive this holiday season; like the Grinch growing his heart three sizes larger. I don't feel like 'playing small' right now. 

Yeah. This is going to occupy my attention for a moment.

; )

Happy holidays to everyone...and if I don't write again before January, have a happy, happy New Year!

Killing It Softly

All right...maybe a very SHORT blog post. 
; )

There is weirdness in the virtual (internet) air these days...anxiety over Dungeons & Dragons that I simply don't understand. Stuff about One D&D and the new OGL and the "death" of the game or the "death" of the OSR or...I don't know. Anxiety.

And I conclude this is just a cyclical thing, because Once Upon A Time, many years ago, I had similar anxieties. The Game Will Die. Go extinct...like the dodo. And my children's children's children will never know the joy of kicking in a dungeon door and sticking their imaginary blade in some fairytale monstrosity.

Alexis used to give me a hard time for worrying about that kind of thing. 

Who would carry on the legacy of D&D when all the old idiots like me had passed from this planet? Who would be left to understand the "right" way to play D&D?

*sigh*  It seems like every few years I have to take stock of my own past idiocies. It's a constant process of refinement called "living an introspective life."

Cyclical. I was recently hipped to this old Raggi blog post from waaaay back in 2008...never read it at the time, and only heard about it through this video post of him reading the transcript.  However, even if I had read it back in 2008, I'm afraid much of it would have been over my head...just as it is clear from the comments that much of it was over LOTS of folks' heads. The problem is, he is conflating multiple issues into a single rant and thereby burying (or at least, confusing) the kernels of truth that he'd hit upon. 

It's taken me decades of self-work and re-wiring analysis to synthesize this kind of thing. Here's probably the best bit:

You're not playing a game pretending to navigate your playing piece (called "a character") through some story where you get to be the hero! You are using the rules to pretend to be someone and experience and react as that person would though a dangerous world. Nothing more, and nothing less. If you want to be the hero...then you get to try. To guarantee success is to defeat the entire purpose of role-playing.

[if you want to read the most pertinent bits of the post, rather than the entire screed, I'd suggest beginning your read AFTER the indented tangent]

And, you see, to me that IS fun...if by 'fun' one means an enjoyable pastime that one wants to continue pursuing for the pleasure of it. Despite his provocative title, Raggi doesn't "hate fun;" he hate's a particular brand of time-wasting that some folks (including he himself!) lazily assign the convenient label of "fun."  

I can grok that. I've been hitting the holiday goodies and holiday booze a little too hard lately myself (and my waistline bears witness to the fact). Tis the season, as they say. And while it's all well and good to hate one's lax discipline in January (and vow to take steps to rectify the back-sliding), it's important that we appreciate just why we have this period of time when we "let ourselves go:" we are enjoying the company of our fellow humans and sharing a bond of seasonal joy (and stress!) together.

Which is, of course, one of the great benefits of the Great Game of Dungeons & Dragons. It helps us connect with our fellow humans, sharing joys and excitements and stresses with them in a fashion that is UN-likely to leave (real) folks dead and bleeding on the ground.

Has crass commercialism killed the spirit of Christmas? I realize that sometimes it can feel like this. But what IS the "spirit of Christmas?" It's not like Jesus (the dude my fellow Christians and I celebrate) was born on December 25th...that was simply the day the Romans celebrated their winter solstice festival...the darkest day of the year and the mark of the return to growing light in the world. Folks wanting to listen to cheerful music, decorate their homes with lights, give gifts, and eat/drink special foods with loved ones this time of year should feel little guilt in their holiday enjoyment...whether they're believers in Christ and His message or not! If you're celebrating your shared humanity...and not robbing and murdering folks...then you're probably showing more "Christmas spirit" than MANY of us display for MOST of the year.

I celebrate Christmas in my own way...just as I play Dungeons & Dragons in my own way. I have adapted holiday traditions of my mother's family, my father's family, and my wife's family, as well as creating traditions of my own for my own family. My children will synthesize these traditions and add their own twists and tweaks...just as they will do with their D&D games. Just as their children will do, some day down the road.

Will the continued commodification of D&D and the iron grip of corporate greed destroy D&D? Are you kidding me?

Pick up an extra copy of your favorite rule system (print on demand is still available for many books). Teach the game to someone young and imaginative. Pass along the rules to them to explore on their own. Share your joy. Engage with your fellow humans in a deep and meaningful way...one that is active rather than that of the passive consumer.

Doing this might assuage some of the anxiety. Maybe even cause it to dissipate entirely.

I (half-)joke that I'm an old man. "Old" is an extremely relative term. I'm not even 50 (that's next year), and my low impact, semi-healthful lifestyle has kept me at about the same level of fitness for a couple decades. Even so, I've been playing D&D for longer than many players have been ALIVE...that makes me a real geezer in relation to the gaming community.

Here's my "geezer wisdom" for my fellow gamers this holiday season. Worry less, play more. Play for the experience; play for the connections it makes with others. 

I'll talk at y'all in the New Year (or possibly, next week). Have a happy one, folks!

Tradition

The snow has stopped falling, but there's still a couple feet of the stuff on the ground (though drift size varies...lots of wind yesterday), and the freezing temperatures are keeping it from melting. As such, we ended up staying in most of the day Sunday, even forgoing church despite it being (*shudder*) a Holy Day of Obligation.

Which is fine. I mean it's not the first HDO I've missed...probably won't be the last.

Still, it's too bad. We attended Mass on Saturday morning (for Christmas...natch) and I found it very enjoyable. Even though we got there late, even though we had less-than-ideal seats, even though there was an alarming amount of coughing around us (virus PTSD), and an annoying amount of misbehaving kids, and a fairly pedestrian homily...I found the whole experience a welcome, comforting experience.

Christmas Mass isn't the most important of the year, nor even my favorite...as a Catholic I find Easter to be the "Big One" and greatly enjoy all the stuff of the Lenten season (from Ash Wednesday to the Friday fasts to Holy Week). The Easter season pretty much sums up the reason there is a Catholic church, after all, aI find the reflections during the Easter season the best of my (annual) religious "cycle." But Christmas Mass is still a good one, and one that I cherish doing with my family especially now that I have children. Not because I'm so much into the Christmas story (I'm more a Gospel of John guy) but because it's a chance to get away from the crass commercialism and Santa worship that permeates December and get back to why we're doing the whole dance. 

[and, yes, I've explained to the kids...this year particularly...the origin of the holiday in other (pagan) winter festivals, Roman and otherwise, and how it was simply re-purposed by the church and not based on an actual "birth day" of Jesus. They understand there was a marrying of non-Christian tradition with the celebration of our religion's foundational figure to create a delicious stew that STILL can have a very positive, spiritual message...if we keep it in mind]

Also the music is pretty good at the Christmas Mass.

But here's the main thing: Christmas Mass is always well-attended...more so even than Easter (people that only get out to Mass once a year seem to make the Christmas celebration). Always. And being surrounded by so many Catholics, all celebrating the Mass together, is heartening. There is a shared community there...you see all these folks repeating the same rote words, following the same ritual, taking the same Communion, speaking to the same Baptismal vows...and you know that you are part of something large, that you are not alone in your "silly" beliefs. 

We didn't have that last year. There was no Christmas celebration to attend in 2020. Despite all the "joy" and "cheer" and (Lord knows) eating, drinking and gift-giving, the whole thing was fairly subdued and depressing. I note that I didn't blog about anything but bugbears and B2 at the end of last December...I'm guessing I was a bit down in the chops at the time.

This year, I got to go to Mass and I was comforted by it. Our priest pointed out that we sing about "tidings of comfort and joy" but don't really think about the reason comfort is needed. If everything's just a big feast and celebration, why the hell do you need tidings of "comfort?" We don't comfort people who are joyfully celebrating. 'Hey, that guy looks like he's having a great time...I better go comfort him.' 

No, comfort is for the sad and the downtrodden and the miserable. And there has been a LOT of those folks over the centuries. And there are a lot of those folks now. And the birth of a dude who is going to inspire a far-reaching Way of living and behaving based on kindness...well, that is a joyful thing to celebrate, and it may well have given His followers of the time something to be comforted about. That things were going to get better. That life was going to get better.

I said that a big Mass, full of fellow Catholics celebrating Catholic "stuff," is heartening to me as a Catholic. But Saturday's Christmas service was the first time I was struck by...and comforted by...the full power and strength of the tradition of the Mass. Participating in a ritual that has remained, more or less, the same (at least the important parts) for centuries...stretching far back before the lives and times of my parents, my grandparents, my great-grandparents, etc. This thing, this celebration of the birth and life this Jesus guy, this sharing of the Eucharist with our fellow believers, is something that has been done for more than a thousand years. 

Empires have risen and fallen, governments have been tumbled and created, wars have been fought, plagues and pandemics experienced...and still the celebration of the Eucharist persists. The celebration of the Word persists. The teachings of a man who said "turn the other cheek" and "love your neighbor" persists. And in that stubborn persistence, in that staying power, in that tradition, there is comfort. There is the comfort that things can last; there is the hope that maybe, possibly, humanity as a species can endure, despite all our shortcomings, missteps, and tendencies to fuck everything up.

The Catholic church has made a lot of stupid, bad, and evil choices over the years. It's screwed up a lot. And yet the core of the thing...the Mass, the ritual, the teachings...these things carry on. There is strength in that shared, continued tradition...a foundational rock on which to build, and to rebuild, as and when necessary. If the church is slow to change and adapt to our evolving world...well, sure, I understand that complaint. People want, need, and demand progress. Growth and change and evolution is part of life, and we are part of a living world, not a dead, stagnant one. 

But we also need stability and consistency. Life is not always comfortable...should NOT always be comfortable. But comfort...and momentary respites from stress and chaos...are also necessary. We all need "a breather" sometimes. Our minds and souls need occasional rest just as much as our bodies.

I find this rest in my religious traditions. Sure, booze works, too...but the religion's a lot easier on the liver. 

[there is an analogy to be drawn here with old edition D&D, but I'll let my readers do that for themselves]

All right. Next post will be about either treasure or The Village of Hommlet or both. Later, folks.

Peace and love.

: )

Let It Snow

We had our usual green Christmas yesterday (preceded by monsoon-like rains for two days prior)...the norm for Seattle during the holiday season. But today is the 26th and I woke up to "Snowmageddon 2021:" about half a foot of snow on the streets, which is generally enough to shut down Seattle.

[there are a lot of crap drivers in this town on the best of days, and the over-abundance of hills, stoners, and cell users does little to allay the sheer panic that grips most drivers when a couple inches of powder sticks to the asphalt. It doesn't help the jackasses in their Suburu Outbacks cruising around like they're heading up the passes for a ski excursion and causing chaos with the cautious types. *sigh* This is why I choose to live in a neighborhood that's walkable and has a Fred Meyer across the street from my house]

Which is fine, because we still have a ton of delicious leftovers to eat, and both the wife and kids have the week off. So let it snow, dammit (it still is...2.5 hours since I got up). I do wish I'd picked up a new pair of boots in the fall (literally walked the soles off my last pair over the summer), but at least my Christmas gifts were filled with wool socks this year. About 10-14 pair.

[when people ask me for gift ideas I usually say socks; I wear a lot of holes, very quickly, in the things. My wife quipped it was a "very socky Christmas" for Yours Truly, and she wasn't wrong. Ah, well...my real gift came early this year]

However, I did get up late today (making up for a couple-three days of even LESS sleep than usual), so didn't have a chance to do the blog post I'd planned before the rest of the fam roused themselves from slumber. And since they are all "home for the holidays," I doubt I'll have a chance to post it before tomorrow (bright and early, that's the plan). Apologies for that, but the bacon and eggs isn't going to cook itself. And I'm guess that a substantial portion of my day is going to be taken with snowball fights and fort construction after that. 

You know how it is.

Hope everyone had a merry Christmas yesterday. More later.

; )

Other People's Stuff

Ugh...just spent two plus hours on the phone with Mac and Microsoft support trying to get my MS Word issues resolved...the new operating system didn't support my old Office products which rendered me incapable of opening ANY of my documents...things like, you know, the books and such I'm working on? F***...

But I won't regale you with any (more) tales of woe for THAT stuff...suffice is to say it was resolved (with cash expenditures) and now I can once again access what I've been working on the last couple days: Cry Dark Future.

[more on this in a later post]

Instead, allow me to pour some of my Christmas cheer into your stocking. My family was kind enough to gift me this year with something I really wanted, but really didn't need...in other words, the kind of thing I call "the perfect Christmas gift" or PCG. PCG's are great when you can find them; I pride myself on usually being able to find them (for others), but my family ain't as adept. Here are things that don't rate as PCGs:

• Things you think I want, but don't (a replica lightsaber one year, for example)
• Things you think I need (if I needed it, I probably would have bought it...unless it's really expensive, in which case you probably shouldn't be giving it to me as a gift!)

And having to come up with "gift ideas" for people kind of defeats the whole exercise really; do you wrap up the groceries on your shopping list? It's like they don't have a whole lot of imagination when it comes to this stuff; though to be fair, the whole "on-line shopping" thing has kind of destroyed the lost art of mall browsing.

[and just so you know, holiday shopping is the ONLY type of shopping I actually enjoy]

But this year they DID come through with a PCG for me, something I certainly wasn't expecting: the Game of Thrones-themed RISK board game. Ha! I probably haven't written much (or enough) about my love for this classic board game...I've held onto my own copy since the 80s (itself, I believe a Christmas gift...I honestly can't remember), and played the hell out of it, back in the day. But this GOT-box is fantastic...it may be the most beautiful board game I've ever owned. And while I have some gripes about the updates to the system (they're not bad; my designer mind simply has half a dozen ideas for making them better) the maps, pieces, and gameplay are all excellent.

[though've we've so far only had the chance to play one game, it was fun to watch House Lannister (played by me) stomp the hell out of the Seven Kingdoms]

One of Two Map Boards

But...and here comes the real point of this post...I had another, stronger reason for salivating over the game. In working on building a new D&D campaign, I have been considering how best to map out a world, and I was strongly considering borrowing/stealing Martin's geography for my own...or at least for a starting point. And the two large territory maps of Westeross and Essos that came with the Risk game looked to be the perfect tools for just such an exercise.

[previously I had been strongly considering the Evergreen Playground map from Kroll as a possible framework. Heck, I'm still considering it. First saw this one on the wall at my favorite BBQ joint up in Ballinger, Gabriel's Fire]

However, a funny thing happened on my way towards plagiarism...I encountered the migration and demographics blog of Kentuckian conservative Lyman Stone, In a State of Migration. It's not bad reading: Stone appears to be an intelligent, thoughtful human being, his research seems solid, and his writing is excellent, if a bit dry at times. However, he's also a big nerd (as if "migration expert" didn't already suggest that) and his writing sometimes veers into the realms of fantasy world-building, whether based on historic medieval economies and movement, fantasy novelists like George Martin, or the demographics of Star Wars. Here are some of the articles I've really been digging into:

Westeros is Poorly Designed
Why is Planetos So Poor?
Notes on Medieval Population Geography

Rather than bastardize the hell out of Stone's work, I'll simply point folks at his blog and tell you that there's a lot of good food for thought in there regarding demographics, migration, and population density. The links from the links can give you e-surfing material for days (at least, it did with me). For folks who'd rather work on their campaigns than watch playoff football, I'd suggest checking it out.

For my part, I'll say I'm now far LESS inclined to use Martin's world as any particular sort of setting. Still, the Risk game is nice to have.
: )

In related links (yes, I'm being lazy...three hours on the phone today, did I mention?!)...have you seen this cartographers guild site? I must be incredibly stupid, because it appears to have been up and running since 2006 and I'm only now stumbling across it. Even at the risk of tarnishing my (already iffy) reputation, I figured I'd go ahead and mention it for others who might have missed it. Also, I now have a link to it on the blog, so that I can peruse the work of many deeply talented peoples. Maybe at halftime.

All right, that's it. For now.

Home for the Holidays

Well, now. It's been a busy week and a half.

Folks who have (or who have had) young children can understand the busy-ness of the last couple weeks of the year, what with school ending for winter break...complete with classroom parties, holiday concerts, and field trips. Adding to that the shopping, decorating, cookie baking, office Christmas parties, prepping the house for the arrival of guests (in my case, my wife's parents: mis suegros will be with us till January 4th, which is awesome), sneaking around presents and wrapping stuff...well, it's been crazy. The in-laws are late nighters, especially given the two hour time difference, and I've been up till 1 or 2 in the morning every night since they've got here (along with waaaay too much alcohol consumption). Given that the dogs still get me up early, it's been rough.

Not that I'd change it. Exhausting as it is, and as costly (make no mistake, feasting relatives for a couple weeks is a drain on Ye Old Coffers), the festive holiday atmosphere is amazing and this time together with family is something to be cherished.

But it is a constant nag at me that my familial responsibilities pull me away from my game-related activities: not just blogging and biz-related writing, but playing...both in the form of actual table play and the "DM play" of prep work and world building. And, YES, I understand and realize that there are many, many folks who would happily change situations with me, that they would prefer doing festive holiday "stuff" instead of gaming, but that gaming is all they have, or that gaming is a much-needed escape from the toils and hardships of a not-very-festive season. I get that.

I also get there are plenty of folks who incorporate their gaming into their holiday festivities, that gaming is something they look forward to during the holidays with family and old friends. But that's not me; it's just never really been me. Gaming is something I've always done separate and apart from my family...with the exception (sometimes) of my brother, though he's never taken the gaming thing as serious as myself and games with him always had a good chance of devolving into frustration.

My identity in my "real life" is just so different from the one I bring to my gaming activities. Or, rather, it's NOT all that much different, but it seems strange to my non-gamer family, friends, colleagues, etc. that I would bring such seriousness to something so "silly" as a game. Why do I need to spend so many hours and work on such a thing, reading and writing and researching and thinking and prepping? Why is it so important? People whose most complex gaming is Apples to Apples or Monopoly just don't get it. There are more important things to worry about in the world; they don't have the free RAM space in memory.

And, yet, the things that matter to my loved ones ARE important to me, too: religion and politics and child raising and family and being a constructive member of society and how the local sports team is doing (very badly after yesterday) and...well, whatever. These things matter to me, too, and it's part of why I so enjoy my time with my non-gamer clan.

But a lot of times I feel they don't get me. And a lot of times I feel like I'm being a bit of a fraud...not only because I put on a face of "it doesn't bother me that I'm losing time that could be spent on my gaming obsession" (which it does, even while it would ALSO bother me if I ignored my family to indulge in the game thing)...but because I'm not including them in my passion. I keep it to myself, perhaps selfishly.

Mainly because when I bring it up and they hit me with a blank stare and a look of ''huh, what?" it makes me question the value of something so much a part of my identity.

My son gets it a bit. I've molded him a lot in my own image, of course. But I don't want to game with him, not yet. Hell, I really want him to develop his own imagination and way of thinking...I don't want him being a carbon cut-out of his "pops." And I want him to have a chance to be a child; I don't want him to step into the mental shoes of an adult (even a fantasy game version). But I don't want to tone down MY game for HIM either...I have no interest in running "No Thank You Evil" at this time. I'd rather play Axis & Allies (or some form of BattleTech) with him.

Or, heck, we get a lot of mileage out of just passing the football back and forth. And it's a lot more (mentally) relaxing.

But it's the wife that really hurts. I love my wife, but...well, never mind. Now is not the time to air out all the ways she and I don't jibe, when we DO get along in many ways that are very important. If she could have "cured" me of my gaming obsession, she would have done so years ago.

ANYway...

The point of this post is: I'm busy at the moment. Busy having Christmastime fun, busy with family, far too busy (at the moment) to write the posts I want to about bounty hunters and alignment and campaign world building and illusionists (illusionists? what? see Anthony Huso's blog for more info). I spent a lot of free time yesterday going over my posts from last April regarding the Grand Duchy of Karameikos: there's actually a lot of nifty ideas in there...kind of want to take the best of them and squish 'em into something.

[I know it's a little ridiculous to read my own content for enjoyment...do authors read their own novels after they've published them? But that's the kind of stuff I'm often looking for...and so seldom finding...on the inter webs. I'm a strange duck]

I hope to get a couple more posts done before the end of the year...I was really hoping to get MORE posts done than 2014 (when I hit 120). We'll see if it happens. Regardless, I doubt I'll have the chance to blog again till after the 25th...so please let me take this moment to wish you ALL a very merry Christmas and (regardless of your religious persuasion) a joyful week. If you can game, do so. If you can be with loved ones, do so. And appreciate the time you have. My very good friend just lost his mother yesterday, unexpectedly, and it's just another reminder of how precious our time here is. Enjoy it the best you can.

Happy holidays to one and all.
: )

The End Is Nigh

For those who may not have heard, some of us have been counting down the days of the Mayan tzolkin calendar, waiting to see what tremendous Earth changes may or may not be wrought when we hit zero hour. Being a long-time studier of astrology (including mesoamerican astrology), Edgar Cayce, Graham Hancock, and other non-traditional historians (commonly called quacks, fakers, and whack-jobs), I am all about counting down our final hours. Fact is, I've had a timer counting down our final hours on the ol' Blackrzor blog (bottom o the page) since I first started this thing a couple-three years ago.

Welp, today is the final day of the Mayan "long count" epoch..."4 Flower" in the uinal that started with 11 Alligator some twenty days ago (why doesn't the final count down end in a 13 Flower? No idea, just one of those mysteries of the mesoamerican numbering system). Not that it matters too much...I mean any of it. I've blogged before about the possibility of great "Earth Changes" including what I feel is the main things with which to concern ourselves (hint: it has to do with being kind to each other as much as possible...even people with whom you don't necessarily agree).

Anyhoo, tomorrow will see the dawning of a new epoch (I figure to go by midnight, Yucatan time), and I will be celebrating by getting into Mexico City very early in the morning with my family (I'm typing this from a Dallas airport computer while awaiting my connecting flight) and heading east towards Veracruz. No, not because I plan on taking part in any New Age-y mesoamerican celebration, but simply the traditional Christmas-with-family-and-in-laws celebration. And for those of us who can (hard as it might be) get beyond the coming Seahawks-Forty-Niners showdown in Seattle on Sunday, I think the most important thing for us ALL to do on the edge of this great cosmic changeover is to remember the Real Meaning of the Christmas Holiday.

No, not Jesus's birthday. Jesus was a Pisces, dude. I'll post his horoscope sometime.

No, the real deal with regard for Christmas can be found in its "heathen" roots as a mid-winter celebration...the 21st (or thereabouts) generally being the proverbial "longest night off the year." What midwinter celebrates is (guess what?) the night's start getting shorter thereafter, as we start that slow upward climb out off darkness and back to the Spring. It is a time of renewal (and often Yule-time booze), and we'd do well to consider how, no matter how dark the darkness gets, there always comes a light evetually...hopefully, a light that brings great joy and love to everyone.

Here's to hoping. Feliz Navidad, folks. I'll try to write more from Mexico...assuming the holidays grant me a little free time for writing.
: )

[P.S. Go 'Hawks!]

Dragones, Navidad, y Comida Mexicana

"Dragons, Christmas, and Mexican Food"

Se acabaron las fiestas. The parties are over...at least for 2011. There's looking to be at least one more late nighter for the New Year, but the next few days should be on the quieter side. Kind of. I'm supposed to be singing Metallica covers with my wife's cousin's band at a bar tomorrow, part of a six-band set (I don't know what order we're in...sometime around 10pm) but I might bag it. The kids aren't bad, considering their age (about half mine or a little more), but only two of the members bothered to learn the song they told me to prepare (Iron Maiden's Hallowed Be Thy Name), and they want me to learn a SlipKnot song (*barf*) by tomorrow so I can "come in on the chorus."

I'll probably do it anyway...my chances at "rock n' rollin'" these days are slim and far between, and I can pretty much do Enter Sandman and Master of Puppets in my sleep...besides that's a lot closer to "singing" than Pantera or Trivium (the band's main influences...oh, and Slayer, of course). The things I do for family (and ego)...

But up until tonight, the partying has been pretty much non-stop since I arrived. Let's see...party Thursday, wedding on Friday, Christmas Eve (till 4am) on Saturday, Christmas Day (party, late night Mass, relatives, party) on Sunday, birthday party (for my son, who doesn't turn 1 till the 19th of January) on Monday (involving about 50+ assorted relatives), birthday party for my wife's other cousin (involving many, many more people) on Tuesday...

Today's Wednesday, right? Yeah, just (very loud) band practice and a quiet chocolate and churros with the wife and baby today. We did some laundry.

In between partying and stuffing myself with excellent food, I've managed to accomplish exactly 0 (zero) as far as writing is concerned. Hell, this is the first chance I've had to type ANYthing (the baby requires quite a bit of wrangling, too)...and I can see it's actually Thursday around 1:14am. And I should be hitting the hay soon.

However, I have managed to squeeze in enough reading time (on planes and busses and in quiet moments) to finish Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight, something I've long been meaning to do. What an utterly fantastic book...I see how it launched such a successful (critically and popular-wise) series. I'll have to pick up the sequels when I'm back state-side. Just ridiculously good and interesting...it wasn't until about halfway through the thing I realized that it had not ripped off D&D's "chromatic spectrum" of dragons, having been written in 1969, well before Gygax and Arneson (and thus was probably part of the inspiration for the RPG).

And I have to say I prefer McCaffrey's version of dragons to those created by TSR. That is, her color/size/personality/role descriptives for dragons makes more "biological sense" to me than the different color = different breath weapon thang. And this despite the totally bizarre "telepathic/teleportation/time travel" abilities of the Pern dragons. I guess it's just a matter of taste, but her animal mounts had more personality and "reality" (for me) than any of the dragons in the Dragon Lance books (for example).

I have much more to say about the Dragonflight book (not pertaining to dragons), but I'll save that for a later post. I've had an epiphany or two reading these old school SciFi/Fantasy books (I'm halfway through MZB's classic Sharra's Exile, and I hope to finish it in the next couple days) and I want to collate my thoughts in a way that will be useful from a gaming perspective.

Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to bed. Have to get up early tomorrow and download SlipKnot.

Wherefore Art Thou Religion?

A few days back I was sitting in a local Catholic church celebrating the Christmas Mass, something I hadn’t done in awhile. That is to say, we skipped Christmas Mass last year (and most of the Holy Days of Obligation in between). I don’t really consider myself a “lapsed Catholic” but I’m not a particularly good one (at least when it comes to following the strict tenets of the Church)…and a couple of my more religious friends (one of whom is/was a Dominican brother) consider my soul in mortal peril based on some of my beliefs, a few of which make Martin Luther’s pronouncements look pretty darn regressive.

But, as I said, I still consider myself a Catholic and a Christian, definitely not an apostate, though perhaps a heretic (for instance, I caught myself in Mass wondering how hard it would be to start a Catholic Gnostic sect…how’s that for “old school?”). I mean I consider myself a member of the “Catholic” church in the sense of the meaning of the word: universal or all-inclusive. And I consider myself a Christian in the sense that I follow the teachings of the man called Jesus the Christ…though NOT the interpretations of Jesus through St. Paul or Thomas Aquinas. So there.

[oh, boy...Brother Rob would definitely be rolling his eyes at THAT!]

Anyway, the fact of the matter is I grew up in the Church, I was educated in the Church, I went to Catholic school all the way through graduation from Seattle University (all thanks to the Jesuits for teaching me to think for myself). I happen to LIKE a lot about the Church…including its traditions, its rituals, and many of its teachings. Despite all the bad shit that’s been done in the Church’s name over the centuries (and despite all the bad shit that CONTINUES to be done in the Church’s name), I still see the Church as a positive thing in the world. Not because it’s “saving souls” or “bringing people closer to God” but because it institutionalizes morality and ethics that are basically good. And that’s a powerful, powerful thing.

Most world religions do this, and I don’t fault anyone their personal beliefs (well, maybe one or two of the more recent ones…) so long as the teachings they follow are making them more responsible with respect to their basic humanity and role as higher, compassionate beings. There are many spiritual “paths to the mountain top” and I don’t find a problem with following any particular route. I certainly don’t expect people of non-Catholic (or non-Christian) faiths to end up in some lake of fire and suffering.

Of course, you have to do more than show up at Church on Sundays to walk the spiritual path…but let’s just say some people travel the path slower than others. And perhaps those who use their religion as an excuse to bomb airlines or abortion clinics are just taking…um…"rest stops" along the way.

Point is this: I think most people can admit that even in this day and age, religion and religious beliefs are a LARGE and IMPORTANT part of our lives. I’m not just talking about followers of different religions who happen to be shooting at you because you go to a synagogue instead of a mosque (or vice versa). I’m talking about YOUR RELIGIOUS UPBRINGING being important to YOU. Even if you have drifted away from your particular faith or Church or the belief system of your youth, it still has an effect on you and the actions you take in the world.

And even for those few who were raised without a foundation of organized religion (kids born in the last 20 to 30 years), your parents probably were and probably instilled some religious ideals in you.

SO having said all that: where the hell is religion in role-playing games?

Don’t just say, “”Look JB, clerics! Deities and demigods! Domain spells!” Don’t give me that bullshit. People have been killing themselves and each other for centuries over religion…passionate (or ecstatic), visceral, felt-in-the-soul religion. Saying, “oh I play a cleric let me heal you because I’m Lawful Good” is NOT what I’m talking about.

Organized belief systems have, historically and presently, been a major part of the shaping of our planet’s history. And yet in the IMAGINARY world of role-playing games, it is often left completely out of the picture. Or perhaps the unspoken command in most RPGs is “add only as desired.”

Now maybe folks are naturally wary about discussing religion and religious differences. You know, like “you don’t talk religion and you don’t talk politics” kind of attitude? I’m not unaware that my Goblin Wars setting with its pseudo-Roman Catholic Church (and pseudo-Jesus) drew some consternation and discomfort…both from blog readers and from players at my table! But maybe our discomfort and aversion to the subject is due in part to it not being a regular part of discourse?

Maybe…I’ll stop speculating in that particular direction (for now). But it would seem to me that confronting religion in role-playing games might A) be MORE “safe” (due to the imaginary nature of the game), and B) elevate role-playing sessions to a…well, to a more meaningful level (by which I mean more impactful or gripping or intense game play perspective).

[one of the things I found interesting about those early Shadow Run novels was the main character’s religious values and ethics and the way it butted heads with his mercenary lifestyle. At first, I thought it irritating…I preferred the mini-gun on dragon action!...but over time, this made the character the most interesting part of the books, especially as he reconciled his own “gifts” with the doctrine of his faith]

Maybe. It might also be more “realistic” for those who strive to include “more realism” in their games. After all, we’re (generally) talking about “primitive” cultures, right? Dungeons & Dragons is presumed to take place sometime in the “mystic past.” Doesn’t that presume it was sometime prior to Vatican II? You know, back when religion and the state of one’s soul really MEANT stuff to people…even the upper class and well educated folks?

Even the “godless heathens” were quick to offer sacrifice before battle for fearing to anger the heavens back in ancient times.

And my thoughts don’t just apply to “medieval” or “pseudo-medieval” games. Boot Hill may be a game that delights in lead-slinging carnage, but the Old West was a LOT more particular about their religion than one might think from watching spaghetti westerns. Hell, even those old Eastwood films often had preachers or (fake) nuns or moments where religion or religious event have direct impact on the plot of the film. And yet, we often gloss over this in our games…both in play, and design.

In fact, taking Boot Hill as an example, I don’t recall much about preachers AT ALL in the game. Certainly nothing in the basic rules. Module BH1 has a town “undertaker.” BH2 has a shotgun wedding event…but performed by a “justice of the peace” (no preached in sight). Snake-oil salesmen, corrupt city officials, and immigrant discrimination (against the Irish) feature in other modules, but no religion of any sort that I recall.

I just think it’s strange…religion has such a low impact role (if any role at all!) in so many RPGs. It’s just weird, considering the nature of our human condition. Is role-playing really a godless activity?!

The RPGs I can think of that has real, impactful religion as a part of their basic design are few and far between…and I’m not talking about Deadlands or D&D where some “holy caster” type can use healing magic. I’m talking about character and scenario (i.e. “adventure”) motivation:

- The Riddle of Steel: the spiritual attribute Faith can be hugely motivating for those who choose to put points into it (you have a handful of spiritual attributes, like Conscience, Destiny, Luck, Drive, etc. so it’s not inevitable that Faith will be used at all). However, a player who chooses to make religion a central part of their character by pumping Faith will have a huge impact on the tenor of the game.

- Pendragon: Arthur is, of course, one of the great Christian heroes of myth/history, and Pendragon has knightly virtues associated with Christianity (and those dastardly Saxons have virtues of their own associated with their Teutonic beliefs). Because these virtues can actually impact PC behavior (personality rolls) religion has the potential to impact the game, if players play up these particular virtues instead of more courageous/chivalrous ones.

- Orkworld: Although the pseudo-Nordic religion of the orks doesn’t have much impact on game play, it is a vital part of understanding the orks tribal belief systems through their myth/folklore and thus understanding how to play the game. But how many people actually play Orkworld?

- Vampire the Masquerade (at least in its first edition or two) COULD be played with an eye towards religion and its impact…or not. How religion effected play (if at all) was definitely left up to the individual “Storytellers.” Once you start incorporating the later WoD books, religion definitely goes out the window.

Aaaand…that’s about it. Games like Dark Heresy and The Mutant Chronicles could be played with an eye towards the characters’ religious beliefs I suppose, but generally PCs are going to be more mercenary/freelancer types and totally agnostic except when it comes time to break out an exorcism spell…at least, that’s been my experience.

Which is a shame. Even in (or ESPECIALLY in) futuristic, post-apocalyptic, and SciFi games there is a place for religion. A Canticle for Leibowitz has to be my favorite post-apoc book of all time…and yet none of the Cryptic Alliances of Gamma World are really “religious” (at least, not “real world” religious…and this for a game that takes place in the not-so-far-future of Earth). I can understand if you want your Cyberpunk world to be bleak and God-less…but not every RPG is cyberpunk.

Anyway, this is all just something that hit me when I was in Church the other day…it felt so bizarre when I thought about it, I figured I should mention it on Ye Old Blog.

[ha! I just remembered that old Christian RPG DragonRaid…I DID have the opportunity to play it back in 1984 with my born-again Christian buddy, before his mom decided to outlaw ALL role-playing games. I remember it actually being a pretty cool game...I wonder where I could get a copy of it...]

Funnily enough, I think there might actually be some “religious” impact on players at the gaming table, even when religion isn’t overt in the game design. After all, what inspires folks to be “good” or “heroic” in RPGs? Generally, there’s no inherent reward in it…might as well beat, torture, and rob with impunity, right? And yet, even when given the option to do so, sticking a moral quandary in front of folks often leads to pause…and sometimes to folks choosing a more “godly” choice of action.

More to be said later, probably.

Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all are having a great holiday!