RPG Update (34)

This time will be short. For my Impossible Landscapes reading I've created a dedicated bookmark. What better material I could find than King in Yellow tarot card from Arc Dream deck? So after two printouts, some cutting here I have this little piece of art. To bad that the shipping cost is outrageous right now. But maybe in the future, the whole deck will be in my possession.

For now, I've got only The King in Yellow (sorry for the overexposed pictures).

RPG Update (33)

Good Friends Of Jackson Elias decided to give a discount coupon for Dockside Dogs - an adventure by Paul Fricker himself for their Patrons. As I'm reading Impossible Landscapes for Delta Green right now, I'm thinking of running this adventure prior to the campaign. I know that campaign is a behemoth to prep and run, but I think I can squeeze PCs from Dockside Dogs in there somewhere. I've got a couple of ideas but I want to be spoiler-free, so I will not say any more at this moment. What do You think about my idea? I've created another cover for this adventure, just for the fun of making it. 

RPG Update (32)

One of my friends sends me a file with the Indiana Jones D6 RPG book. Where did he find it? Don't know. But as a curio, as a piece of RPG history,  I look inside and find a solo adventure by Peter Schweighofer. So I printed it and prepped it to play it. With the soundtrack from Ambient Worlds, it was a very nice hour of gaming. Full of adventure, suspense, and straight fun. I don't know is there any other solo adventure in this series, but I would love to play in it. Maybe I should search for another Indiana Jones RPG book or two? This also reminds me that somewhere in the attic there is a box with Heroes of Rura-Tonga campaign material. Need to go back to that. Time... I need more time!

Library Update (16)

My last library update this year (I think...) is about two books. One is from a large collection of horror stories from all over the world, this time is Margaret Oliphant - Open Doors. It will be interesting reading once I read thru another sixty-four positions on my List of Shame. 

Another position is for the completist in me. This time is the second edition of the posthumous collaboration between H.P.Lovecraft and August Derleth. You may like it, You may don't like it. I'm in the second group, but it completes my collection of HPL books from one of the Polish publishers. So... Don't judge me.

Solo play (2)

With the first snow in my corner of Earth, I've decided to play with the second installment of solo books from Black Monk - At the Mountains of Madness. When everybody goes to sleep I put on my headphones with Graham Plowman At the Mountains of Madness music on. My notepad and my Waterman. It was I mind-bending experience. After a day full of house chores I just cut myself from reality and became for a couple of minutes the main character of that story. It was a blast to the cold end. And the end was cold indeed. If You got this book, You can see what path I chose. Here it is: 1, 46, 108, 106, 41, 78, 61, 36. Tonight I will play it once again, maybe this time I will live a little bit longer. 

RPG Update (31)

Hello there! Since my last update, there is almost nothing to tell You about. Almost. Because I've finally printed my copy of Static Protocol for Delta Green from Dennis Detwiller Patreon feed. This is another effort to prepare for my Impossible Landscapes campaign. This will be a more in-depth game if my players will use this resource. Also with my lovely wife, we translated Cassilda's Song from the Yellow Sign book from Chaosium. But we are working on smoothing it out in the Polish language. 

Straight from my kitchen!

Straight from my kitchen! Yes, Madams and Mesuies! Lately, I was listening to a superb podcast from HPHLS - Voluminous, and in one of my letters to E. Hoffman Price or from E. H. Price to H.P.L. they send a recipe for curry. Maybe nothing fancy or anything, but I decided to try it out. I delve into my kitchen with the printed pages from almost 100 years old correspondence and start cooking. It was an experience, very nice and tasteful. If someone wants to make a connection with H.P.L and his correspondent here You have:

Library Update (15)

Nothing is worth noting lately. One exception is that another parcel landed in my hands. This time is a Polish translation compiled by S.T.Joshi  "Madness of Cthulhu". Yes. This is another book on my list of shame. The header - Chronicles of Arkham - suggests that this is the first book in a possible series. I need some yog-sothothery magic to have time for more than 60 books to read on my list and if this will be a series... Need more time!

Library Update (14)

So... The cost of parcels from and to the UK is outrageous these days. When my Friend and Correspondent in one person is coming to my little corner of the world, we have a new tradition to give to each other as many interesting books, as much he can cramp in his luggage. So I've received from him a couple of books. I've written them into my List of Shame already. When I will find the time to read all of these books? Don't know!

Library Update (13)

 Yesterday marks my finish in collecting Indiana Jones books published in Poland. The last one "Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs" just landed in my tentacles ekhm hands. This is taking me way back to my High school when my good friend lend me most of these books, but I never had the chance to read them in chronological order. So now, after almost a quarter of a century (when does this time go?) I've started collecting these books buying them from my local sellers. Most of them are from public libraries, so they are sometimes mutilated by hundreds or even thousands of readers, but I don't mind. Because of their state, they are even more realistic in this old pulp style, that they pretend to be after all. So... One of my dreams of youth come true. I know that they are products of their times, but I like the sentiment I filling when I look at them and read them. Are they good? Maybe yes, maybe not but who cares? I think that more important are memories tied to them. 

RPG Update (30)

A couple of days ago I've finished reading Cyberpunk Red. There is lots of fun stuff and lots of stuff that I need to tweak for Our hometown campaign. There are some aspects of global history that I must consider in Our timeline. So it will be whole a lot of work before we come back to Bielitz City.  Worldbuilding and World-changing can be very enjoyable and also stressful things. I'm hoping for an enjoyable experience. We will see. In the near future, maybe after I will read thru the correspondence of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard from 1934, I will delve into this great book of madness. I'm going to run this monster in the future (but cannot tell how distant). This is one of my goals for the future. For now, I can only say that Dela Green's approach to King in Yellow and Carcossa Myths is very interesting and strange than typical. Cannot wait to shed the yellow truth on my players. 

Library Update (12)

So this time will be short and quick. Yesterday I've received a parcel with one book. Never read anything from this gentleman. Maybe someone would be kind enough and said something about his creations?

RPG Update (29)

I'm now after 3/4 of Cyberpunk Red rulebook reading. In a couple of days, I will finish this monster. But I've got a mix feelings about that book. Don't get me wrong it is a great step up since 2020 (I will not say anything about V3, I never read it), but in my situation, it is somewhat difficult to say something more optimistic. Maybe it is because I never run adventures in Night City. Never. Since my first day of playing/running Cyberpunk more than 23 years ago, We always play in our own corner of the Cyberpunk world, my home town Bielitz City. What happened to Night City is not so important to us as what is happening in our own streets. Yes, I can take the new mechanics and implement them on the streets of Bielitz, but the mechanics are so strong tie into the world as it is in 2045. So I need to make changes and adjustments to the story of Bielitz and push it from 2020 into the future. For now, it looks like a great deal of work for me. My players will have to say goodbye to their old favorites characters. Don't know if they like this idea. Maybe? I need to talk with them prior to our next campaign. 

On a more optimistic note, I've just created a Trauma Team for my next solo adventure (I've got little hiatus with solo playing). Tonight they will hunt for other spare parts I mean punks witch need help. Cannot wait for the evening!

P.S. Another great book is waiting on my shelf for my attention. Another atmosphere, another game system. Why do we have so little time for these pleasures? Why?

RPG Update (28)

The time has come and parcel land on my front porch. I've received Cyberpunk Red in Polish translation. Just now I'm reading the rules and so far they look quite good. 

I'm the meantime I'm playing on solo RPG using Sprawl Goons Upgraded with both expansions and using Augmented Reality sourcebook also using one page RPG. Cannot wait for another installment in this game. As You can see my focus is very cyberpunk or tube it is the cyber focus?

Since I've started to wrote this post I've already concluded first story of what I call The Bielitz City Stories arc of a couple of adventures. The first is for two punks one Mnemonic Courier the other is Hacker. Both survived in this little adventure. I will come back to these characters soon, but for now, I'm going to create a crew of the Trauma Team. I will start this solo adventure at the moment when the old one ended. Looking forward to the evening! Sprawl Goons Upgraded with their rules-light system is ideal for solo gaming.

RPG Update (27)

Since my son's birth, we postponed playing RPG with our friends for some time. It is of course normal situation, till we figure out the logistics of our new baby. But there is nothing that can take me away from that style of gaming. For a couple of years now I collected solo RPGs, just for this particular moment in my life. So now I open up Pandora's box of solo RPGs...

My first foray into this world was paragraphs games, but this time I wanted something more. My choice was easy. From Ganesha Games:

So from the 18th of July until the 27th of August this year I've run this game with titular four Player Characters fighting against forces of the Great Old Ones (until the very end, You don't know with one it is!). It was a great game, I played it every single evening for 15 to 30 minutes. Wrote 70 pages of this game with interactions and events as they come up till the very exciting and blood finale.

My character sheet and also calendar.

The map I used for the game (there is also a color version with the pdf).

Marginalia (1)

Well... I knew for many years now that H.P.Lovecraft likes his Waterman pens. I only use pens in primary school almost thirty years ago. But a gift from three years ago from one of my friends rejuvenated my interest in that form of writing. So... My wife takes a note and when she does that the results are surprising. Lately, I've received a parcel with a Waterman pen... Try it and was surprised how good and pleasant writing is with that pen. Now I know why Lovecraft wrote these words...

“You’ll recall that I obtained a pen a piece for SH (Sonia) & myself last October at a price of $1.28 … we found the sale still on [&] the salesman still willing to make exchanges. …to obtain real satisfaction one must invest in a real Waterman … I did not escape from the emporium till a $6.25 Waterman reposed in my pocket — a modern self-filler corresponding to the ancient $6.00 type which I bought in 1906 & lost seventeen years later amidst the sands of Marblehead Neck in the summer of 1923 … the feed is certainly a relief after sundry makeshifts — tho’ I think I’ll change this especial model tomorrow for one with a slightly coarser point — one less likely to scratch on rough paper. It is certainly good to be back among the Watermans again …” — Lovecraft to Lillian Clark on 30th January 1926.

[The “sundry makeshifts” apparently included a self-filling Conklin, loaned from Moe after Lovecraft’s pen was lost “amid the sands of Marblehead”]. 

Library Update (11)

Last time I show You my newest possessions of Stefan Grabiński's books. They are now on my "List of Shame". A couple of days later I've received another package. This time parcel comes from the Polish publisher of The Call of Cthulhu - Black Monk. Not an RPG book itself, but second in line of Paragraph Games - Beyond the Mountains of Madness! I will play it when the winter comes...

Library Update (10)

This time something from my corner of the planet. At the same time that H.P.Lovecraft wrote some of his best stories, in Poland wrote another great horror writer - Stefan Grabiński. He wrote super cool stories and novellas. This is the second publication of his works, the first since his death in 1936. Those books I've bought are from 1980, so they are a little older than me! I think these are completely weird works of this writer. They are older than me! I've got other versions of this book, but they are classics for me. If You never read something from S. Grabiński I highly recommend changing it. He is so... Weird and special. Especially for Polish readers. Another three positions to my "List of Shame".

P.S. It's a shame that nobody used his creations for some roleplaying adventures.

 

Book Nook

I was fascinated for some time now with the idea of a book nook. At last idea of one cleared in my head. I took Rolls Royce Armoured Car I use as a prop in the Armoured Angels (best adventure in that collection) scenario from Fearful Passages and ask my wife to create an entrance to an ancient temple. So after a couple of hours, we've got the box, the stone wall with the entrance to the temple. Also, I find a nice miniature of some Archeologist and paint it. Also got some form of moss to enrich the overall scenery and little led tea lights for ambient light. 

Building the wall.

Lights and moss.

Armored car, only one wall completed and another miniature for tests.

Gluing everything together.

Top-down view.

Above You can see different kinds of color palettes I can create with LED tealights.

Library update (9)

Last week I've received a parcel from one of my Yoggie fellows with OST from The Call of Cthulhu movie. Already listened to it countless times. Such a good, moody soundtrack.

In companion with that, yesterday I've received a parcel with Chaosium's second edition of Hastur Cycle. So this two will be splendid together someday. With little time I have now, many books I've purchased and was given to me, sometimes even forget about some of them, I've created "The List of Shame" where I catalog every book I own and didn't read. Now I can more easily choose my next reading.

Update. This post took me several days from writing it to posting it. In the meantime, I've received another parcel. This time with the first time of Disciples of Cthulhu from Chaosium also. Another one to "The List of Shame" I'm afraid. 

RPG Update (26)

The last couple of days was a whirlwind at Our house. It was because on the second of July our son was born. So, for the time being, we cannot play with other people, we've got so many more important things to do like changing diapers and so on. But Our hobby is strong with us and we love to create and expand what we do. As You know, now we are taking hiatus from the Horror on the Orient Express campaign also, but when we come back and play it to the last session, last death, last breath, I want to give something as a souvenir for my players. This is such a fun and interesting campaign, with everything we do to make it more immersive, that I decided to buy special USB sticks. Here they are, and on them, there will be every part of this campaign.

RPG Update (25)

Last two weeks I've run an adventure written by John Wick himself. It is "Temple of Bloody Goddess" (roughly translated) from the "Face to face" sourcebook of adventures for one Player and one Keeper. I've run it for two of my players (separately of course). It is a nice little scenario, last in the book but the first that I wanted to run. It is set in pirate times (what do You expect from John Wick himself?!) and is very nice in pacing and deadly as hell. So I'm going to run it one more time and then move to another one from this book.

The second RPG event for me is Sprawl Goons Upgraded - a little cyberpunk system I've encountered lately. Simple elegant and easy to learn. With the Augmented Reality sourcebook and two other expansions (I need to buy them yet), it is a very interesting alternative for coming in the Polish language Cyberpunk Red. Hope to play in this game in the next couple of weeks. 

Library Update (8)

 After a couple of games of Call of Cthulhu in which I die after only 6 paragraphs (my personal record!), my mailman brought me another book. This time is a campaign for Call of Cthulhu from Polish publisher - Dwie z Tysiąca (Two out of a Thousand). I'm just starting to reading it, but after the blurb on the last page I know, that everything is set in Egypt and also ties with the Mask of Nyarlathotep campaign (ss if that campaign needs more materials...). So I'm delving into that for now. Maybe it will be my next big campaign? IT is of course smaller than the aforementioned Masks or Horror on the Orient Express, but I can somehow glue to it Death in Luxor or other Egypt adventures. If I could have this campaign when I was running Pulp Egypt it would be a different, bigger experience. I will ask players what they want to play next. Maybe I will go back to Heroes of Rura-Tonga. And then the survivors will come to Egypt? So many options! As a side note: I'm reading it parallel to A means to freedom - Letters of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. Lots of good reading ahead of me for a time being.

RPG Update (24)

 As an ending of my last cycle of gaming, I've run a beta test of the Miskatonic Repository scenario - The Black Tree of Cold Springs by talented Diego Batres. The great classic scenario for Call of Cthulhu. I do not want to spoil anything, so let me just say, that I've run it during 3 sessions, and it went well. The scenario has a good setup, is tight with the timeline, and has plenty of good sketched NPCs to interact with. The story is interesting, and suggested PCs are a nice change from typical Cthulhu PCs.

For the next cycle of gaming, with less time to prep for adventures, I've come up with the idea to run one on one adventures from a Polish scenario book I've mentioned earlier in my last year's Library Update - Twarzą w Twarz (Face to Face). So for the next three months, I will run a scenario for each of my players. I'm starting with The Temple of Blood Goddes, by no one other than John Wick of 7th Sea fame. What's in it? Pirates, monsters, lonely islands! Madness! Cannot wait to put my single players thru this. But for now, starting to preparing for this adventure. 

Library Update (7)

 As You may know, I'm a fan of solo playing. I'm trying many different styles of games for solo play, like board games (Arkham Files are one of the best for solo plays) also role-playing games, like Alone Against the Dark from Chaosium (cannot wait for translation into Polish language other adventures in that line - Alone Against the Frost and also Alone Against the Tide). As You can see my interest is rather narrow, so when I find Choose Cthulhu books on the Kickstarter couple of years ago, I just sighed and hope for some publisher to pick it up in Poland. My prayers to the Cthulhu and his kind were answered this year. Blackmonk Games just released the first book in this series - based on the most important for many of us tale by H.P. Lovecraft - Call of Cthulhu. Here it is in its blasphemous glory:

Now I just need to find time to read/play/create it for myself.