Friday, March 30, 2012

Exposition Without Number


I just wrote a note to the players of my Stars Without Numbers campaign containing some information so I wouldn't have to blab it all out when we start playing on Saturday.  I amused myself quite a bit as I droned on, producing far more exposition that
I had planned.  I'm sure it will bore them to tears.  But I enjoyed it, dammit, so I figure the rest of the world should suffer.

So enjoy.  Or suffer.  Or both. :)

* * *

The party returned to the planet Metha aboard the Fat Tuesday at the end of the last game session.  The Methans were happy with the resolution of the Hard Light novium issue and paid well (except for Dr. Mann, who was paid well for her research on the Amazon Floral Hive Mind.)  The party is not actually on Metha (which looks a lot like Titan, if you remember,) but on one of the thousands of space stations orbiting the planet.  Elysium Station is unlike any of the other stations the party has seen, however, as it has clearly been designed with humans in mind.

In fact, humans are all over Elysium Station. There are living quarters, restaurants, shopping malls, and hydroponic parks bustling with people - families with children even.  Occasionally, Methan hybrids like Ellen-14 shuffle along the walkways in their giant, bloated tick-like bodies without so much as a second look.  It's a lively place, but clearly all of the humans are in the employ of the Blue Methan Hegemony.  There is an unusual amount of human psychics on the station, utilizing their skills out in the open - something not normally done inside of human space.  Centuries of anti-psi bigotry has convinced most psychics to keep a lower profile.

Another odd sight aboard Elysium station is the abundance of Harpathians - perhaps ten percent of the population.  The creatures resemble anthropomorphic, roly-poly, three foot tall baby seals.  Yes, the ones with the poofy white hair and the 'don't hit me with that club, you bastard' stare.  Harpathians are well-known in human space, but mainly as cartoon characters in the holo-vids designed for girls 8-10 years of age.  The most well known is JOLO, the fluffy sidekick of CAPTAIN KENDRA AND THE KOSMOTEERS.  Few humans have ever actually seen a real Harpathian, as the entire race avoids humanity like a plague.  The history of Human-Harpatian relations involves liberal amounts of slavery and being sold as pets, despite the Harpatian's loud, literate, and eloquent protests that they are actually a sentient race with thoughts, feelings, and a desire not to be a cuddle toy for 6 year olds.

The Harpatians appear to have support jobs all over the station, including spacecraft servicing, but they seem to be most prolific in security positions.  Three foot tall baby seals walking around in power armor bristling with plasma projectors is a common sight.  It's unnerving - and doesn't get any better with repeated viewings.

Ellen-14 is eager for the party to accept the currently offered job.  If you remember, this is to track down the source of the Berserker Spider manufacturing box - which  would logically (per the Methan's past experiences,) be a box that makes boxes that make Berserker Spiders.  The Methans are worried that if the Box is not located soon, it could run across an AI, hack it, and un-brake the AI - causing a heap load of trouble for whatever civilization the newly formed Berserker AI ran across.

The Fat Tuesday's Chief Engineer and back-up pilot, Sophia Lucullo, expresses concerns about the Methans.  She's never seen them before, and is clearly frightened.  She also reiterates the story from the Kingpin of Blue Saturn (whom Captain Goodnight met with in the Tigris System,) who said that the Methans had exterminated almost all of his race and were not to be trusted.  The ship's marine compliment - Alice, Bethany, and Carmen (Kevalt's Angels,) have a completely different attitude toward Ellen-14 and her kind - and have been buying as much military hardware as they can afford from the giant space-ticks.

If the party chooses not to accept the mission, Ellen-14 says that she and her brood understands, and they will gladly program the navicomp aboard the Fat Tuesday to the destination of your choice.

Um, anyway, I've gone overboard with interlude - but there you are. :)

See you on Saturday!

- Ark

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Comic

Sigh.

I'm nowhere near finished with the comic.  I've been overloaded with work, and what little time I did have, I spent drawing Red Sonja.  Rather than rushing around and breaking my back - the comic won't come out this time, but instead, at the next scheduled time in two weeks.  Bummer, but I'd prefer it look halfway decent than have it be just chicken-scratching.

I really need to learn how to draw faster - but it seems like I'm actually learning how to draw more slowly.  I don't think that's how it is supposed to work.  And somehow I need to combined my desire to draw a D&D comic with my desperate need to draw cheesecake.  Two birds, one stone.  Hmmm . . .

I'll figure something out - I'm sure.

- Ark

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Map Drawing Music

Normally, my mind hearkens to heavy metal music when I think of the halcyon days of D&D.  But honestly, when I was sitting around drawing maps or designing campaign material, I was far more likely to be listening to stuff like the music below (like I am right now drawing during lunch instead of eating.)









- Ark

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword


After a week of work, and too many hours to fully pony up to, I've finished my Red Sonja fan art.  I'm incredibly proud of it, and think it's the best thing I've ever done.  Tomorrow, of course, I'll look at it and feel it is the most horrible thing I've seen - and be embarrassed to even think of it.  Alas, that's my curse - I just have to deal with it and move on to the next piece.

Enjoy!

- Ark

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Dungeonspiration: I Don't Do Dungeons


The last couple of years have been an intense fest of role playing for me.  If you add it up, the total gaming time during the last three years probably equals the previous thirty.  I've begun to realize - or re-realize rather - that I don't do dungeons.

Fun map that I don't know where came from.
That's a horrible realization in a column named after dungeons, but let me explain.  I dont' like dungeons.  Okay, that probably didn't come out right.  I don't like dungeons as a way of life.  Yeah, that's more accurate.

In my previous gaming life back in the 80s, I mainly DMed.  Within about two years, I was done with dungeons, focusing on wilderness adventures.  That got boring, and I went on to strictly urban fantasy adventures.  I really didn't get back to dungeons until the advent of 4e - both as a DM and as a player - and while I like dungeons - I think they work better as a spice than as an entrée.

(Yeah, some of you got confused, I know.  I'm using the North American definition of entrée - meaning the main course.)

Simply put, a trip to a dungeon that lasts more than two sessions is going to bore me to tears.  To me, a dungeon should be like a short story - composed of three succinct acts - a beginning, a middle, and an end.  In the depths of a lengthy dungeon stay, I loose focus.  Encounters begin to blur.  I forget why I'm underground, and forget to care.  Okay, yeah, I have the attention span of a gnat - I know that - but it's not getting much better as I age.

I understand that to some people, the dungeon is the game itself.  I understand that.  It's okay.  You megadungeoneers are wonderful people and I love you all, man.

It's just that . . . I really like that coming up for air part.  You pop out of the dungeon and go to town and interact with the locals - get to know them and their culture - and then maybe you wander around in the wilderness for a bit - get attacked by a yeti - capture the yeti - train the yeti to speak and say rude things to your fellow party members - take a trip on a flying boat - have dinner with the king of the elves and try to prevent the dwarves in the party from killing the dinner guest.  You know - stuff.

I don't know - maybe that's the 'new age' way of playing that the groggiest of grognards complain about - but heck, by 1984, that was my preferred way of playing.  I remember running a game set in a pseudo-Lankhmar where the PCs played beat-cops.  They had to pop into the sewers every once in a while for a dungeon adventure, but bulk of the time was comprised of thwarting ne'er-do-wells in a city of alleys.

I guess the big downer in the dungeon is that I'm not engaging with the people and cultures of the imaginary lands in which I dwell.  You know, aside from having a conversation with a talking door or exchanging curses with the kobold king during combat.  I'd like to feel like a part of a large, thriving, vibrant land, rather than just one of the many corpses buried underneath.

But still, I like a good dungeon.  The important features of good dungeons are that they should be short and to the point.  The dungeons bits - the monsters, traps, etc - should be memorable and exciting.  And I should have time - quality time - between dungeons in which I get to set my own priorities and become involved with the people who's ancestors I'm looting and defiling.  Otherwise, this imaginary world I'm traipsing around in (or DMing) is kind of hollow.

So that's my 'dungeon inspiriation' for today - a dearth of dungeons is inspiring.  To me, at least. :)

- Ark

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Red Sonja Preview

I'm working on a drawing of Red Sonja.  I just finished inking her face and am pretty happy with it - so I thought I'd share before I go hit the sack.  Have a good night.

- Ark

Friday, March 16, 2012

75,000 Kiriban!


My all time pageviews hit 75,000.  I was all excited about that until I realized that most of those hits were from people not at all interested in the blog's actual content, which is made clear by the search engine queries that brought them here:

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But at least the 'right' sort of people are reaching the blog, so it all works out in the end . . . I guess.

:)

- Ark

P.S. Oh wow - the members/followers/whatever stat says 200 as of today as well.  Wow.  That's just amazing.  Thanks guys and gals.