| Insured and Assured |
[04 Jan 2012|10:26pm] |
Claire and I have been arranging home insurance for the new house. This is a bigger chore than it sounds. It has brought into very clear focus for me the problem that is cherry-picking within the insurance industry. Basically, brokers want to insure the lower-risk, higher-profit people, and therefore refuse to insure anyone else. This is great for those who are desirable - which includes Claire and me - we get lower premiums to attract our business. But those who fall into the less desirable categories have to go to more specialist brokers, who need to charge higher premiums than would otherwise be necessary, as they don't have access to the higher-profit people. In short, it distorts the market, and risks leaving people vulnerable. I don't know what the answer is...
(The problem of insurance frequently being based on discrimination is a quite seperate rant.)
***
The Iowa primary result leaves me with quite mixed feelings. On one hand, Romney is perhaps the least objectionable of the bunch. Anyone who gets criticised for being soft on homosexuals, abortion, and the death penalty can't be all bad. On the other hand, he's also the only one of the bunch who has any chance of beating Obama come November. And for all his flaws, Obama is definitely preferable to any of this shower. Perhaps Bachmann's withdrawl will give enough of a Fruitcake boast to Frothy to ensure Obama's victory?
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| After the Storm |
[03 Jan 2012|10:12pm] |
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The BBC has chosen a number of frighteningly close to home pictures to illustrate today's storm. One is of our high street, one in Mum's village, another just up the road from Mum. The towns near my sister's home are also well represented. Luckily, our damage seems limited to a few slates. And I've spoken to our parents, and the immediate family has survived unscathed. Could all have been so much worse.
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| Happy New Year! |
[02 Jan 2012|09:46am] |
A new year is traditionally a time for reflection and expectation. 2012 is already set for dramatic changes - Claire and I move house this month. (Incidentally, could anyone who's borrowed stuff from us please get it back to us before we move? Via someone like Fiona or Nick if need be. Ta!) 2012 will also be a year of parties. My 40th is on 12th May, and we're planning to host Hogmanay as well. There'll be a house warming at some point, too.
2011 was pretty dramatic. Murphy arrived, and I got a new job. Looking back though, what stands out for me was the death of social networking.* Blogs have been abandoned (or moved without a forwarding address) - largely it appears due to a general disillusionment with LiveJournal. Facebook's constant UI changes have made near impossible even basics like finding out what parties I've been invited. Google+ was launched as the social network for anti-social people, with no one apparently saying anything interesting (or at least, not where I could hear them). A couple of years ago, social networks kept me connected to the important events of a couple of dozen friends. Today, it's about four. The fight back starts here!
May 2012 be good to you, and let me finish with 2011's biggest news.
* - This may be connected to the fact I'm currently writing a blog post...
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| Consequences |
[25 Nov 2011|07:32pm] |
I've just about recovered from Consequences last weekend. As expected, this is a friendly little con, with a strong emphasis on freeforms. I thoroughly enjoyed everything I played. ("Almost Crazy" and "Once Upon A Lilypad" are fun, short, light-hearted games, the former set at a sixties music festival with much opportunity for air-guitaring, the latter set in fairytale land. "Deliverance" (regency steampunk) and "Miss Maypole" (thinly veiled Agatha Christie) combine humour, angst, and mystery, and provided more for me to get my teeth in to.) I had marvellous players for "Santa Anna", which sank most definitively. I played many boardgames that were new to me. ("Last Will", "Ticket to Ride", "7 Wonders", "Shadow Hunters".) I met many lovely new people, confusingly many of whom were called Cla[i]r[e]. And I largely failed to catch up with old friends.
The downside of the con was definitely the socialising. The set up means that people tended to either be in games, or in their chalet. Steve's Saturday night party made up for a lot, but the lack of a central canteen and bar meant there was none of the catching up over breakfast/lunch/dinner/a pint that punctuates other weekend cons. Next time, I'm going to host a dinner party, and force some of my friends to talk to me, if only for half an hour...
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| It Was The Year Everything Changed |
[29 Sep 2011|12:33pm] |
After many years of self-employment, I've recently taken a full-time job at Schuh, programming backend systems and tills. Not having to go through the cycle of chasing for work, chasing for payment is something I could get used to...
The extra time away from home, coupled with other stuff going on, means I'm not finding time to check on social media. I'd pretty much given up on Google Plus anyway - friends who were either saying nothing or filtering me out meant there was pretty much nothing on there - but Facebook is now getting only the odd glance, mainly at the "has anyone invited me to something" bit. Apparently there's a new version of Facebook? Hadn't noticed...
If you want me to actually know something, email is still by far your best bet.
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| 65 |
[04 Aug 2011|05:07pm] |
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Dad would have been 65 today. I'm finding it difficult to think of much else.
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| Housekeeping |
[06 Jul 2011|09:21pm] |
The schedule for Consequences is now available. (17th to 20th November, if you haven't already signed up...) Apparently there's one more freeform to be added, on Sunday morning. Otherwise, this seems to be finalised. I'll be running The Last Voyage of Santa Anna on Saturday afternoon - finally a con that doesn't dump me in the breakfast slot!
***
I'm now on Google+ - this is probably my profile? So far, I'm less than convinced. Posts appear in completely random order. The ability to add people to different circles seems a good idea, but there's no easy way to set up defaults for posting, so posting to a specific group of circles is rather too fiddly. There's also no way to set up circles that people can add themselves to. As it stands, I can set up circles for "gaming", "dogs", "politics", or whatever, but I need to manually manage everything, probably guessing what people might be interested in. Much better if people could choose for themselves.
But the big problem at the moment is the lack of people using the service, and the difficulty of finding those who do. Without a critical mass of people to communicate with, Google+ remains pretty pointless.
***
Cisco's thyroid is settling down nicely. His hormone levels are still a little high, but within the "not much to worry about" bracket. He's still on pills twice a day, quite possibly this dose for ever more. The next blood test is a couple of months off, and Cisco does enjoy his pill-smeared-in-butter-and-wrapped-in-ham treats. Also, his eye is finally starting to heal nicely.
The dogs are all pretty healthy at the moment. Murphy has settled in all too well, and is starting to show his demanding, pushy side. At the moment, if he doesn't get his own way, he's taken to throwing food bowls around or knocking over piles of stuff. Since this makes us laugh rather than give in, hopefully this will be short lived.
I took the three dogs for a walk on my own for the first time this morning. A qualified success. The start was chaotic. As soon as they got out of the car, all three headed in different directions. By the time we got back to the carpark, I had them all sticking with me, and getting them back in the car was pretty straightforward. Hopefully, I can improve from here...
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| Murphy |
[22 May 2011|10:05pm] |
This is Murphy.
He's at the rear, nearest me. Tara & Zak are in front.
Murphy is a ~6 year old wolfhound boy, about an inch taller than Tara, and newly arrived from Ireland on the Stranraer ferry. His previous owner died, following a spell in hospital, and Murphy has been rehomed by the wonderful people at Erin Hounds. I drove down to meet the ferry, taking Fiona to help with dog control on the drive back. (Claire's on call this weekend, so can't be that far from a reliable Internet connection.) We introduced the three dogs at the local park, with additional assistance from Andy. They got on better than we could have hoped, with Tara even flirting. He's also met Cisco, who is already tolerating Murphy in the same room and sniffing at him.
Murphy's very affectionate, a beggar, prefers human food to dog food, and helps to clean kitchen counters. Some of this we may need to train him out of... Zak and Tara have told him off over beds and food (respectively), with Murphy running and hiding. At the moment, he's sleeping and eating in a different room than the other dogs, so we can manage the relationships. So far, all looks quite promising.
I don't know if we'll keep his name. I quite like Murphy, but we might come up with something better. Time will tell, I guess...
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| On The Upside |
[19 May 2011|09:40pm] |
Lest people think I'm overly negative about the current series of Doctor Who, here's the positives list:
River Song. Love River. Or, to be honest, probably more a case of love Alex Kingston. Even with a poor script, she's wonderful. Here, she's stunning.
The Silence. Creepy. Intriguing.
Canton Delaware. Though, again, this may be inspired casting...
"The Impossible Astronaut" set out any number of intriguing mysteries. Let's hope the finale brings cool answers...
The Doctor and Idris. Nuff said.
Auntie & Uncle were classic Gaiman oddballs. Shame they didn't get more screen time - could have dropped some of the running along corridors to fit them in.
Also kinda cool to see a creepy Ood again.
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| The Doctor's Wife vs. The Day of the Dead |
[18 May 2011|08:58pm] |
We've been pretty unimpressed with the bulk of TV on offer at the moment, so instead have been re-watching Babylon 5. One of the shows we have been watching is Doctor Who. The presence of one Neil Gaiman script in both series leads fairly obvious to comparisons.
In case you haven't heard me singing B5's praises before, suffice to say that I regard it as one of the finest TV shows ever made. For all its flaws, no other program has even attempted to match its ambitious storytelling. At its best, Doctor Who also make the "finest TV" list. But the key phrase there is "at its best". An anthology show inevitably has greater variability week to week.
So far this year, Doctor Who has been lacking in peaks. "The Impossible Astronaut" started rather flat ("Oh, they fake killed the Doctor. Again."), then raised some rather interesting questions, and some cool mysteries. Unfortunately, the second half then completely ignored all the good stuff. Instead, we got more fake killing. ("Oh, they shot Amy. Again. Oh, and they shot Rory. Again.") Then we got a plan from the Doctor that made no sense, which forced the entire human race to commit genocide, for no obvious reason. "The Curse of the Black Spot" was worse. I rarely agree with Louise on Doctor Who, but her summary of the episode as "dull and stupid" is spot on, and for all the reasons she gave - the plot made no sense, the buckle failed to swash. Oh, and they killed Rory. Again.
Gaiman's episode carried great expectations, and largely lived up to them. It was a good episode, and far better than anything else this year. But it wasn't great. The basic premise of "The Doctor's Wife" and "Day of the Dead" are similar - a minor character impossibly turns up and has a chat with a major character. The differences are telling.
Robin D Laws likes to distinguish between "iconic" and "dramatic" characters. (*) Dramatic characters are changed by their experiences, whereas iconic characters remain unchanging, instead changing the world to meet their requirements. Sherlock Holmes or James Bond are iconic; Frodo Baggins or Thomas Covenant are dramatic. The characters in Babylon 5 are dramatic - almost unique for sci-fi shows to that point, and still a rare trait. The four major characters chosen to talk to the deceased are struggling, respectively, with drugs & responsibility, drink & love, duty & desire, and choices & consequences. The conversations illustrate these struggles, and form part of the characters' ongoing transformation. Even G'kar, who deliberately stays out of the conversations, is changed by his (lack of) experience.
The Doctor, on the other hand, is resolutely iconic. His conversation with Idris would not have been significantly different had he been in any of his former incarnations. After nearly half a century, the Doctor remains basically unchanged. Amy & Rory are even more iconic, being merely the latest examples of generic Doctor Who companion #2 (tomboy) and #1 (screamer). Amy even has the rather odd characteristic of instantly forgetting anything dramatic that happens to her, leaving her frustratingly unmotivated and dull. Their background is so undefined that there are no interesting conversations they could be having, so instead they get to run up and down corridors while being vaguely threatened by the baddie. Oh, and they killed Rory. Again. The episode ends with nothing changed, underlining the characters' iconic status.
There is nothing wrong with iconic characters. The Doctor has been part of many very successful stories over the years. But the interest in these stories lies in the iconic character's effect on those around him. We need to care about the minor characters - who lives, who dies, who succeeds, who receives punishment. Here, "The Doctor's Wife" falls short. Aunty and Uncle are barely introduced before they are summarily dismissed, Home is a one-dimensional menace. Only Idris gives this interest, and she is as iconic as the Doctor, though here uniquely given voice.
Don't get me wrong here - "The Doctor's Wife" is a decent episode. Idris is interesting, and the two iconic characters have an interesting conversation. Witty one-liners abound, and for once the plot hangs together. But Babylon 5 gave Gaiman far more tools to hang a story on, and he therefore turned in a more interesting story. Personally, I'd like to see Gaiman take on a Doctor Who script that doesn't focus on the central characters.
***
* - I have no idea if this distinction originates with Robin, but he's the one I got it from.
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| The New Campaign |
[17 May 2011|10:14pm] |
Some notes on my new role-playing campaign, which may start next Monday. (This follows pretty directly from my first (wrong) impression of Agone, filtered through first contact with the players...)
* Basic Premise
Each sentient race originated in its own realm. Each realm possesses its own metaphysics and form of magic, and was initially seperate from all others, forming a complete universe. Until a few decades ago, when something happened to open routes from one realm to another. In some realms, disasters, cataclysms, apotheosis, or such events coincided with the opening; other realms had none - or at least none the inhabitants noticed or will discuss.
* Realms
A realm can be of any size - an entire universe, or a single cavern. They are self-contained - you cannot reach a meaningful "edge" and see what's "beyond". Each supplies all the requirements for those who live within - food, light, atmosphere, shelter.
* Connections Between Realms
Border zones are large areas which exist in two realms at once. They are rarely smaller than a hill or river, and can be as large as countries, or even entire planets. Beings travelling in one direction exit in to one realm, travel another way, and exit in to the other. ("Direction" could be as simple as east vs. west, but often involve clockwise vs. counter-clockwise or similar.) Border zones are permanent, always open and accessible.
Portals are doorways that exist in two different realms at once. Any gateway can be a portal - the sides, top, and bottom must form a loop, and beings must be able to pass through. A door way, a gate, a fallen tree leaning against another. Most are larger than a normal door, though rarely larger than a castle gateway, or road tunnel mouth. Each portal requires a key to open it - which may be an item, a condition, or an action. Keys are not unique, though they may be rare. Once activated, portals stay open for a few minutes, and are two way. Rarely, a door may be part of two different portals, leading to different realms.
The connections allow movement between realms, and some beings are starting to settle outside their native realms.
(A few connections may have existed before the recent opening of the realms, but they were rare, difficult to use, and unstable. Some races may have colonised outside their native realm - so there may be a realm occupied by Amazons, or the lost Roman legion.)
* Magic
Each realm has a native form of magic. Most of the race from that realm will use that magic, though they can learn other forms instead. Magic in its home realm gets a bonus, but behaves "normally" in most realms.
* Example Realms
(These are just illustrative - they may not be used. Depends what players come up with.)
1. Earth
The Realm : Our planet, in the far future, has become a polluted, urban sprawl. War and ecological disasters have left much of the planet uninhabitable, and ancient cities cover most of the rest. The population has shrunk and become atavistic.
The Magic : Technology. Much has been forgotten, and the bulk of humanity relies on old, unreliable, and misunderstood machines.
The People : Humans.
2. Faerie
The Realm : So much glamour has been used, that the physical laws of Faerie are largely a matter of personal whim. The flow of time, direction, weather, and terrain all respond to the desires of the inhabitants. The realm tends to natural landscapes, often hugely exagerated, punctuated by the odd fantastical palace, castle, or stone monument.
The Magic : Glamour. The ability to change something in to something else. The larger the change, the harder the magic is to perform. So rocks in to gold nuggets is easier than rocks in to coins. The change is absolutely real while it lasts, but it never lasts. At some point, normally within a few hours or days, the original form will reassert itself.
The People : The Fey. Their mastery of glamour makes discussion of their "true" appearance meaningless - they appear as they choose to. Their form tends to be extreme though - extremely beautiful, extremely old, or extremely bestial. Fey are immortal, though so flighty that they struggle to remember events of the previous week, let alone millenia ago. They consider themselves one of the youngest races.
* Homework
I've asked players to come up with ideas for characters, etc. before next Monday. Each is to decide :
1. A character.
2. Their race.
3. The race's home realm.
4. The realm's native magic.
5. Some suggestion(s) for theme, goal, bad guys, organisations, or other stuff to hang the campaign on.
Then I've got to pull that in to a coherent whole. Somehow.
* Rules
Yeah, that's a good question...
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| Birthday Blues |
[12 May 2011|10:02pm] |
So, I've just completed my 39th orbit round the sun. To be honest, it doesn't feel like my birthday. Zak's been to the vets for a dental, which resulted in eight teeth needing removed. I've been stressed as only an overly-soppy pet-owner can be. He's now sleeping off the after effects, having consumed much comfort food - rissotto, scrambled egg, roast beef. Oh, and pate-covered pills - he's on antibiotics for another week, then back to the vet for a checkup. Other low points of the day have included one friend acting the jerk, lack of sleep (Zak again - he woke me cos he needed out in the middle of the night), and the endless need to chase people I shouldn't need to chase.
Cisco, as I don't think I've mentioned here, has a hyperactive thyroid. He's on medication, likely to be two pills a day for the rest of his life. Thankfully, a smear of pate and he wolfs down the pills. He's off to the vets on Monday for another blood test, to make sure the pills are working. That'll also be a feature of the rest of his life - blood tests every 3-6 months to monitor hormone levels. Cisco's also had an eye infection for the last month, requiring constant eye drops, which he hates. Hopefully we're nearing the end of those - Monday will tell!
Still, the day ended on a definite upswing. Claire took me out to dinner at Nargiles, a rather nice Turkish restaurant in the middle of Edinburgh. Meze starters, then I had the leg of lamb and kus kus, washed down with about half a bottle of red wine. She's good to me, my wife.
Claire's got tomorrow off, so we may do something. Or just walk the dogs and watch telly. All good, either way. Then the bbq on Saturday - that should feel more like my birthday. Perhaps I'll see you then!
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| Decisions, Decisions |
[11 May 2011|10:09pm] |
On Monday, my latest RPG campaign drew to a natural close. The PCs helped the bad guys achieve a definitive victory over another group of bad guys. This will have dire consequences for the world - the exploration of which awaits a future campaign. To be honest, we could have carried on, following other threads, but (a) we'd lost one player, seduced away by work in another country, and (b) D&D gets a little one dimensional after a while, even with the best of players.
All of which leaves me with the question of what to do next? I've got another D&D campaign I'd like to run with (some of) the same characters, which would potentially lead in to a third campaign, which would follow on from both the earlier games. But given the general D&D burnout, I think that's an idea for the future.
Another suggeston was Agone. At first glance, this looked promising. I've got a number of ideas based on what I thought Agone would be like - at some point I may get round to typing them up. Unfortunately, the more I read, the more it looks like yet another generic fantasy, complete with dualistic mythology, heavily-stereotyped sentients, and pseudo-feudal social structures. I'm really not finding anything inspiring in this.
No, I think I'll gather a group of players, ask them all to throw in an idea or two, weave them together, and make it up as I go along. Normally works...
The other question left open is "which players". Some of the current players have mentioned wanting to take a break before committing to something new. I, on the other hand, would really miss my weekly gaming fix. (Notably, most of the players are in other weekly games - I am not...) I need to recruit at least one or two new players anyway, so I suppose one approach would be to see if enough people want to start something now. Another would be to run something short (but what?) until the existing group is ready to go. I really don't know which way to go on this one.
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| Consequences |
[28 Apr 2011|10:18am] |
I see from the website for Consequences that I'm down to run "The Last Voyage of the Santa Anna". Not sure when I'll be running - I guess that will be negotiated nearer the time? I'm also planning to bid a couple of improvised table top games, assuming I have time in amongst all the freeforms I'll be playing!
Despite my involvement, I do recommend people head to the con. It looks fabulous, and they're listing "Veteran's Day" which was brilliant when I played in it last year. Also, they put the prices up on Sunday. Only by a fiver, but still worth getting in now!
Extraordinary Consequences, November 17-20, 2011, Naish Holiday Village, Christchurch, Dorset. See ya there!
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| Birthday Plans, This Year & Next |
[10 Apr 2011|09:32pm] |
Couple of announcements. The 14th May is the closest Saturday to my birthday, so there will be the usual bbq at our place to celebrate. Bring something to eat, something to drink, and - if you like - a friend. Please don't feel the need to bring presents - if you really wish to mark my advancing age monetarily, there are many charities that need your cash more than I do. If you need any other details, watch this space, or drop me an email.
Next year, as people keep reminding me, I will turn 40. And my birthday falls on a Saturday (the 12th, since you ask). I don't know what we'll do to celebrate, but something will happen, likely involving much of my family and many friends. For the moment, I'd just appreciate everyone keeping that day free.
***
All weekend, I've had this nagging feeling I ought to be doing something else. I still have no idea what. Probably means that someone is going to greet me soon with "Why weren't you at..."
Instead, we've spent most of the weekend in our own garden. An impromptu BBQ with what friends we could gather at a moment's notice, a lot of gardening. The garden is in a better state than we've ever had before at this time of year. We had some damage from the snow, lost a clematis, but we seem to have got away lightly compared to some. I guess our plants are more used to heavy snow and frost...
The extra time is letting us get some veg, salad, and herbs growing. Herbs are in pots already, courgettes nearly ready to be planted out. Aubergine, peppers, tomatoes, and "mixed gourds" are going to be in the propogators for a while yet. I'm not quite sure what "mixed gourds" will actually turn out to be, put they look pretty in the picture on the packet. We've also got two bags of potatoes started. This growing our own veg is a new venture for us. Dunno how well it will work out, but I'll try anything once...
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| "Last Voyage" Cancelled |
[10 Mar 2011|09:49am] |
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It looks like "Santa Anna" will not be sailing from Edinburgh this month after all. There's been two sign ups. Raising my concerns with the organisers just got me lectured about how my game should be "more flexible" and able to cope with a "variable number of characters that can be picked up and played without much preparation required". Now, I've been saying for *months* that the game needs exactly sixteen players, and that the players should ideally have time before the con to read character sheets and costume. So why, two weeks before the con, am I being told I need to write a new, more flexible game. I've sent the organiser a rather rude email, and I suspect that's that.
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| Bits and Pieces |
[06 Mar 2011|09:07pm] |
We spent much of today in the garden, with the result that we've now got two raised beds assembled, placed, filled with compost (from our own heaps), tapped down, and covered, to await veg seedlings. The high point, though, was the female sparrowhawk who hedge-hopped through our garden, close enough to hear her wings beat the air. She's a magnificent, if infrequent, visitor to our garden, though I'm always somewhat glad when she leaves empty-handed.
***
Dinner at Mum's yesterday, with my sister and her kids. Not that they're really "kids" anymore. Though I was shocked to find Hazel had never seen "Spaced". Do they not teach the classics anymore? I blame the parents... Otherwise, it was the usual mix of politics, alcohol, family news, nonsense, and so forth, this time with a little gardening. ("Hi Mum, we were thinking of dropping round on Saturday?" "Great. Can you bring a saw? There's this tree needs pruning...")
On the way to Mum's, we stopped at Falkirk, partly to walk the dogs at a very crowded Callendar Park, partly to do some shopping. I picked up a new boardgame in my favourite charity shop (Taluva, which I'm not sure I've figured out the rules/strategy for yet) while Claire got a gothy top and a hat. Sadly, the hat doesn't fit my big head, otherwise I'd nick it...
***
Speaking of boardgames, we've been hosting a fortnightly boardgames evening, on a Thursday. I've been keeping a list on Boardgamegeek of what we've played. Purely for my own reference.
***
There's sod all on telly at the moment, so we're currently re-watching Babylon 5 from the beginning. Gotta love Londo...
***
Firebird are offering 15% off Mythic Russia for the next couple of days. There's no better time to get this excellent game! (I did make a very minor contribution to the rules - but the bulk is pure Galeotti goodness!)
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| "Last Voyage of the Santa Anna" at Conpulsion 2011 |
[25 Feb 2011|04:49pm] |
I'll be running "The Last Voyage of the Santa Anna" at Conpulsion on the Sunday morning. Sign up has now begun. To sign up you need to have bought a ticket for the con itself then leave a comment on the "Santa Anna" page. The organisers will check you're paid up, then pass your name & email to me. I'll contact you soon afterwards, and ask you to fill out a casting questionnaire. My current plan is to cast on 4th March, so sign up well before then for the best chance of getting your perfect character.
The game proved popular last time I ran it (Continuum 2010), and players said nice things about the voyage afterwards, so I suspect places will vanish quickly...
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| Redcurrant Jelly, Gooseberry Crumble |
[21 Feb 2011|05:24pm] |
A rough weekend just gone. Or rather, a fairly gentle weekend during which I felt rough.
I was supposed to be going to the pub twice, celebrating birthdays on both Friday & Saturday. Didn't make either of them. I did walk the dogs, which on Saturday involved missing my footing, and performing a rather spectacular pratfall. Do not ask for an encore - I shall be avoiding repeat performances if at all possible. Still, no harm done. Not even a bruise to show for my misadventure.
Also, this weekend was the first garden potter of the year, thankfully without mishap. Claire (feeling rougher than myself) and I trimmed the budleia, deadheaded, installed new trellis for the snow-bedraggled clematis, and added a gooseberry and a redcurrant to the fruit bed. Small victories in the war on garden entropy. Beyond this, I spent the weekend in front of the telly, soaking in the bath, or fast asleep, and feel somewhat better for it.
Hope your weekend was better!
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| Overheard In Sainsbury's |
[17 Feb 2011|06:44pm] |
The man was 30-something, wearing suit and namebadge; the woman older, in Sainsbury's uniform. Another man, similarly clad to the first, stood by, grinning, but did not speak while I was nearby.
Man: Look at the quality! That's rubbish!
Woman: There's no other option.
Man: Do you think we could get away with charging another pound?
Woman: Probably. If you want a pineapple tart, you've got no choice.
***
Yesterday's thought on RPGs, and especially the responses, leads me to two further thoughts, barely developed :
1. Proactive vs. Reactive. I'm convinced that RPG characters are more interesting when they're proactive, and I think this is probably generally true. But how to articulate why? What evidence do I have?
I would note that no character is always proactive. Frequently the characters are reactive at the start of a story, and reversals bring out similarly reactive behaviour. But I'd contend that the interesting characters have a tendancy to be proactive, which is part of what makes them interesting. Thus, Frodo's defining moment comes halfway through "The Fellowship of the Ring" when he declares that he will take the Ring to Mordor. His first proactive decision.
2. Setting. Many early adventures were little more than what we'd probably call "setting books" nowadays. They had a map, and details of who lived where. Plot was thin or non-existent. (Beyond the ever-popular "kill the monster, steal the loot"...) I'm a little unsure to what extent my comments yesterday apply to these adventures, and setting books in general. On one hand, it is impossible for a character to act unless the player understands what's possible or meaningful in the character's world, so some common understanding of setting is needed. If I mention "Arkham", "Minas Tirith", or "Edinburgh", many people will need little more explained. On the other hand, this can mask differing assumptions. (Did you go to "Batman" or "Yog Sothoth"? Just how much does your Glorantha vary?) But more importantly, a lot of any given setting will be undesirable or dull for one reason or another ("ducks") and an awful lot of sub-creation wil be needed anyway. Perhaps setting, too, should largely be created in small, interesting chunks, and then dropped in as needed during play? Relatively easy in a world of my own creation, but to what extent does this work in an established setting? How much can Glorantha vary before it stops being Glorantha?
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