There is not one in memphis. A gaming community, that is.
This is not a new gripe for me, I'm afraid. Memphis has proven itself to be unable or unwilling to support even a single real gaming store. We've got Comics & Collectables, which is a fine establishment, but it is a comic store that happens to stock a descent quantity of mainstream gaming material. No indy stuff that I've seen.
This leaves Memphis with really no gaming community as far as I'm concerned. The internet is a poor bulletin board for getting together with local gamers, in my experience. What I need is someplace that I could potentially advertise for players or a group. Without a local gaming store, I dont have a place to do this. I *know* there are people in Memphis who play RPGs, I just dont know how to link up with them.
Anyway, I'm griping because I need a few brave souls to help entertain me and play some of the indie RPGs I've been reading..
Grrr
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Monster Hunters, session 2
Last night we gathered, John, Mike, Dave, Jason, Ed and myself. Ed was joining us just for the one time, as he has to head back to Missouri soonish.
The gang pulls the van into the paved lot in front of the Buddhist Temple. As we'd mentioned in our last session, they could see a plume of black smoke rising from the structure. The broad stairs leading up to the temple itself were scattered with a few prone forms. As they pulled up to the base of the stairs, a large group emerged from the front doors of the temple. As the characters emerged from their vehicle, and the group from the temple moved about halfway down the broad stairs, they could see that it was a group of eastern looking people, a couple of them dragging someone down the stairs by his robes. Amidst them was also a fellow wearing the garb of a Roman-Catholic priest. John's character, Wolf, immediately recognized his mentor and father figure, Charles, the priest on the stairs. Dave's character, Langley, recognized one of the eastern fellows as being Lao, a captain in service to the Group of Wicked Sorcerers Who Killed His Clan. As Wolf stepped onto the stairs, Mike's character, Bob, opened fire on the crowd descending the stairs.
Wolf moved fastest and intercepted a couple of murderous mooks with his shotgun. Jason's character, Armande, setup and began firing, trying to take mooks out of the fight without killing them, so he was aiming for guns and hands. Bob fired a few more shots and locked down into his armored stance and fought off a few mooks, while Langley threw fireballs and steam blasts at the mooks rushing down the stairs toward him. Lao shoved the priest, Charles, angrily and threw a ball of fire toward the characters, hitting the van behind them and sending it into the sky in an explosion of glass and metal. A tall gangly fellow near Lao started more slowly down the stairs, and seemed to shrug off his skin as he grew in height, revealing an eight foot daemon with huge bone armored plates and wicked looking spines. Just then the doors of the temple practically exploded outwards as three mooks were apparently thrown from the temple. Then a small mob of mooks came running out and set up on the stairs before the doors, ready to fight whatever had dispatched their companions. A tall man walked from the temple, rolling the sleeves of his robe. It was Lu Chin. A former daemon hunter for the Wicked Sorcerers Who Killed Dave's Clan, Lu had thrown off their yoke some time ago and had been working against them ever since. Ed was playing Lu, and had gotten word that the Bad Guys were descending on this temple, so he showed up to counter them. Battle was joined!
We, the players and GM, seemed to all enjoy ourselves. Combat seemed to run a little long, when I looked up and we'd been killing mooks for an hour and a half or so. Time does get away. I'm in the process of consulting with the players to determine how time time frame of combat meets with their taste. Alot of mooks were killed. John's character, Wolf, used a Banishment on the spiked daemon, forcing it to run, which kept it out of the fight for a bit. Meanwhile the party focused on killing the mooks on the stairs, the snipers on the roof, and Lao, who shot up 20 feet into the air, and hovered there, hurling fireballs down the stairs at Lu and the other characters. The daemon returned, but the characters had done a goodly bit of harm to Lao, and so he bade the daemon to destroy the Good Guys, and he vanished in a puff of ash. The daemon waded into the Good Guys, and deprived them of more than a few bits of flesh and blood, but then was dispatched.
During the fighting, Mike's character used his Fu powers to increase his defense, making him nearly impossible to hit, while taking out mooks and shooting at Lao as he hovered in the air. Jason's character kept constant pressure on the mooks with his hail of bullets. John's character went toe to toe with the daemon and a bunch of mooks, occasionally sending a hail of slugs toward Lao. Dave's character kept a bunch of mooks busy at the base of the stairs, trading fireballs and lightning strikes. Ed's character made some fantastic leaps into the air in an attempt to knock Lao down, and cracked more than a few mook necks, and traded blows with the daemon.
After the smoke cleared, Dave's surviving clannie pulled himself to his feet and told Langley that Charles (John's mentor) was responsible for the slaughter of their clan, and that Dave should extract justice. John quizzed Charles as to his presence at the Temple. Charles told John's character that he had come to try to stop the Bad Guys from killing this last monk. He went on to explain that when he was very young, and had just entered the church, his mentor sent him to act as an intermediary with a third-party that the church was working with to stamp out heretics and Evil Sorcerers. The third party just happened to be Lao and his band of Bad Guys, and the heretics that they were stamping out were Langley's clan. Charles told Wolf that he had not known at the time that it meant the slaughter of women and children, that he thought they were fighting against Evil Heretics. Charles had been seeking absolution ever since. Wolf told Charles that he would absolve him, and so they went into the temple. Wolf (and John) weighed the decision of whether to draw out Charles' sin (remember that Wolf is a sin-eater), and either send Charles to Heaven or Hell. In the end, Wolf drew out the sin and ate it, then sent his mentor on his way to Heaven. John did a fine job weighing the decision for himself as a player and for Wolf as a character.
That's pretty much where we wrapped up. We'll see whats in store for them next week.
The gang pulls the van into the paved lot in front of the Buddhist Temple. As we'd mentioned in our last session, they could see a plume of black smoke rising from the structure. The broad stairs leading up to the temple itself were scattered with a few prone forms. As they pulled up to the base of the stairs, a large group emerged from the front doors of the temple. As the characters emerged from their vehicle, and the group from the temple moved about halfway down the broad stairs, they could see that it was a group of eastern looking people, a couple of them dragging someone down the stairs by his robes. Amidst them was also a fellow wearing the garb of a Roman-Catholic priest. John's character, Wolf, immediately recognized his mentor and father figure, Charles, the priest on the stairs. Dave's character, Langley, recognized one of the eastern fellows as being Lao, a captain in service to the Group of Wicked Sorcerers Who Killed His Clan. As Wolf stepped onto the stairs, Mike's character, Bob, opened fire on the crowd descending the stairs.
Wolf moved fastest and intercepted a couple of murderous mooks with his shotgun. Jason's character, Armande, setup and began firing, trying to take mooks out of the fight without killing them, so he was aiming for guns and hands. Bob fired a few more shots and locked down into his armored stance and fought off a few mooks, while Langley threw fireballs and steam blasts at the mooks rushing down the stairs toward him. Lao shoved the priest, Charles, angrily and threw a ball of fire toward the characters, hitting the van behind them and sending it into the sky in an explosion of glass and metal. A tall gangly fellow near Lao started more slowly down the stairs, and seemed to shrug off his skin as he grew in height, revealing an eight foot daemon with huge bone armored plates and wicked looking spines. Just then the doors of the temple practically exploded outwards as three mooks were apparently thrown from the temple. Then a small mob of mooks came running out and set up on the stairs before the doors, ready to fight whatever had dispatched their companions. A tall man walked from the temple, rolling the sleeves of his robe. It was Lu Chin. A former daemon hunter for the Wicked Sorcerers Who Killed Dave's Clan, Lu had thrown off their yoke some time ago and had been working against them ever since. Ed was playing Lu, and had gotten word that the Bad Guys were descending on this temple, so he showed up to counter them. Battle was joined!
We, the players and GM, seemed to all enjoy ourselves. Combat seemed to run a little long, when I looked up and we'd been killing mooks for an hour and a half or so. Time does get away. I'm in the process of consulting with the players to determine how time time frame of combat meets with their taste. Alot of mooks were killed. John's character, Wolf, used a Banishment on the spiked daemon, forcing it to run, which kept it out of the fight for a bit. Meanwhile the party focused on killing the mooks on the stairs, the snipers on the roof, and Lao, who shot up 20 feet into the air, and hovered there, hurling fireballs down the stairs at Lu and the other characters. The daemon returned, but the characters had done a goodly bit of harm to Lao, and so he bade the daemon to destroy the Good Guys, and he vanished in a puff of ash. The daemon waded into the Good Guys, and deprived them of more than a few bits of flesh and blood, but then was dispatched.
During the fighting, Mike's character used his Fu powers to increase his defense, making him nearly impossible to hit, while taking out mooks and shooting at Lao as he hovered in the air. Jason's character kept constant pressure on the mooks with his hail of bullets. John's character went toe to toe with the daemon and a bunch of mooks, occasionally sending a hail of slugs toward Lao. Dave's character kept a bunch of mooks busy at the base of the stairs, trading fireballs and lightning strikes. Ed's character made some fantastic leaps into the air in an attempt to knock Lao down, and cracked more than a few mook necks, and traded blows with the daemon.
After the smoke cleared, Dave's surviving clannie pulled himself to his feet and told Langley that Charles (John's mentor) was responsible for the slaughter of their clan, and that Dave should extract justice. John quizzed Charles as to his presence at the Temple. Charles told John's character that he had come to try to stop the Bad Guys from killing this last monk. He went on to explain that when he was very young, and had just entered the church, his mentor sent him to act as an intermediary with a third-party that the church was working with to stamp out heretics and Evil Sorcerers. The third party just happened to be Lao and his band of Bad Guys, and the heretics that they were stamping out were Langley's clan. Charles told Wolf that he had not known at the time that it meant the slaughter of women and children, that he thought they were fighting against Evil Heretics. Charles had been seeking absolution ever since. Wolf told Charles that he would absolve him, and so they went into the temple. Wolf (and John) weighed the decision of whether to draw out Charles' sin (remember that Wolf is a sin-eater), and either send Charles to Heaven or Hell. In the end, Wolf drew out the sin and ate it, then sent his mentor on his way to Heaven. John did a fine job weighing the decision for himself as a player and for Wolf as a character.
That's pretty much where we wrapped up. We'll see whats in store for them next week.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
forgot about running
I completely forgot. I meant to mention (mostly for my own record keeping) that Maddie and I managed an 8 mile run this past weekend, on Saturday Morning. It went very well I think! I did 3 miles with Yazhi on Monday and boy was it hot. I'm going to do 3-5 on Wednesday and Friday and plan to do 10 this weekend.
Memorial Day Wrapup
We had a good Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Saturday we drove down to Jackson to see Matthew and Deirdra for an Annibirthsiary celebration. We had good food and good company and even got to talk gaming for a bit.
Sunday we watched Howl's Moving Castle, and Grosse Pointe Blank. Also we played a bit of Jason's Xbox 360. Howl's was good, in the exact same way that Spirited Away was good. And that was a little disappointing. Sure, it was an entirely different movie, but somehow it felt like it was the same movie under the hood. Still, I enjoyed watching it and I'd see it again. GPB was of course very good and very witty, I hadnt seen it in years and years. Which reminds me: All I ask for in movies is some wit and intelligence. But that's a whole other discussion entirely.
Almost forgot that we went and saw X3 on Friday. It was good, but certainly not as good as 1 or 2. There were some interesting and unexpected twists, and I have some gripes about some character stuff (and I never even read the comics). But it was good and I did enjoy it.
Monday we had lunch with my mom, and went to John and Maddie's place for a Mem-Day party/Gazebo Building Party. But good food and good times were had.
Headed this evening to run session 2 of the Feng Shui Monster Hunters game. We'll see how it goes. Ed, who gamed with us ages ago, but moved to Missouri, is in town and will be playing this evening. We're still working on some changes to Jason's character.
Saturday we drove down to Jackson to see Matthew and Deirdra for an Annibirthsiary celebration. We had good food and good company and even got to talk gaming for a bit.
Sunday we watched Howl's Moving Castle, and Grosse Pointe Blank. Also we played a bit of Jason's Xbox 360. Howl's was good, in the exact same way that Spirited Away was good. And that was a little disappointing. Sure, it was an entirely different movie, but somehow it felt like it was the same movie under the hood. Still, I enjoyed watching it and I'd see it again. GPB was of course very good and very witty, I hadnt seen it in years and years. Which reminds me: All I ask for in movies is some wit and intelligence. But that's a whole other discussion entirely.
Almost forgot that we went and saw X3 on Friday. It was good, but certainly not as good as 1 or 2. There were some interesting and unexpected twists, and I have some gripes about some character stuff (and I never even read the comics). But it was good and I did enjoy it.
Monday we had lunch with my mom, and went to John and Maddie's place for a Mem-Day party/Gazebo Building Party. But good food and good times were had.
Headed this evening to run session 2 of the Feng Shui Monster Hunters game. We'll see how it goes. Ed, who gamed with us ages ago, but moved to Missouri, is in town and will be playing this evening. We're still working on some changes to Jason's character.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Paintball gripe
I love paintball. I got the chance to start playing with some cool folks the middle of last year I think. Since then, I've played maybe a dozen times. I've even bought in, getting some paintball related equipment for Christmas and spending a couple hundred bucks on a paintball gun. We got started playing in a wooded area up in lakeland, sadly a 30-40 minute drive from my house, but doable. If you buy paintballs off the shelf at walmart or sportsmans warehouse, you can get 2,000 balls for $30-$35.
Now here's where a little math and speculation comes in. The gun I play with is the Tippman A5. Its a good all around gun. In the wide world of paintball guns, its considered low-end. Probably a beginner's gun, or certainly an amateur's gun. But I am certainly an amateur, and heck, even a beginner. I dont see *ever* paying $1,200 for what's considered a "nice" paintball gun. I dont need it, and have, um, a zillion things to spend that kind of cash on. And my wife would kill me. My A5 is a semi-auto gun. You pull the trigger and one ball fires. You let go of the trigger and pull it again and another ball fires. You can manage a goodly rate of fire like this, even so. I'd guestimate you could easily manage 2 or 3 rounds per second, maybe more if you're quick-fingered. More expensive, or modified guns can be burst or full auto. Like hold the trigger down as long as you want to fire 15 rounds per second, or whatever. Here's my thing- I love the semi-auto action of the A5. And my number one reason? I dont go through balls like water. Cause um, the paint costs more than water. I'd imagine guys can *easily* go through way more than 2,000 rounds in an afternoon. Heck probably double or triple that if their trigger happy. But I'm not out to try to do this semi-professionally or anything. I manage alright with my squeeze-squeeze-squeeze action.
Anyway, this started when I saw the prices that a local paintball park charges for paint. Note that you have to buy paint onsite. You cannot bring your own paint from walmart in. I copied and pasted below:
PAINTBALLS - must be purchased onsite
Canister of 100 $7.50
Web Belt and Carry-On Pack Containing 200 Balls $22
Bag of 500 Balls $26
Case of 2000 Balls $90
That's insane.
Last time I went and played, I was at a park (which did not have a "must purchase onsite" policy - its a great park called Cedar Hill Farms in Hernando MS), I was there for like 5 hours, and went through about 600 or 700 rounds of paint.
So let me summarize, I'm just saying two things.
1- I like my A5 because its reliable and not super expensive and does not go through paint fast as shit.
2- Some paintball parks apparently charge paint at the current rate of gold. That's way too freaking expensive, and I'll probably never visit one of these parks, and so they'll have to do without my money.
Which brings me to a moment of melancholy about it. A friend pointed out, when I ranted about these prices, that paintball is a rich kid's entertainment.
Now here's where a little math and speculation comes in. The gun I play with is the Tippman A5. Its a good all around gun. In the wide world of paintball guns, its considered low-end. Probably a beginner's gun, or certainly an amateur's gun. But I am certainly an amateur, and heck, even a beginner. I dont see *ever* paying $1,200 for what's considered a "nice" paintball gun. I dont need it, and have, um, a zillion things to spend that kind of cash on. And my wife would kill me. My A5 is a semi-auto gun. You pull the trigger and one ball fires. You let go of the trigger and pull it again and another ball fires. You can manage a goodly rate of fire like this, even so. I'd guestimate you could easily manage 2 or 3 rounds per second, maybe more if you're quick-fingered. More expensive, or modified guns can be burst or full auto. Like hold the trigger down as long as you want to fire 15 rounds per second, or whatever. Here's my thing- I love the semi-auto action of the A5. And my number one reason? I dont go through balls like water. Cause um, the paint costs more than water. I'd imagine guys can *easily* go through way more than 2,000 rounds in an afternoon. Heck probably double or triple that if their trigger happy. But I'm not out to try to do this semi-professionally or anything. I manage alright with my squeeze-squeeze-squeeze action.
Anyway, this started when I saw the prices that a local paintball park charges for paint. Note that you have to buy paint onsite. You cannot bring your own paint from walmart in. I copied and pasted below:
PAINTBALLS - must be purchased onsite
Canister of 100 $7.50
Web Belt and Carry-On Pack Containing 200 Balls $22
Bag of 500 Balls $26
Case of 2000 Balls $90
That's insane.
Last time I went and played, I was at a park (which did not have a "must purchase onsite" policy - its a great park called Cedar Hill Farms in Hernando MS), I was there for like 5 hours, and went through about 600 or 700 rounds of paint.
So let me summarize, I'm just saying two things.
1- I like my A5 because its reliable and not super expensive and does not go through paint fast as shit.
2- Some paintball parks apparently charge paint at the current rate of gold. That's way too freaking expensive, and I'll probably never visit one of these parks, and so they'll have to do without my money.
Which brings me to a moment of melancholy about it. A friend pointed out, when I ranted about these prices, that paintball is a rich kid's entertainment.
Monster Hunters
We cranked up some chargen last night for the Monster Hunters FS game. (Thanks to mglover for his excellent custom character sheet, and the FS screen.)
Mike will be playing a character using the Transformed Animal (Crab) archetype, though we're calling him a Daemon and just using the Transformed Animal stuff. His character was summoned from his home realm by a sorcerer, who was handily dispatched by our other characters. So Mike's character is now Debt Bound to them (no mechanic, just story). His kicker is that he has gotten word that members of Khalem Zy'ek (Watchers of the Dark Door), of whom the sorcerer they dispatched was a member, has opened a portal to Mike's native realm, where hunters have come through, seeking him and his fellows, and they're hot on the trail.
Dave is playing a character using the Sorcerer archetype. He's based it on an idea of the Golden Child (from the movie) having grown up. A rival group of sorcerers slaughtered all of Dave's sect, though Dave was able to flee. His kicker is that he has received word that there is another surviving member of his sect, but that the sorcerers who seek their destruction has also discovered both Dave's existance, and that of the other survivor.
John is playing a character using the Magic Cop archetype. He's based it on a priest rather than a cop, and is going with the Sin Eater idea from the movie The Order (which I'll need to rush out and see this week). John's character is on the run from his own Order, and the Church, because of his actions as a Sin Eater. His kicker is that his Mentor, who is like a father to him, and is the person who influenced his decision to join the priesthood, and the order, is now near death. His Mentor seeks to get John to use his Sin Eating on him, in order to atone for a terrible and wicked deed that his Mentor did years and years ago, and for which he has been trying to atone all of his life, but he still feels that he is damned. John is torn between love for his Mentor, and justice in letting him be damned for his crime.
Jason is playing a character using the Killer archetype. He is a former assassin for hire, who has seen the light and sworn off killing, except for those who are truely evil. His kicker is that a former employer has shown up and wants to retain his services again. Jason refused the offer and so the former employer is making life very difficult him. (we're still working on how difficult exactly)
We played for a few minutes after chargen, I rolled right into Dave's kicker. He got two phone calls from contacts of his that told him where the other survivor was located - at a Buddhist temple just north of the city. They hopped in the car, but no sooner cranked it up than a pair of vans blocked the driveway, and a group of east-asian fellows jumped out and combat began! The characters dispatched their attackers quickly enough, and overheard a CB radio in one of the vans crackle, and a voice said that they were approaching the temple. Off they went, at break-neck speed toward the temple, and just as they pull into the drive, they can see a thick plume of black smoke rising from the temple structure.
Mike will be playing a character using the Transformed Animal (Crab) archetype, though we're calling him a Daemon and just using the Transformed Animal stuff. His character was summoned from his home realm by a sorcerer, who was handily dispatched by our other characters. So Mike's character is now Debt Bound to them (no mechanic, just story). His kicker is that he has gotten word that members of Khalem Zy'ek (Watchers of the Dark Door), of whom the sorcerer they dispatched was a member, has opened a portal to Mike's native realm, where hunters have come through, seeking him and his fellows, and they're hot on the trail.
Dave is playing a character using the Sorcerer archetype. He's based it on an idea of the Golden Child (from the movie) having grown up. A rival group of sorcerers slaughtered all of Dave's sect, though Dave was able to flee. His kicker is that he has received word that there is another surviving member of his sect, but that the sorcerers who seek their destruction has also discovered both Dave's existance, and that of the other survivor.
John is playing a character using the Magic Cop archetype. He's based it on a priest rather than a cop, and is going with the Sin Eater idea from the movie The Order (which I'll need to rush out and see this week). John's character is on the run from his own Order, and the Church, because of his actions as a Sin Eater. His kicker is that his Mentor, who is like a father to him, and is the person who influenced his decision to join the priesthood, and the order, is now near death. His Mentor seeks to get John to use his Sin Eating on him, in order to atone for a terrible and wicked deed that his Mentor did years and years ago, and for which he has been trying to atone all of his life, but he still feels that he is damned. John is torn between love for his Mentor, and justice in letting him be damned for his crime.
Jason is playing a character using the Killer archetype. He is a former assassin for hire, who has seen the light and sworn off killing, except for those who are truely evil. His kicker is that a former employer has shown up and wants to retain his services again. Jason refused the offer and so the former employer is making life very difficult him. (we're still working on how difficult exactly)
We played for a few minutes after chargen, I rolled right into Dave's kicker. He got two phone calls from contacts of his that told him where the other survivor was located - at a Buddhist temple just north of the city. They hopped in the car, but no sooner cranked it up than a pair of vans blocked the driveway, and a group of east-asian fellows jumped out and combat began! The characters dispatched their attackers quickly enough, and overheard a CB radio in one of the vans crackle, and a voice said that they were approaching the temple. Off they went, at break-neck speed toward the temple, and just as they pull into the drive, they can see a thick plume of black smoke rising from the temple structure.
Colbert rocks
I just wanted to mention, even though its old news, that Stephen Colbert is brilliant.
If you have somehow missed it, check out the transcript of his speech at the White House Correspondants Dinner here: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/30/1441/59811
If you have somehow missed it, check out the transcript of his speech at the White House Correspondants Dinner here: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/30/1441/59811
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