tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36631382523723028462017-07-25T06:14:06.393+01:00Far Beyond My CapacityMy random thoughts on gaming, geekdom and life in general, with a focus on whatever MMO I happen to be playing.Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.comBlogger428125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-2261986927014193732017-05-17T14:21:00.001+01:002017-05-17T14:21:36.992+01:00Lost Mine of Phandelver - Session 9This session was supposed to be the final one in our Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign, but it turned into an attritional game with the party making hard work of the mine's tougher opponents and the sad loss of another player character...<br /><br />You can find videos of the session below. Apologies for the terrible sound quality of these two videos, I've already addressed the issue for next time.<br /><br />------------------------------<br /><br />The next two days were hard work for the adventurers. They continued to explore the Lost Mine, clearing the way of the undead that seemed to be the only inhabitants left after the battle centuries ago.<br /><br />The monotony of the dull grey, dusty tunnels was broken by two events. First, and most dispiritingly, they encountered a Flameskull in the old smelting chamber, a hideous floating skull wreathed in green flame. This long dead artefact inhabited by the centuries-old spirit of an evil wizard put up a difficult fight.<br /><br />Zasheir and Joris fell to the flameskull's fireball spell, and whilst Joris managed to survive (now bearing the scars of the encounter on his flesh), the monk sadly perished.<br /><br />There was a moment of argument, fed by the anger and loss of their comrade, when Joris and Udrath almost came to blows over the fate of Zasheir's corpse. They returned it to the barracks and laid it down for collection later.<br /><br />After resting and recovering the adventurers contiued their search for the Forge of Spells. The second event that caused them concern was encountering Mormesk the Wraith. The group overcame this obstacle, but not before Udrath almost succumbed to the undead's life-draining powers.<br />With still no sign of either the Forge of Spells or the Black Spider, the cold and unforgiving mine was starting to take it's toll...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9nH3fw1HvCo" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RRgZswM_w-k" width="560"></iframe></div>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-70554588896785673962017-05-03T11:48:00.000+01:002017-05-03T11:48:03.281+01:00Lost Mine of Phandelver - Session 7This was a really fun session that saw the party finally locate and enter the fables lost mine. Finding the lost Forge of Spells before the Black Spider would not prove easy however...<br /><br />A full summary of events can be found in the <a href="https://farbeyondmycapacity.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-forgotten-realms-campaign-journal.html">Campaign Journal</a>. The full session can be seen in the embedded videos below.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q7HSBlNRts8" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vl_Y-7OtSUU" width="560"></iframe></div>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-49822597895040873422017-03-25T16:53:00.002+00:002017-03-25T16:53:20.051+00:00Lost Mine of Phandelver - Session 6<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">After the bitter defeat of the encounter with Lord Venomfang the dragon, hope was born anew as Udrath and Brumbar found new allies in their search for Gundren Rockseeker. Joris the rogue, Hurakhan the imposing dragonborn cleric, and Zasheir the monk joined their quest.</div></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">This session saw a much more successful outcome, despite the party managing to pull every creature in Cragmaw Castle all at the same time. You can check out the chaos in the videos below.</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NKAeUBPot5U" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/24LJMX4axbY" width="560"></iframe></div>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-82710881494017846912017-03-06T15:05:00.001+00:002017-03-06T15:05:24.348+00:00Lost Mine of Phandelver - Session 5The last session of our Lost Mine of Phandelver game was certainly an interesting one, as it ended in disaster with most of the party slain, and the few survivors barely feeling with their lives!<br /><br />The party began the day by continuing to explore the ruined town of Thundertree. After battling some ash zombies, blights and some particularly menacing giant spiders, the group came across a band of strange cultists hiding out in a barricaded building. <br /><br />After a tense stand-off, Favric, the leader of the cultists suggested an alliance. He told the party that they were a band of dragon slayers who had been tracking a green dragon from the south. Together they may be strong enough to defeat it! <br /><br />Despite concerns from Luthor and Brumbar, the group agreed, and after resting set off for the ruined tower at the top of the hill. There they were betrayed by Favric, who turned the party over to Lord Venomfang the dragon in return for some kind of favour. <br /><br />A fierce battle ensued. Brumbar's magic put the cultists to sleep, but the party was helpless against the terrifying onslaught of Venomfang's attack. Only Udrath and Brumbar survived, fleeing the disaster as the dragon fed on the remains of their friends...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W7njJmAc97A" width="560"></iframe></div>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-61798436129180492252017-01-24T14:03:00.002+00:002017-01-24T14:03:13.408+00:00Lost Mine of Phandelver - Session 4The adventure continues!<br /><br />The latest session of our Dungeons & Dragons 5E game is now online, and the videos are linked below.<br /><br />In this session the party emerged victorious from the dungeons below Tresendar Manor, and were hailed as heroes by many of the villagers in Phandalin for defeating the Redbrand menace.<br /><br />After recovering from their travails the party decided to set out into the wilderness to continue their search for Gundren Rockseeker. Before they left Luthor was made an intriguing offer by Halia Thornton of the Miners' Exchange.<br /><br />Over the next few days the adventurers explored the lands around the Stone Mountains and the Triboar Trail. They defeated a band of orcs that had made its lair on Wyvern's Tor, bartered with an ancient Banshee for information, and confronted one of the fabled Red Wizards of Thay who was conducting research near Old Owl Well. They were no closer to their quarry however.<br /><br />A new hope arrived when they discovered the druid Reidoth in the ruined town of Thundertree. Reidoth offered to lead them to Cragmaw Castle where Gundren was reportedly held, on one condition - the party must drive off a green dragon that had taken up residence in the tower above the ruined town.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mIH1ze0Z-Qk" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zos1atC14G4" width="560"></iframe></div>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-39237610434764553032016-12-26T14:28:00.002+00:002016-12-26T14:28:54.862+00:00Lost Mine of Phandelver - Session 3Last weekend saw the third session of our Lost Mind of Pandelver campaign for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.<br /><br />The party continued their exploration of the dungeons below Tresendar Manor. There they discovered that Glasstaff was in fact Iarno Albrek, former member and betrayer of the Lords' Alliance. After defeating the mage they moved on through several difficult battles and thinned the hordes of the Redbrand mercenaries.<br /><br />You can find videos of the session below.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v7pWEQuVtm0" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iCa4qJ_jVZM" width="560"></iframe></div>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-26924882195321865612016-12-07T15:48:00.002+00:002016-12-07T15:48:30.142+00:00Lost Mine of Phandelver - Session 2This weekend saw the second part of our new Dungeons and Dragons 5E Campaign take place. The <a href="http://farbeyondmycapacity.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-forgotten-realms-campaign-journal.html">campaign journal</a> has been updated with a summary of events so far, and you can find videos of the session below.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VuLuI92BgiM?list=PLdRE7Ktpb0Bjws8NOZ0jDq8YVlYjwqitC" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jl7HTEuzbvg?list=PLdRE7Ktpb0Bjws8NOZ0jDq8YVlYjwqitC" width="560"></iframe></div>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-55998591474583840392016-12-04T15:54:00.000+00:002016-12-04T15:54:08.435+00:00Udrath's DiariesAhead of tonight's second session in our Dungeons & Dragons 5E campaign, Udrath Stormheart has shared his diaries with us. Keep an eye on Udrath's diaries for his point of view as to the events of each session.<br /><br />You can find the first entries <a href="http://farbeyondmycapacity.blogspot.co.uk/p/roleplay-stories-forgotten-realms.html">here</a>.Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-91223216812175104222016-11-11T14:10:00.003+00:002016-11-11T14:10:52.237+00:00Two decades on...This last weekend I did something I haven't done in over twenty years. I played a game of Dungeons & Dragons!<br /><br />We used the Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop software which supports the latest 5th Edition of the game, and it went very smoothly overall. I found the new 5E version of the game much more streamlined and easier to use than I remember, with virtually none of the table look ups and calculations of the old AD&D game.<br /><br />All the players seemed to enjoy it, so it looks like we are going to carry on. I have created a <a href="http://farbeyondmycapacity.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-forgotten-realms-campaign-journal.html">Campaign Journal</a> so we can keep track of what happens (it will be very much a summary of the campaign, I just don't have the time to write long detailed posts as I did for our Masks of Nyarlathotep game). You can also find a link to a playlist of session videos there, the first of which is embedded below.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jskZAotZlvM?list=PLdRE7Ktpb0Bjws8NOZ0jDq8YVlYjwqitC" width="560"></iframe></div>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-40495057370219404182016-10-13T18:02:00.002+01:002016-10-13T18:02:51.793+01:00In the darkness, something stirs...There might be life left in the old blog yet...<br /><br />I won't be doing regular posts like in the good old days, but there is a little news. My friends and I will be following up our two year epic Call of Cthulhu role-playing campaign with a new Dungeons and Dragons adventure.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=62509&d=1404384594&stc=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=62509&d=1404384594&stc=1" height="96" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />You can see some of the campaign background info <a href="http://farbeyondmycapacity.blogspot.co.uk/p/aventyr-campaign-setting.html">here</a>.<br /><br />I intend to post a campaign journal as we go along, as I did before. So keep your eyes open for some updates in the next few weeks.Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-85693267528293131812015-06-02T20:41:00.000+01:002015-06-02T20:41:08.572+01:00He's dead Jim...Well, it's time I made it official I suppose! The blog is for all intents and purposes dead (I've only just admitted it to myself, despite not having made a new post in six months).<br /><br />There are plenty of reasons, but it's looking less and less likely that I'm going to pick it up anytime soon. Apart from the usual distractions such as kids and work there are some pretty large changes in my life about to happen that I'm going to have to spend a lot of effort and time dealing with. It's not going to be a fun time and I'm not going to be in the right mood for blogging.<br /><br />I will of course leave this here for people to stumble across and read, and as a kind of totem that will taunt me for being so useless on the blogging front recently.<br /><br />Thanks to all my readers over the last four years. I started the blog as somewhere to discuss the upcoming new Star Wars MMO that Bioware had announced, but it kind of grew into a general dumping ground for my thoughts on gaming and other culture along the way. I've found it fun (and sometimes embarrassing) to read back through everything, but I regret nothing!<br /><br />I may take it up again at some point in the future, when life is a little more settled. If so I'll be sure to shout about it on twitter.<br /><br />If you are interested in what I am up to you can find me still active on twitter as <a href="https://twitter.com/Merecraft"><complete id="goog_880322241">@Merecraft</complete></a>, on Steam as <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/id/merecraft/">Merecraft</a>, on the XBox as <a href="http://xboxgamertag.com/search/merecraft/">Merecraft</a>, or even on Facebook, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/neil.taylor.526">here</a> (surprisingly as Neil, not Merecraft!). Feel free to drop me a friend invite and say hello :)Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-16054999053700714852014-12-05T19:50:00.001+00:002014-12-05T19:50:27.221+00:00I'm back, kinda!Well, it's been a while, a couple of months in fact since my last blog post. There are a variety of reasons, some mundane, others less so, but it's really all been down to other things taking up my attention and time. Work, kids, social engagements, foreign travel and the like. There have been a few gaming related things that I've been up to however, so here is a quick update on those. I'll probably expand on them in more detail soon (assuming I find the time!).<br /><br />First of all I took the plunge and bought into the new console generation. I plumped for an X-Box One for several reasons, primarily the fact that I have a few friends with one, and also because of the media capabilities (of which the PS4 has virtually nothing). To be honest it's serving as more of a media hub than anything (after all, I'd rather play most games on my PC), but it has really impressed me. Seriously, don't believe the naysayers, it's a great piece of kit (and controlling my TV by voice alone is still great). Together with my PLEX media server its the perfect multimedia centre. I've been enjoying Forza, FIFA 15 and Shadows of Mordor on it too.<br /><br />Other gaming related activities include starting a new Call of Cthulhu campaign, this time as an investigator. It's been a lot of fun so far, and a bit different too, with it being set during the late 1990s. It's also a lot deeper than I was expecting and rapidly developing into another globe spanning adventure. Adurj is doing a great job as keeper and keeping us all on our toes.<br /><br />On the PC I have spent some time test an in-development MMO that is due for release at the end of next year. It's early days, but I'm really impressed with what I've seen so far. More on that when time and NDAs allow!<br /><br />Finally I've been pretty much spending every spare minute recently playing Dragon Age Inquisition. I will definitely get deeper into the subject in a future post but I'll summarise now by saying that despite it's many issues it is my game of the year by an absolutely huge margin. In fact, it's my favourite game for a long, long time and it is still surprising me every time I play it. It's a game to immerse yourself in, and there is so much content it gets overwhelming at times (after around 24 hours of play time I though I was near the end of the game, and then it revealed I was only just finishing up the introduction...). Almost 60 hours in and I don't feel like I've seen a quarter of the world yet.<br /><br />So, that's what I've been up to. Now, back to Thedas, there's dragons to kill.Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-76397088055422722802014-10-06T14:17:00.004+01:002014-10-06T14:17:45.462+01:00For Richer, For Poorer by Victoria Coren<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6415025-for-richer-for-poorer" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328707853m/6415025.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6415025-for-richer-for-poorer">For Richer, For Poorer: A Love Affair with Poker</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/382578.Victoria_Coren">Victoria Coren</a><br />My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1054615432">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />Partly a biography, partly a treatise on modern poker, and partly the story of how Victoria Coren became the first female million-dollar-winner of the European Poker Tour (she's since gone on to win it a second time), this is one of the most readable books about a complex subject I've ever read.<br /><br />Part of that is the chatty, witty writing style and, whilst it doesn't hold your hand in explaining the exotic-sounding poker terms and expressions, the book is still completely clear. This is because it is less about the game, and more about the bizarre and fascinating community that plays it.<br /><br />Using Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as the metaphorical map through the rabbit-hole is a great device that mirrors the highs and lows of a life spent chasing cards in a game that was going through massive changes due to the internet.<br /><br />Before reading this book I mainly new Victoria Coren from her great columns in The Observer and The Guardian newspapers, as well as her hosting of the fabulous Only Connect. My admiration for her has only increased since reading the book, the tale of an outsider in the shady world of professional poker, fighting acceptance, mysogyny, and her own addictions along the way. In the end she won me over in the same way she won the EPT - by knowing that "it's really not about the money". <br /><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/26995398-merecraft">View all my reviews</a>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-85758993446043201392014-09-28T19:59:00.001+01:002014-09-28T19:59:18.922+01:00The Vanishing of Ethan CarterInspired by the weird fiction of Lovecraft and the ghost stories of M.R. James, <a href="http://ethancartergame.com/">The Vanishing of Ethan Carter</a> is a first-person narrative exploration game in which you investigate the disappearance of a young boy in the remote hills of Wisconsin. It's a game that breaks new ground in many ways, and whilst short (my playthrough, which I didn't rush, took around four hours) it lingers long in the memory.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vPzvHzRpa4I/VChWtCiN5JI/AAAAAAAAAj8/zyppWqp1Ojs/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B15-04-30-17.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vPzvHzRpa4I/VChWtCiN5JI/AAAAAAAAAj8/zyppWqp1Ojs/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B15-04-30-17.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br />The first thing that will strike you is how amazingly beautiful the game looks. Red Creek Valley is by far the most realistic and beautiful environment I've ever seen in a game. It's an absolute joy just to wander and get lost in the visuals, and my screenshots key has never seen so much use (screenshots do not do any justice to the in-game visuals by the way).<br /><br />New indie developer <a href="http://www.theastronauts.com/">The Astronauts</a> achieved this incredible feat by turning to a new technique for generating game assets known as photogrammetry. They have <a href="http://www.theastronauts.com/2014/03/visual-revolution-vanishing-ethan-carter/">a blog post</a> on their site detailing the method, with some great examples of how it works. That they achieved this with a team of only eight people (including just a single programmer) speaks volumes as to how a small indie team can beat AAA titles by developing new techniques. It's a stunning achievement. Don't be surprised to see the technique used elsewhere now, as it makes the virtual worlds of many triple AAA games look drab by comparison.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />The sumptuous visuals, accompanied by a restrained and atmospheric soundtrack, great ambient animations, and an involving and emotional story make The Vanishing of Ethan Carter a game to wallow in, like a hot soapy bath (ok, a bath filled with disturbing and creepy events and some seriously unpleasant violence, but you know what I mean). It exudes an atmosphere that deserves to be soaked up.<br /><br />The best environmental graphics ever seen wouldn't mean much without a great game, and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter comes up trumps here too, further pushing the boundaries of what's possible in narrative driven gameplay. There is no combat at all, the gameplay elements arising from investigating the mystery and solving the game's puzzles (which are not particularly difficult, but very enjoyable nonetheless).<br /><br />The visuals really do encourage exploration, and you are free to wander Red Creek Valley and solve the game's puzzles in any order you wish. <br /><br />You play Paul Prospero (a rather ostentatious name, but one that is kind of explained by what is revealed at the end of the game), a supernatural investigator in the mould of Chandler's noir-ish detectives. Not only do you investigate supernatural events, you have some psychic abilities yourself, allowing you to piece together clues from what you see around you.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-upOm-Uk_zSo/VChXBBVzKvI/AAAAAAAAAkE/nF0cecVr9EA/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B15-21-55-72.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-upOm-Uk_zSo/VChXBBVzKvI/AAAAAAAAAkE/nF0cecVr9EA/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B15-21-55-72.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br />For example, stumble across a murder scene, and by reconstructing it back to how it was at the time of the murder you can communicate with the deceased and see a mental image of what happened. You need to locate and place items back to their original positions at the time of the killing, then put the various elements you discover into a chronological order of events. Get it right and you see a memory of what happened, furthering the tale. The puzzles reminded me a little of the kind of gameplay in The Secret World (not a bad thing at all), tough they come nowhere near the fiendish difficulty of some of that game's quests. <br /><br />And what a tale it tells. Ostensibly you arrive in Red Creek Valley to investigate the disappearance of a young boy who has written to you asking for help. Before long you uncover a series of gruesome murders and hints of something dark and old haunting the backwoods. Along the way you begin to find the imaginative weird fiction stories that Ethan Carter has written, and that somehow are starting to become real. The story goes places I really want to discuss, but because so much of the joy of the game lies in uncovering it I'll put that discussion in spoiler tags below. Seriously, don't click the spoiler tags if you intend to play the game, it <b>will</b> spoil things.<br /><div style="margin-top: 5px; text-align: center;"><input onclick="if (document.getElementById('spoiler1').style.display != '') { document.getElementById('spoiler1').style.display = ''; this.innerText = ''; this.value = 'Hide'; } else { document.getElementById('spoiler1').style.display = 'none'; this.innerText = ''; this.value = 'Read Spoilers'; }" style="font-size: 10px; margin-top: 5px; width: 80px;" type="button" value="Read Spoilers" /> </div><div style="border: 1px inset; padding: 6px;"><div id="spoiler1" style="display: none;"><b>Warning: Don't read on if you intend to play the game but haven't had chance to yet. It will spoil the experience.</b><br /><br />So, another game that is lingering in my mind long after completing it. Part of that is due to the subtlety of the ending, which doesn't answer all your questions definitively. Thinking about it more, sometime later however, I realised that it did kind of answer some of the questions I had whilst playing.<br /><br />Whilst playing some stuff didn't make a whole lot of sense. The stories that Ethan Carter had written were coming to life, but why was I experiencing them and then being thrown back into the world? It seemed incongruous (the drowned world puzzle especially so). Of course, the revelation that he whole game is just another story excuses and explains the odd events. Being part of a story also explains the name Paul Prospero, which I always thought was a little arch.<br /><br />I also wondered as I played why the time of day never seemed to change. The sun never really moved across the sky, and all the clocks were stopped at 7:00. Thinking back it now seems obvious that the whole game takes place in the four minutes it takes Ethan Carter to die. He goes to sleep at 7:00, and dies ("let go") at 7:04, poisoned by the smoke fumes from the house fire.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xJcCn1gxTOU/VChXheQey3I/AAAAAAAAAkM/J8D4wjsYO2w/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-27%2B20-05-44-14.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xJcCn1gxTOU/VChXheQey3I/AAAAAAAAAkM/J8D4wjsYO2w/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-27%2B20-05-44-14.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br />There's a lot of subtext in Ethan's stories. Each one appears to be about a different member of his family. It's almost as though he wrote weird fiction as an escape from his family, and perhaps even the abuse he was receiving. His fear of his own family seems to be what drove him to hide in the basement rather than fleeing the fire - he would rather dream his stories, draw his maps, than live with them.<br /><br />It's obvious that Ethan was The Sleeper. Whether that's to be taken literally (he died in his sleep) or that his family were trying to awaken him from his daydreams and literary musings I'm not sure.<br /><br />Starting to play through the game a second time it's obvious that there is a quite a bit of foreshadowing as well in much of what Prospero says. "<i>Ethan Carter I didn't know. But he knew who I was,</i>" are the very first words of the game for example, quickly followed by "<i>Ethan could have drawn a map</i>". Trying to head back out through the train tunnel at the start (something I didn't do on my first playthrough) really does give the impression that you are not in the real world, but in a story.<br /><br />Anyway, I could be way off with these thoughts, but the fact is that the game is so well written, so subtle, that it's certainly very open to these interpretations. When you load the game up and the very first thing you're told is "This game is a narrative experience that does not hold your hand" the developers might as well be talking about the story as much as the gameplay. </div></div><br />The script is good throughout, though sparse. You can wander for a long while before your character suddenly utters a few great lines in the manner of <a href="http://truedetective.wikia.com/wiki/Rustin_Cohle">Rustin Cohle</a>. The voice-overs are all well done, pitched perfectly for the noir mystery of the game.<br /><br />There are a couple of issues with the game. The major one was the difficulty of telling when the autosave had kicked in, meaning that you could never be sure when you quit how far back you would be next time you loaded up. That issue has been resolved already via a patch however.<br /><br />The other issue is one of replayability. At the end of the game you find a map that shows you the location of puzzles you might have missed, but other than those there is little to head back for once you have experienced the game. As it only costs £15 and you're getting such a great story with ground-breaking visuals however, it seems a little mean to complain too much.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sOJEly79Wfs/VChX4qfFvII/AAAAAAAAAkY/BZRs8s_co4c/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-53-50-81.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sOJEly79Wfs/VChX4qfFvII/AAAAAAAAAkY/BZRs8s_co4c/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-53-50-81.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br />The Vanishing of Ethan Carter won't be for everyone. There is no combat or action. It's appeal lies in more cerebral appreciations, and the pace is deliberately slow. Many won't like the ending, which is open to interpretation. If however you want one of the best Lovecraft-inspired mysteries in video game form, along with the best environmental graphics ever seen, throw your £15 at The Astronauts and reward them for pushing the boundaries. I loved this game and there is nothing quite like it.<br /><br />Below are some spoiler-free screenshots from my exploration of Red Creek Valley. Believe me when I say they don't do justice to the in-game views. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l243pv0eYek/VChYpH7hjGI/AAAAAAAAAkk/nfPCR2zLh-w/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B14-56-40-46.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l243pv0eYek/VChYpH7hjGI/AAAAAAAAAkk/nfPCR2zLh-w/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B14-56-40-46.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yRt4kXJtOJk/VChYo6SDQpI/AAAAAAAAAkg/Ingt3JeIYkU/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B15-04-30-17.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yRt4kXJtOJk/VChYo6SDQpI/AAAAAAAAAkg/Ingt3JeIYkU/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B15-04-30-17.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zt1siuBtus4/VChYtfR9QuI/AAAAAAAAAk4/h6bLmKLAGIA/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B15-05-53-30.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4YWW3qMMj-U/VChYyI8kWuI/AAAAAAAAAlI/ptac807ukSs/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B15-12-19-76.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4YWW3qMMj-U/VChYyI8kWuI/AAAAAAAAAlI/ptac807ukSs/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B15-12-19-76.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aqtgllj-22k/VChYzd0ulhI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/QjkXk28LMwU/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-16-29-40.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aqtgllj-22k/VChYzd0ulhI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/QjkXk28LMwU/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-16-29-40.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9pKAzgcXjM/VChY2L5-JlI/AAAAAAAAAlY/cKvS0UEtz3s/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-19-37-95.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9pKAzgcXjM/VChY2L5-JlI/AAAAAAAAAlY/cKvS0UEtz3s/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-19-37-95.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6bhJwFNGVoY/VChY3VWuyMI/AAAAAAAAAlg/k7inGVjobu4/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-19-52-55.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6bhJwFNGVoY/VChY3VWuyMI/AAAAAAAAAlg/k7inGVjobu4/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-19-52-55.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IIxRujUl-3E/VChY5_LdlZI/AAAAAAAAAlo/THMQy1SmPHo/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-20-14-38.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IIxRujUl-3E/VChY5_LdlZI/AAAAAAAAAlo/THMQy1SmPHo/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-20-14-38.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b6VRFf_LG_E/VChY74fOL-I/AAAAAAAAAlw/hoTYEIP15rQ/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-21-54-00.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b6VRFf_LG_E/VChY74fOL-I/AAAAAAAAAlw/hoTYEIP15rQ/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-21-54-00.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hg86OACK2sY/VChY9bO8tAI/AAAAAAAAAl4/z0uD0pdyVC8/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-50-05-61.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hg86OACK2sY/VChY9bO8tAI/AAAAAAAAAl4/z0uD0pdyVC8/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-26%2B20-50-05-61.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hCjfKv_BnnE/VChZWoRp7MI/AAAAAAAAAmI/Zkx7InPb52A/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-27%2B20-35-37-36.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hCjfKv_BnnE/VChZWoRp7MI/AAAAAAAAAmI/Zkx7InPb52A/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-27%2B20-35-37-36.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K26fcIhEf-o/VChZWzJBqSI/AAAAAAAAAmM/utAl2DDIhYY/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-27%2B20-36-01-86.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K26fcIhEf-o/VChZWzJBqSI/AAAAAAAAAmM/utAl2DDIhYY/s1600/AstronautsGame-Win64-Shipping%2B2014-09-27%2B20-36-01-86.bmp" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br />Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-65066466198749893462014-09-21T19:43:00.000+01:002014-09-21T19:46:48.711+01:00Masks of Nyarlathotep - A review of the last two yearsAdurj summed up many of my thoughts on our recent two-year-long Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign in his <a href="http://farbeyondmycapacity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/a-players-perspective.html">guest post</a>. It's been a bit of an epic, and I have to admit that I'm a little surprised we got through it in the end. We took a break half way through due to the birth of one player's first son, but managed to get the momentum going again pretty quickly.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cta3h8LpMMw/VB8dAio-DOI/AAAAAAAAAjs/k_xc-ObhpMw/s1600/bartCthulhu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cta3h8LpMMw/VB8dAio-DOI/AAAAAAAAAjs/k_xc-ObhpMw/s1600/bartCthulhu.jpg" height="245" width="400" /></a></div><br />It's kind of difficult to formulate my thoughts after such a long campaign. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and despite the work involved in keeping everyone up to speed and motivated I looked forwards to every session. It was interesting to see how the players changed their approach as the campaign progressed, with caution eventually giving way to reckless abandon as the months went by.<br /><br />I'm certainly going to take some great memories away with me, and I can imagine that when we all get together over some beers the conversation will inevitably turn to our shared experiences. We still talk about our Cthulhu sessions from years ago.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />The campaign had me, at times, tearing my hair out in frustration (some players just refuse to see the obvious!), and at others literally doubled up in laughter. The image of Harry Crum, trying to climb an iron fence with his flaming trousers around his ankles, whilst a crowd gathered to watch, will haunt my dreams for a while yet! And I still cannot hear <i>The Ride of the Valkyries</i> without imagining a small Carden-Lloyd tank driving past shocked onlookers through the streets of Shanghai.<br /><br />If I were to run the campaign again I'd do a few things differently of course. I'd introduce Jackson Elias earlier, as a living NPC in an introduction scenario, so that his eventual murder had more impact. I'd reinforce the connection with Kensington of Prospero Press, to force the players into logging their thoughts and helping ease the problem of introducing new characters. I'd also keep the Pulp Points secret, adding a bit of risk to the players use of them.<br /><br />Overall however I couldn't have wished for things to go much better.<br /><br />To finally put things to bed here are a few of the statistics I tracked during the campaign, along with a list of choice quotes. <br /><br /><u><b>MASKS OF NYARLATHOTEP – STATISTICS</b></u><br /><br />Distance travelled: >39,000 miles<br /><br />September 23rd 2012 – September 7th 2014<br /><br />36 sessions<br /><br />Cultists killed: 58<br /><br /><ul><li>47 Cult of the Bloody Tongue</li><li>6 Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh</li><li>27 Order of the Bloated Woman</li><li>17 Cult of the Sand Bat</li></ul>Innocents killed: 12<br /><br />Pulp Points used: 36<br /><br />Bullets to the knee: 3<br /><br />Gates to Heaven: 7<br /><br />Centipedes eaten: 2<br /><br />Mythos beasts encountered:<br /><ul><li>18 zombies</li><li>1 serpent man</li><li>1 werewolf</li><li>The Thing in the Fog</li><li>3 Shanktaks</li><li>8 Deep Ones</li><li>1 Shoggoth</li><li>1 Ghost</li><li>7 Dingos from The Dreamtime</li><li>A multitude of blasphemous things in a pit</li><li>1 Great Race of Yith</li><li>1 Flying Polyp</li><li>4 Fire Vampires</li><li>Spawn of Nyarlathotep</li><li>Avatar of Nyarlathotep</li></ul>Cars trashed: 3 (including 1 tank)<br /><br />Trains destroyed: 1<br /><br />Hospital visits: 5<br /><br />Pairs of trousers set on fire: 3<br /><br />Characters killed: 6 (4 from one player!)<br /><br /><ul><li>Mr Yoo Transported back to the age of dinosaurs</li><li>Tso Yoo Also transported back to the age of the dinosaurs</li><li>Tom “Cutter” Mason Choked by The Thing in the Fog</li><li>Harry Crum Went mad after seeing a Shoggoth and ran off into the jungle</li><li>Cassandra Fox Died under falling rocks caused by a dynamite explosion</li><li>Rodrigo Velazquez Sent mad by a Flying Polyp</li></ul><u><b>QUOTES</b></u><br /><br /><i>"I'm going to take Sebastian round the back and show him my pipe"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"You've been Crum-ed!"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"There is only one I in team"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"Shoot him in the knee!"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"I'll have some salts and some whiskey please. And some cake. And do you stock mantraps?" </i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"Do you have a goat we can borrow?"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>“It was self-defence!”</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"I'm going to study it very closely indeed"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"We're going to need a bloody tank"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"The problem with killing a Chinese is in half an hour you want to do it again!”</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"We need a new translator. We broke the last one…"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"Does it look like we got here with no incident?"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"It was a gift from Johnny Two-Toes"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>“You guys can continue to use Pulp Points... if you wanna be pussies!"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"It's a fucking disaster."</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>"Bloody cheating Belgian!"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>“She is a beautiful woman no? She walks like a horse.”</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>“Get those knees high boys!"</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>“Right. I’m going to run into the water closet.”</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>“Water porter!”</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>“I’m going to tip the jug of water over my head, grab Sebastian, then leap out of the hole in the train”</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>“I’ve been burnt, I’ve been beaten up, I’ve been shot at. I really need to rest!”</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>“If you can’t trust an Englishman who can you trust?” “Exactly, and that’s why I’m going to be paying by cheque”.</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>“Stop saying “Shittingdon”!”</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>“How far do you reckon I can pee?”</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>“The old man stiffens and stares at George”.</i><br /><br />Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-17065856940593196372014-09-16T12:16:00.000+01:002014-09-16T12:16:23.963+01:00A Players PerspectiveHola!<br /><br />I think this is a first for 'Far Beyond My Capacity'. It's nice to come first. Yes, I'm a guest blogger! It's been an eternity since I blogged myself over at '<a href="http://bardconnection.blogspot.com./" target="_blank">Le'Bard Connection</a>' but I'm here to give it a go. It's worth it. Saving the World needs a special celebration right?<br /><br />Good table top roleplaying stays with you. It can build an adventure of the imagination so vivid that the memories last a life time. The last time my Brother ran a Call of Cthulhu campaign was around 20 years ago. Cthulhu on the Orient Express. I can still remember my characters on their fearless journey. Shade Otakuwe, Circus Performer, and Constantine, a hybrid of a whip wielding Indiana Jones and the cavalier Liverpudlian (yes, I know! HellBlazer wasn’t as well known back then!). So around two years ago when my Bro contacted our old school years table top group and asked who wanted to try an experiment to see if Fantasy Grounds would be a good medium to get a remote table top campaign going again, we all jumped at the chance.<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This time round, there was an addition to our group - Matt, a great guy who we had met MMO’ing on EverQuest2 and had remained friends with ever since. Aside from that it was all the OldSkool. Simmsy, Davey Cee, James and of course, myself. All under the careful tutorage of our Games Master, my older brother Neil. As long as Fantasy Grounds worked OK, we kind of all knew what to expect. Neil is an extremely imaginative and competent GM. Which to us meant that we would be led through one hell of a crazy ride should the experiment prove successful. We were not disappointed. Not in the slightest. Skype and FG worked fantastically and the next two years would prove to be yet another amazingly enjoyable, memorable and truly epic campaign across the globe in an effort to save the World from certain destruction at the hands of The Elder Gods. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My Bro documented the journey from start to finish, so I’m not going to go in to the intricacies of the storyline but I’d like to add some snippets showing my favourite parts and the experiences that embodied the last two years for me from The Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign (You'll find the list after the jump). They are not in chronological order. Just the order that they popped in to my brain. There are a load more too. As the memories started to flow, I had to curb my input. There’s just too many to list! </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><ul><li>I loved the fact that within a few sessions we were back to normal. The old hapless Magical Mystery Tour had begun again and it was a complete blast! Literally. </li><li>I loved the fact we all fell in to our old stereotypical character types</li><li>We couldn’t open locked doors</li><li>We couldn’t have a fight without near death experiences each time</li><li>We stumbled in to dangerous situations ill prepared</li><li>We missed clues as wide as a house, presented to us by the GM in fluorescent suits jumping around shouting “Hey, look at me!!”</li><li>We implicated ourselves in murders we didn’t commit</li><li>We regularly found ourselves on the wrong side of the law</li><li>Simmsy didn’t let us down when Harry Crumb koshed a NY Police Detective over the head nearly killing him. When the cop was supposed to be helping us!</li><li>We lost two of the characters in London to a painting, and then despite carrying the painting with us across the globe and regularly discussing it’s dastardly use to foil our enemies, it stayed in our packs, never to be used</li><li>The idea to use said painting as a sandwich board</li><li>We got through quite a few characters, and as normal mine was the highest body count (action requires sacrifice!)</li><li>Harry couldn’t climb a wall without ripping off his trousers by accident and injuring himself</li><li>One of our players missus’s had their baby near the start of the two years. Awesome for the fact that James can now tell his son, “For the first two years of your life boy, I was fighting the forces of evil and saving the World”</li><li>George (Davey Cee) getting jumped in the toilets in Shanghai</li><li>The National Lampoons day trip to Grey Dragon Island</li><li>The adoption of a dog that would end its life having been abused terribly by Hubert (James) by injecting Werewolf blood in to it</li><li>The mess left behind by same said doggy in hotel rooms</li><li>A visit to an Irish reporter in London which turned in to a blundered conversation resulting in a murder confession (nice styling Harry!)</li><li>The incredibly surprising successful murder investigation on the journey from Shanghai to Australia. I can’t tell you how shocked we were that we solved it!</li><li>The pinning open of George’s eyes to try and reverse the terrible outcome of his meddling with ancient artefacts</li><li>The Can-can in the face of adversity under the deserts of Australia “Get those knees up boys!”</li><li>The comparison of how a lady walks and a horse walks (I miss Rodrigo! << incidentally my fave character I played throughout the campaign)</li><li>George’s realisation that baddies can’t kill you if you just open fire as soon as you meet them (sorry we ruined your long Huston speech Bro!)</li><li>Sebastian’s mental demise right at the very end of it all after surviving so much danger for two years</li><li>And finally, DYNAMITE! Ka-BOOM!!</li></ul>I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our many sessions. A huge thank you to Merecraft for all of your time, effort and patience!! A thoroughly enjoyable 2 year campaign.<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Thanks again Bro, and my fellow players for helping me forge some great great memories.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Adurj Le’Bard</div>Adurj Le`Bardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07156645450859698240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-70686082500962417012014-09-15T21:40:00.000+01:002014-09-15T21:40:22.271+01:00Masks of Nyarlathotep Campaign Journal: Chapter 36 - The End.<dl style="text-align: left;"><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>And at the last from inner Egypt came</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The strange dark one to whom the fellahs bowed;</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Silent and lean and cryptically proud,</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>And wrapped in fabrics red as sunset flame.</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Throngs pressed around, frantic for his commands,</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>But leaving, could not tell what they had heard:</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>While through the nations spread the awestruck word</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>That wild beasts followed him and licked his hands.</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Soon from the sea a noxious birth began;</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Forgotten lands with weedy spires of gold;</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The ground was cleft, and mad auroras rolled</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Down on the quaking citadels of man.</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Then, crushing what he had chanced to mould in play,</i></span></dt><dt><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>The idiot Chaos blew Earth’s dust away.</i></span></dt></dl><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i></i></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Nyarlathotep by H.P. Lovecraft.</i></span></div><br />I knew that this was likely to be the final session of our epic two year campaign, so in an effort to try and give a more entertaining pulpy climax for the players I made a few changes to the campaign as written. First of all, as I had already engineered the arrival of the investigators for the 14th of January 1926, the date of the eclipse over the China seas, I decided to conflate the ritual of the birth and the ritual of the opening of the gate.<br /><br />Secondly I decided to change the timing of the arrival of Nyarlathotep himself until after the ritual of the birth. Whilst the investigators had taken time to heal during their rest in the Kikuyu village they were still low on Sanity Points and I didn't want drive them all insane before they even had a chance to succeed in their mission.<br /><br />If they got that far, at least...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fy8UK-Wmg2U/VBX5o5vLpgI/AAAAAAAAAic/YaaJJZ1r86g/s1600/ilovenyarl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fy8UK-Wmg2U/VBX5o5vLpgI/AAAAAAAAAic/YaaJJZ1r86g/s1600/ilovenyarl.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div><br />"<i>Gentlemen, you must prepare to travel to the Mountain of the Black Wind. Once there you must stop the birth of the son of the God of the Black wind. If you don't the son will rise, and he will open the Gates and bathe the lands in blood. Once you have stopped the birth, you must place the Eye upon his altar, and chain the god forever, stopping the Gates from opening</i>".<br /><br />It had all seemed so simple. Unfortunately the investigators hadn't counted on <a href="http://farbeyondmycapacity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/masks-of-nyarlathotep-campaign-journal_29.html">coming across 10,000 cultists</a> in the valley outside the mountain, involved in a hideous ritual, that they would have to get past...<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Crouching below a small rise, hidden by thorny bushes, the investigators looked out over the terrible scene as the huge crowd disrobed and indulged in obscene and violent ritual with mad abandon. The priestess finished her speech to the assembly by sacrificing a baby and throwing it to the crowd, then walked back into the cave behind her.<br /><br />Hubert looked at the mountain through his binoculars and thought that they might be able to approach using the bushes and gulleys as cover and relying on the frenzy of the cultists. He spotted a narrow path leading up the side of the mountain to the ledge on which the priestess had been standing, and the group determined to try and reach it.<br /><br />Okomu's eyes suddenly widened and he pointed at a spot down the hill. The investigators were shocked to see Jacob slowly making his way down the scree towards the edge of the cultists! Suddenly Jacob leaped to his feet and danced around wildly! He had stopped to rest behind a bush and sat on a nest of large driver ants which were now proceeding to nibble at his legs. Luckily the nearest cultists were too engrossed in their rituals to notice.<br /><br />Jacob crept forwards and stole some of the yellow cultist robes that they had dropped, then carefully made his way back to the rest of the group. Meanwhile Hubert was continuing to look through his binoculars and noticed several large winged shapes circling the mountain. One of them flew down above the crowd and plucked a few unlucky cultists from the throng, tearing them apart in huge claws as it returned to the peak.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eo7jbE1-kJE/VBcDbmBnUdI/AAAAAAAAAi4/6uH3Nz2hONE/s1600/Yellow%2BCultists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eo7jbE1-kJE/VBcDbmBnUdI/AAAAAAAAAi4/6uH3Nz2hONE/s1600/Yellow%2BCultists.jpg" height="277" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's what all the most fashionable cultists are wearing...</td></tr></tbody></table>Avoiding the swooping shantaks Jacob managed to get back and handed out the robes. Okomu refused to wear one, but was eventually persuaded to by Hubert. Slowly the group moved out and started to make their way round to the bottom of the mountain path that Hubert had spotted.<br /><br />Their luck did not hold out. As they were crossing a small open area a group of the cultists spotted them and shouted out an alarm. Luckily the rest of the degenerate crowd did not pay any attention, but the six that had spotted the group gave chase. The investigators ran, dodging through the bushes and gulleys pursued closely by the angry mob, with a lightning storm raging overhead.<br /><br />As they approached the start of the path up the mountain Hubert saw that the path was guarded by two huge cultists wielding prangas. He dived into the bushes and hid, but the rest of the investigators decided to stand and fight.<br /><br />Jacob unleashed his shotgun at the chasing pack, taking out one of the pursuers. George took aim at one of the two path guards, but only scratched the cultist. Hubert, still crouching in the bushes, fired his lightning gun, frying the other path guard. Sebastian continued to run forwards, firing his .32 revolver as he did so, and managed to take out the final cultist guarding the path.<br /><br />The chasing pack had now caught them up however and began to attack with their prangas. The melee was violent but over quickly. With the help of Okomu's scouts the investigators managed to kill the cultists, though George's leg was cut badly by their opponents. After a brief rest they continued on up the mountain path, rain falling heavily from the storm above.<br /><br />None of the cultists in the valley noticed the group climbing up the side of the mountain. Cautiously they proceeded and eventually arrived at the ledge where the priestess had been standing earlier. Up here it was difficult to make out the details of the crowd below. The ledge lead to a narrow cave which was dark inside. Above the sounds of the storm and the drums and screaming from below they could hear nothing inside.<br /><br />The entrance appeared to be a creamy-red lava tube leading inside the mountain, though it had been expanded and formed by human hand. Jacob shone his battery torch into the tunnel and reveal a short passage that opened up into a larger cave. A huge pile of bones and rotting corpses lay against the wall, the terrible smell pervading the cavern. Many footprints could be seen in the dust.<br /><br />The group carefully entered and explored the cavern. Several more piles of discarded bones lay on the stone floor, along with some large, empty cages. At the back of the cavern was a tall statue depicting a strange three-legged humanoid. In place of it's face was a single huge tentacle reaching up to the sky. Hubert spotted an incongruous hardwood box at the foot of the statue. Opening the box he discovered an exquisitely crafted marine chronometer that was set to Greenwich Mean Time.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W7kpHPESIcE/VBdJ5dJ9QDI/AAAAAAAAAjI/alnRLVH6duk/s1600/original-hamilton-marine-chronometer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W7kpHPESIcE/VBdJ5dJ9QDI/AAAAAAAAAjI/alnRLVH6duk/s1600/original-hamilton-marine-chronometer.jpg" height="400" width="335" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not what you expect to find in a cultist's hideout</td></tr></tbody></table>Hubert explored behind the statue and noticed several, regularly sized nodules in the rock of the cave wall. More by Luck than judgement they managed to press them in the right order to open up a secret door that lead into another tunnel.<br /><br />The mile-long tunnel curved constantly upward. Here and there a torch flickered. No pictures or inscriptions decorated the walls. Occasionally the stone of the tunnel had been pulled apart by the forces in the volcanic mountain, leaving narrow and deep fissures - or had slumped, forcing the investigators to climb or descend sheer clefts and embankments. After half an hour of steady climbing the passage opened out into chaos and madness, a pounding and fluting sound reaching their ears.<br /><br />The great temple on which they had stumbled had an irregular, cancerous form. Jagged tentacular and bulbous intrusions shaped the stone, to no apparent purpose. The walls were of a darker, more ominous stone than lower cavern.<br /><br />A dim brownish glow came from the fungus-coated ceiling. Six enormous columns supported the roof of the temple. Their shapes were those of swollen, suckered tentacles. Iron loops were embedded in these columns and ritual sacrifices were tied there. The walls and floor were from the same primeval stone, carrying barbaric symbols and images referring to no recorded culture.<br /><br />Many figures could be seen dancing around the columns, and in the centre was a large, bluish, irregular stone altar. Standing around the altar were ten large men, and in their centre the priestess sacrificing some hapless victim upon the altar. As she cut into him with a ritual knife his flesh seemed to melt into the blue stone of the altar.<br /><br />Beyond this hideous sight lay three large, open pits, and beyond them stood a dais upon which sprawled what used to be Hypatia Masters. Semi-circular steps lead up to her; her beautiful face was still recognisable, but instead of her lithe body her face now sat atop an amorphous, pulsating mass of sallow flesh - little more than a swollen container encasing the Spawn of Nyarlathotep. Two baleful eyes could be seen glaring through the translucent yellow membrane of her belly. Hypatia’s head babbled constantly in sing-song schoolgirl English about college friends and photography, and her metamorphosis to the bride of a god!<br /><br />Sanity checks were made, some passed and some failed, and Pulp Points were used to save the investigators from madness. The cultists, in a frenzy of madness themselves, did not notice the shaken investigators lurking at the entrance. That is until Herbert decided to shoot his lightning gun across the room at the monster that Hypatia Masters had become. Unfortunately his shot was way off, striking one of the central priestess bodyguards instead!<br /><br />So they reverted to form, and started throwing sticks of dynamite into the cavern. Chaos was born. Bad throws were made, Pulp Points were used, spears were thrown, and Hubert even got caught in the blast of his own thrown dynamite as the cultists were ripped apart by the violent explosions. Stone and dust began to fall from the ceiling of the chamber as Hypatia Masters screamed.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w2_IsyzWLqk/VBdK_RahWpI/AAAAAAAAAjU/ft85lr1e_Vw/s1600/hypatia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w2_IsyzWLqk/VBdK_RahWpI/AAAAAAAAAjU/ft85lr1e_Vw/s1600/hypatia.JPG" height="400" width="282" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hypatia Masters on the dais</td></tr></tbody></table>The battle took a long time to resolve, though in reality it passed in a blink for the investigators. By the end their ears were ringing from the exploding dynamite and the scene around them was one of carnage. Their attack had been effective but brutal, and amongst the dead cultists lay the torn bodies of their sacrificial victims. The priestess was also dead, having been shot by Jacob, her blood causing her flesh to melt into her own altar.<br /><br />Silence hung in the cavern only briefly as the dust continued to fall. The baleful yellow eyes within Hypatia’s distended belly began to glow. Her head screamed once in mortal agony, and then exploded, the bloody fragments and pulp flying through the air. The membrane of her belly formed a seam, then ruptured. Slime cascaded down the steps of the dais and atop, in all its awfulness, stood the Spawn of Nyarlathotep.<br /><br />The Spawn had a huge, roughly-triangular, bottom-heavy body with two yellow oval eyes at the apex of its slithery form. Just below the baleful eyes drooped down a long, writhing, crimson tentacle. Five fanged and drooling maws randomly decorated the ventral side of this thing. The hide was a lurid, blotchy orange. Many nine-inch-long appendages sprouted from it's body, a claw at the end of each. As it slid forwards it left behind a trail of orange vomit.<br /><br />It stared at the investigators with anger, and a powerful beam of dripping orange energy suddenly shot from one of it's eyes, across the chamber at Hubert! Hubert dodged the blast, which melted the rock he had been hiding behind.<br /><br />Finally the investigators seemed to remember the gifts that Old Bundari had given them. I had expected them to use Who-Is-Not-What-She-Seems earlier, but it turned out well that they had saved the small lizard. George opened the cage door and the chameleon crawled out. She arched her back, and then started to grow, her skin turning red, splitting as huge spikes erupted around her form, until she was the size of an elephant. With a spit of her tongue she charged towards the Spawn.<br /><br />Hubert backed up the monstrous giant chameleon with a blast from his lightning gun, the electricity ripping scars into the Spawn's body from which orange slime oozed. The Spawn attacked Who-Is-Not-What-She-Seems, clawing at the lizard and tearing into it's scaled hide. There was only going to be one victor, and quickly Who was bleeding from a myriad of wounds. She had however managed to distract the Spawn, and the lightning guns of the investigators did their work.<br /><br />Inevitably before things got better they got much worse. The dust and rocks continued to fall from the ceiling, despite the echoes of the dynamite explosions having long since faded. The Spawn might have been close to defeat, but Daddy was about to arrive. With a thunderous crash the ceiling to the temple was simply wiped away, a huge claw tearing the top from the mountain. Above, silhouetted against the lightning storm was a horror from the strangest of aeons.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kKRFtkWCpA8/VBX7tHypMqI/AAAAAAAAAio/40XCUSVfAZA/s1600/cthulhu3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kKRFtkWCpA8/VBX7tHypMqI/AAAAAAAAAio/40XCUSVfAZA/s1600/cthulhu3.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div><br />Nyarlathotep stood on three legs astride the mountain, hundreds of feet tall. The bloody tentacle in place of his face stretching to the sky as he howled in anger. Shantaks and fire vampires flew around his shoulders. He turned his gaze down, to the temple where his spawn was slowly succumbing to the investigators' lightning guns and reached down with his claws, trying to scoop them up. Okomu's scouts fled in fear.<br /><br />Sebastian was struck by falling rocks (and had no Pulp Points left with which to avoid them) and was badly hurt. Worse, he failed his Sanity Check and was struck dumb after losing all his remaining Sanity Points. The only character who had survived the entire campaign was lost to madness right at its end!<br /><br />The other investigators continued to fire at the Spawn, which had now finished off Who-Is-Not-What-She-Seems and was starting to advance menacingly on the group. Who had done a great job of "tanking" the Spawn (to use MMO parlance), and had protected the investigators for just long enough. George fired his lightning gun one more time, hitting the spawn at the apex of it's conical body. A moment later the thing exploded, showering the cavern in orange slime.<br /><br />There was a roar from above. A huge clawed hand reached down and grabbed George, lifting him from the floor. Thanks to a Pulp Point he managed to slip free, covered as he was in slime, and fell heavily to the ground.<br /><br />Jacob decided the time for heroics had arrived. He grabbed the stone with the Eye of Light and Darkness from Okomu and ran across the cavern towards the blue stone altar. The great claws of Nyarlathotep reached down once more...<br /><br />Jacob leaped forwards, doing a forwards roll with the stone tablet tucked under his arm, just under the grasping fingers of the god above and came to a stop before the altar. He placed the Eye down on top of it and there was a flash of light, the stone tablet sinking into the altar. Coruscating tendrils of blue light shot out from the altar.<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Above them the avatar of Nyarlathotep raised its arms and storm clouds gathered quickly above the mountain. Flashes of lightning coloured the area in strange hues of green and purple. There was a sound like the end of the world.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Rippling blue waves from the altar hit the sky and the atmosphere buckled back. A great rent appeared in the roiling air, an interstellar blackness graced with a single red pulsing star. As the Great Gate opened wide, spheres of light hurtled through. The travellers were returning, Aldebaran and Fomalhaut sending forth their children; the minions of Hastur, Cthugha, and Shub-Niggurath now joining those of Cthulhu and other Great Old Ones, to further turn the wheel toward their re-ascension to the thrones of Earth.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Huge tentacles of shadow began to reach through the tears in the sky, the flashes of lightning revealing them to be darker than the blackest night. In the clouds and horror above, the investigators witnessed a vision - in the skies of the South China Sea a huge brass rocket roared upwards, destroyed in a series of coruscating explosions that tore holes in the fabric of the stars. Above the deserts of Western Australia the skies were torn open by great winds that rose from an ancient city hidden beneath the sands</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ships sank, farms and cities burned, and meteorites struck everywhere as the masters of the Mythos took firmer hold of Earth. The laughter of Nyarlathotep grew louder.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In their minds eyes the investigators saw a great map, carved into stone, the crude likeness of the earth’s continents etched into it by ancient hands. Across the Earth natural disasters occurred – typhoons, earthquakes, tidal waves, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, firestorms and more. The continents subtly realigned to a more propitious pattern. The great shifts stirred strange creatures which dwell deep within the planet. Eldritch forces shook the world.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On the map in their vision the investigators saw a glow appear above the region of China, and another above Western Australia. A blinding line of light joined the two glowing spots, then two other lines moved out from them, reaching towards the dark continent of Africa.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">They converged across the map, forming a huge triangle across the face of the earth, then, just as they were about to meet and complete the ancient symbol, they stopped, and blinked out. The universe roared. Above the skies of China and Australia the great tears began to close.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Crawling Chaos looked up, confusion in its baleful yellow eyes, it’s long red tentacle writhing in agony. The lightning flashed once more, then the rip in the storm clouds started to shrink, the monstrous tentacles that were reaching through now withdrawing.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Across the world madmen and psychics screamed as one.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The tear closed and a great wind rose from the south of the continent, ripping away the storm clouds and revealing the pure light of the stars above.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then the explosions began.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Nyarlathotep raised its arms once again, but it was too late. Already the fires licked at its knees. The ground shook and the mountain erupted, raining rock, dust and fire all around. The world fell into darkness and the investigators passed out as the Crawling Chaos writhed in agony.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Later, they stared out across the plains of Africa, at the verdant life of the Aberdare Forest. The recent nightmare seemed already like a distant memory. They picked themselves up and looked at the devastation all around, huge plumes of dark smoke still pouring from the broken mountain. Slowly, they made their way down the foothills, beginning the long trek back to civilisation.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A lone eagle screamed in the sky at some distant prey. Life continued.</div><br />So, that was it! After two years of playing we had finally reached the end of the campaign. The investigators had saved the world, though consigned themselves to a life of fear and reprisal in exchange.<br /><br />I then showed them the video below, which I had made in the style of an old-time newsreel, to give a nice epilogue to the whole campaign. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/TIxwmGoKF6Y" width="560"></iframe></div><br />A huge thanks to my entire group who made all the hard work in preparing this epic campaign worth it. There wasn't a single session I didn't enjoy. For now however, it's time for a well-earned rest!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gpN_GCYYTZ0/VBdLdJA45cI/AAAAAAAAAjc/I8duPklYRqw/s1600/168877_500467596669141_1466697458_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gpN_GCYYTZ0/VBdLdJA45cI/AAAAAAAAAjc/I8duPklYRqw/s1600/168877_500467596669141_1466697458_n.jpg" /></a></div><br />There is an embed of the session below, and I will have a final campaign journal entry up soon, summarising my overall thoughts on the adventure, along with a few amusing anecdotes.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qBXJLWHExZY" width="560"></iframe></div>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-30915473685988698092014-09-14T15:57:00.002+01:002014-09-14T15:57:57.028+01:00Stonemouth by Iain Banks<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11324334-stonemouth" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Stonemouth" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328115781m/11324334.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11324334-stonemouth">Stonemouth</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7628.Iain_Banks">Iain Banks</a><br />My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1046216128">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />I thought I'd read all of Iain Banks' stuff, whether with middle "M" or not. Seems this one slipped under the radar somehow.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm glad I found it because it's a real return to form, easily up there with The Crow Road and Espedair Street as far as his non-SF stuff goes.<br /><br />It is, of course, full of the usual Banks cyphers and characters, taking in his usual stops of politics, dark humour, drug-taking, thriller, and romance along the way. If anything it's one of the more romantic books Banks has written, even if the main character is hard to sympathise with at first.<br /><br />It's a real page turner, and written with such (seemingly) effortless skill that it is effortless to read as well. The story, plot, characters and writing all combine to make an incredibly readable novel. It made me laugh out loud, and one part even had me covering my eyes and physically wincing as I read it.<br /><br />The themes of the book are easy to relate to - regret, guilt, and returning home after a long time away to find so much changed yet so much the same. The thriller/conspiracy aspect keeps the themes nicely tied up and the end is genuinely effecting. <br /><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/26995398-merecraft">View all my reviews</a>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-72835943333843888672014-09-05T15:38:00.000+01:002014-09-05T15:38:14.586+01:00The Masked Empire by Patrick Weekes<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21826482-the-masked-empire" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Masked Empire (Dragon Age, #4)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396416723m/21826482.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21826482-the-masked-empire">The Masked Empire</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2843991.Patrick_Weekes">Patrick Weekes</a><br />My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1039633802">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />I wasn't sure what to expect from the first Dragon Age book not written by David Gaider. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. The book is still firmly rooted in the world of Thedas, but feels distinct from the other Dragon Age books both in setting and tone.<br /><br />Like Asunder, the book is set in the Orliesian Empire, though rather than bound to the realms of the Chantry and Circle, this novel explores the politics and power struggles of the noble caste. The setting is different enough that the book, certainly for the first two-thirds, feels very different to the world of the earlier novels in the series, and it feels refreshing for that.<br /><br />It also feels more like the world of the Dragon Age games to me, even though much of the books is spent with the skull-duggery and back-stabbing nobles, rather than being a grand fantasy adventure. When the book does eventually turn into a more traditional adventure, past the half-way mark, it actually loses some of it's character and pace.<br /><br />The books is much more interested in the characters and their relationships than the earlier ones, and could even be read as a romance novel as there is a strong romantic tale that threads throughout. The ending is satisfying, paying off all the characters, but resolving little, and leaving things open for the next game in the series.<br /><br />I'm looking forwards to playing Dragon Age Inquisition even more after reading The Masked Empire. <br /><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/26995398-merecraft">View all my reviews</a>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-15475405338684669932014-08-29T21:48:00.000+01:002014-08-29T21:48:00.186+01:00Masks of Nyarlathotep Campaign Journal: Chapter 35 - Jailbirds and ChameleonsThe investigators finished the <a href="http://farbeyondmycapacity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/masks-of-nyarlathotep-campaign-journal_13.html">last session</a> by escaping from the fire at the Nairobi Star, only to be confronted by a very angry man with a large elephant gun, the barrel of which was still smoking from the shot he had discharged above their heads.<br /><br />"I've had enough of you Mrs Smythe-Forbes!" he shouted, his face turned ruddy under his slouch hat. "Your stories are ruining my business with your lies, and I won't take it any more!".<br /><br />Mrs Smythe-Forbes tried vainly to placate the man, who turned out to be Colonel Endicott of the Endicott Game Lodge. He blamed Smythe-Forbes and her stories about the deaths near his lodge for a severe downturn in his safari business. Now wasn't the time to resolve the issue however, as the flames from the burning Star offices rose higher into the night sky.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z2gW5kxKSm4/U_oF94fKJmI/AAAAAAAAAhk/EYiM7E5wViw/s1600/house-on-fire.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z2gW5kxKSm4/U_oF94fKJmI/AAAAAAAAAhk/EYiM7E5wViw/s1600/house-on-fire.jpg" height="322" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Umm, oops!</td></tr></tbody></table>"There's a fire! The building is on fire!" Colonel Endicott shouted, suddenly noticing the conflagration behind the investigators. Within a few moments the Colonel, Smythe-Forbes and the investigators had managed to organise a few locals and were vainly trying to douse the flames with buckets of water. In the distance a bell could be heard ringing, and soon after a horse-drawn water tender arrived, complete with hoses.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />After a couple of hours the fire was out, though a great deal of the Nairobi Star offices had been destroyed. Exhausted and covered in soot, the investigators retired to their hotel to rest for the remainder of the night. Colonel Endicott had disappeared in the chaos. Before they went to their beds Jacob demanded an explanation of the strange things he had seen, and George came clean about their investigation into a worldwide conspiracy of cults.<br /><br />During their discussions at the hotel bar the investigators were interrupted by officers from the King's African Rifles who told them that they were under arrest for murder and arson! Hubert's first instinct was to run, and he bolted out of the door into the street, which didn't do much to persuade the soldiers of his innocence! One of them gave chase and soon found Hubert cowering behind some rubbish. "You're nicked mate," he said flatly.<br /><br />They brought out a short Indian gentleman who nodded at the investigators and told the officers, "That's them sir, they started the fires, I'd stake my pension on it". George knew they were in trouble, and that the sentence if found guilty was likely to be death by hanging. He tried to use his role as a diplomat to argue his way out, but the soldiers would not be persuaded.<br /><br />So it was that a short time later, still protesting their innocence, the group found themselves locked in a small cool room in the local jailhouse. They were left to stew for the rest of the night before there was a knock at the door and a soldier entered then marched George out of the cell. He was taken to a small room where an officer questioned him about his personal details and reason for being in Nairobi. George answered truthfully, though without mentioning the Mountain of the Black Wind or the Cult of the Bloody Tongue. He was then returned to the cell, and the other investigators had their turn with the interrogator.<br /><br />Later that day there was another knock in the cell door and a smartly dressed man entered. He introduced himself as Mr Neville Jermyn, a local barrister who had been assigned to represent them in the forthcoming case, and told them that a magistrate would be assigned to hear the proceedings. Jermyn said that he would be back daily to keep them updated with how things were proceeding. He then questioned each of the investigators about what had happened on the train and at the Star offices.<br /><br />Jermyn seemed optimistic about the chance of the investigators being found innocent, as all of the evidence so far was only circumstantial. The barrister did return later to inform the investigators that a magistrate had been appointed, but that he wouldn't arrive in Nairobi for another three weeks. Due to the nature of the alleged crimes bail was unlikely.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dHi2s9oTlCM/U_oFgQ-iobI/AAAAAAAAAhc/0F1g4OssSvc/s1600/eliot-ness-handcuffs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dHi2s9oTlCM/U_oFgQ-iobI/AAAAAAAAAhc/0F1g4OssSvc/s1600/eliot-ness-handcuffs.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oops again!</td></tr></tbody></table>George mentioned the Carlyle expedition, and Jermyn seemed interested it the unexplained aspects of the expedition's fate. The players didn't bite however. What can I do if they decide to ignore potential leads eh?<br /><br />The investigators were left to their own devices for the rest of the day, and spent the time worrying about another fire attack. Hubert seemed to be acting a little strangely, but that was excused considering what he had been through recently. Over the next few days George attempted to contact the local diplomatic office, but the reply was not helpful - George Kirkham was supposed to be in Cairo and the diplomatic service was not amused! (Amusingly George's player had forgotten this rather vital piece of info from their time back in Sydney).<br /><br />After the a week of being confined in the cell the group got an unexpected visitor. Mrs Smythe-Forbes had come to see them. She told them that the Star offices had been very badly damaged and that the printing press was no longer working; parts were being arranged to be sent from Mombasa. In the meantime she had managed to keep a low circulation irregular edition going by employing scribes from Browntown.<br /><br />She had come to see the investigators to see if they would be prepared to offer up an interview. Hubert repeated his claim that the train porter had been smoking in the water closet. They asked her about Colonel Endicott and his spat with the paper, and she explained that he was upset with stories she had printed about the deaths at his game lodge that had attributed them to a man-eating lion. Hubert asked her is she would pass on a note to the colonel for him, and she agreed though with little hope he would respond. They didn't take the opportunity to quiz her about the Carlyle Expedition - you can lead a horse to water...<br /><br />On the 11th December the investigators finally got their day in court. It was a relatively brief affair, held before a small crowd from the general populace, and after only a few hours it became apparent that the King's Africa Rifles had no real evidence and an obviously annoyed magistrate acquitted them of all charges.<br /><br />The first the investigators did on being released was to go and see their old "friend" Nails Nelson at the Loyal Defender pub. They had not been talking to him for long before the manager of the pub arrived and told the investigators that they were no longer welcome in his establishment. They didn't put up a fight and left without incident.<br /><br />Back at the Highland Hotel they were greeted by the manager who informed them that their belongings had been held in storage and that they were to take their stuff and leave the premises forthwith. It seemed that their recent notoriety had caused Whitetown to ostracise them. The manager suggested they head for the railway station.<br /><br />The group had other ideas however, and decided to head to Tandoor Singh's tea shop on Biashara Street first. Jacob decided to try to disguise himself. His character sheet described him as "a master of disguise", but unfortunately his player had neglected to put any skill points at all into the Disguise skill. Oops! Needless to say, it was the least convincing disguise in history, and he looked like a poor Groucho Marx impersonator.<br /><br />On entering Singh's shop George immediately recognised the Indian man behind the counter as the same person who had been watching them back in Mombasa rail station. After a moments hesitation Jacob took the initiative and shot Singh with his shotgun! This was the same tactic they'd used on Doctor Huston in Australia, but I was safe in the knowledge that it wasn't going to work on some of the encounters they had coming up.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YEZR0uQ5ufA/U_n-RH1qniI/AAAAAAAAAhE/btINntmN5aA/s1600/cthulhu_tea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YEZR0uQ5ufA/U_n-RH1qniI/AAAAAAAAAhE/btINntmN5aA/s1600/cthulhu_tea.jpg" height="248" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/blend.html?blend=26768">Tandoor Singh's speciality?</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Jacob's weapon did more than enough damage to finish Singh off, which was a shame as I was looking forwards to him using his Strike Blind spell to boil the investigators eyeballs, but a Keeper can't have everything! Luck continued to be with the investigators and no-one seemed to have been alerted by the shotgun blast.<br /><br />A quick search of the shop revealed a poorly hidden trapdoor in the floor of the storage room that lead down to a dingy dug-out chamber. The single room was about fifteen feet square with an eleven-foot high ceiling. There was a centre support pillar, and the walls were shored up with boards and timbers. Successful Spot Hidden rolls revealed a number of overlapping but regular depressions in the floor, each about three feet wide and six feet long. Three niches each on the north and south walls held candles.<br /><br />Against the east wall was a four-foot-high statue of crudely carved black stone, a deformed dwarf-like figure with four eyes. Its four arms each bore a tulwar. Three large tentacle-like appendages were in the place of its feet. The central pillar had a set of handcuffs attached to it.It was obviously a place where terrible deeds had been committed.<br /><br />In one corner there was a large cabinet with a crude padlock that Jacob managed to pick with ease. Inside they found a carved cleaver, an ancient book written in a language no-one recognised, some incense cones and a yellow robe. They gathered the loot and decided to bury Singh's corpse in the sand floor of the room. Despite uncovering an already-buried corpse, it had overall been a successful raid - quick, bloody, but rewarding, and this time no innocents had died!<br /><br />It was now early afternoon and the investigators had to decide who to hassle next. They decided to try Endicott's lodge next, and Jacob went off to locate a truck to "borrow". In the few hours since spending several weeks in jail on a murder charge they had killed someone in cold blood and were working on stealing a vehicle. Luck finally left them however and Jacob couldn't find a suitable truck to nick.<br /><br />He went back to the Loyal Defender but was again accosted by Nails' manager and turfed out. Nails let Jacob go with the offer of finding the group some transport. In the meantime the investigators decided to head to Blacktown and look up Johnstone Kenyatta. It didn't take long for someone to point them in the direction of the KCA, the Kikuyu Central Association.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u1xPIPGhLkg/U_oBDTV86OI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/1Z58ii2IO8c/s1600/jomo-kenyatta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u1xPIPGhLkg/U_oBDTV86OI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/1Z58ii2IO8c/s1600/jomo-kenyatta.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnstone Kenyatta</td></tr></tbody></table>They arrived to find a busy establishment that seemed to be some kind of political association. Kenyatta, a tall charismatic man met them, and on George's mention of the Carlyle Expedition ushered them into a private room where they could talk safely. His English was excellent, and he listened intently to their questions.<br /><br />Kenyatta revealed that he had heard of the Bloody Tongue and that his grandfather had been a <i>murogi</i>, a diviner. "<i>How ironic that, as I strain toward your heritage, you reach toward mine.</i>"<br /><br />He thought for a moment then nodded to himself as if reaching a decision. He left the room briefly then returned with some instructions for the group. He was sending them to a friend who could help. They were to follow a remarkably tall black man, well dressed in a white suit, but with no shoes, at a distance.<br /><br />I was glad the investigators hadn't decided to unleash on Kenyatta as well. He's a real historical character (always fun to throw some of them into a period Cthulhu game). He would later change his name to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jomo_Kenyatta">Jomo Kenyatta</a> and lead Kenya to full independence in 1963, eventually becoming the country's first president.<br /><br />The man Kenyatta had instructed them to follow silently lead them deeper into Blacktown. This part of Nairobi was poor, but its people seemed cheerful. Most of the houses were one-room, mud-wall buildings, roofed by bundled grasses and broad leaves. Their guide lead them to a small house with a painted yellow door and stepped inside.<br /><br />When the investigators stepped through the yellow door, they found themselves in a small shed, beside a high-wheeled yellow Rolls-Royce roadster of indifferent condition. Their silent guide held open the door and motioned them to sit in the car. In a few minutes they were bouncing along a dirt track several miles outside of Nairobi, scattering bicycles and animal-drawn carts as they went, and leaving behind a long cloud of dust.<br /><br />After a couple of hours driving down dirt tracks the Rolls Royce arrived in a circle of grass-roofed mud huts. The driver motioned them to stay in the car then got out and spoke at length and in persuasive tones to a young, delicate-looking man. It was hot in the car, and soon the village children gathered around and peered in, their bright round eyes polite and curious. When the investigators waved or spoke, the children giggled and whispered.<br /><br />After a while the driver came back and fetched the investigators from the car, then introduced them to the young man, Okomu. He then got back in the Rolls Royce and drove off, leaving the investigators in the village!<br /><br />Okomu spoke harshly to the group, demanding to know why they should be allowed to speak to "Old Bundari". The mention of the Bloody Tongue, along with a successful Persuade roll by George had the desired effect. Okomu agreed to take them to Old Bundari, but warned them that he travelled in a different world to the rest of them, and that they were to sit in silence before him until he returned from his travels.<br /><br />From the outside, Bundari’s hut had the smooth curves of a Masai hut. It was larger and differently constructed than the conical mud dwellings of the rest of the village. A gated fence surrounded it. Passing the door curtain, the investigators realized that Bundari’s house was formed like a snail’s shell - the entrance passage winding all the way around the outside of the single centre room before opening into it. The way was unlit, but everyone saw the fetishes, signs, and masks arranged on both the inside and outside whitewashed walls of the passage.<br /><br />In the central room, more such symbols could be seen, arranged in arcane patterns. Across from the interior door was a small old man, sitting so still that he seemed to be dead. Occasionally Okomu unfolded a leg and rubbed it to restore the circulation, then folded back the leg to its original position.<br /><br />After several hours of sitting in silence Old Bundari's eyes suddenly snapped open, an intangible liveliness that was not previously present apparent in his body. He looked at each of the investigators in turn, then spoke to them. To George he said, "<i>You should not be here. You should be in the land of the Pharoah</i>s". To Jacob he said, "<i>You should not be here. You should be in jail</i>". To Sebastian he said, "<i>You should be here. You are from the New World, but you belong in the Old</i>". Finally he addressed Hubert. "<i>You should also be here. You are a great hunter</i>".<br /><br />The old man continued.<br /><br /><i>"Your mission is perilous, and the time is desperate. Shall I tell you pleasant things, or the truth? The Bloody Tongue grows arrogant. People across the land disappear into the Mountain, stolen by the cult for a horrible sacrifice to come. Leaders are brought low by corrupt thoughts and deeds. Many of us must pray continuously to Ngai, the lord of the Kere-Nyaga to stave off this evil. If you seekers have courage, you may achieve much. You must hurry, the birth is close. Okomu can help make the arrangements you need. But he cannot do what I can: I have gifts for you".</i><br /><br />Old Bundari then gestured to Okomu, who brought forth two gifts for the investigators. The first was a fly whisk with an ebony handle that was carved with Kikuyu symbols. The old man told them it would protect them from evil and help them find what they seek.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WrA2In5pzds/VADRPGs4OoI/AAAAAAAAAh0/ewkI123EvIc/s1600/flywhisk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WrA2In5pzds/VADRPGs4OoI/AAAAAAAAAh0/ewkI123EvIc/s1600/flywhisk.jpg" height="320" width="282" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fly whisk.</td></tr></tbody></table>Okomu them brought forth a small brown cage in which was a small, warty, three-horned chameleon. Old Bundari told them that if they fed her daily with flies the creature, called Who-Is-Not-What-She-Seems, would help them if they but released her against their enemies, but only once. He then stared intently at them again, and asked what else they would know.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xGNp8SGcWoE/U_n9OkalrhI/AAAAAAAAAgw/7KRdEB7ZZMo/s1600/the-three-horned-chameleon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xGNp8SGcWoE/U_n9OkalrhI/AAAAAAAAAgw/7KRdEB7ZZMo/s1600/the-three-horned-chameleon.jpg" height="262" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who-Is-Not-What-She-Seems</td></tr></tbody></table>They asked about the Mountain of the Black Wind. Okomu told them that it was a terrible place, shunned by everyone. Even the greatest spells cast against that place had no effect. It was so called because a terrible god inhabited it. Once a year he unleashed the Black Wind, which brought plague, famine, and disaster.<br /><br />To satisfy the god, the Bloody Tongue abducted villagers and sacrificed them. Then the god appeared in all his terrible glory, nearly as tall as the mountain itself. The god’s priestess lived in the Mountain. It was she who prophesied the coming of the god’s child, part human and part monster, and who would soon to soak the land with blood. It was the fate of the investigators to stop the imminent birth of the god's child.<br /><br />Jacob mentioned the Eye of Light and Darkness, and Old Bundari's eyes lit up. With such an artifact they might be able to forever chain the god within his mountain. Hubert showed Old Bundari their translation of the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan, and Old Bundari nodded slowly, telling them it might be possible to craft the Eye.<br /><br />"<i>Gentlemen, you must prepare to travel to the Mountain of the Black Wind. Once there you must stop the birth of the son of the God of the Black wind. If you don't the son will rise, and he will open the Gates and bathe the lands in blood. Once you have stopped the birth, you must place the Eye upon his altar, and chain the god forever, stopping the Gates from opening</i>".<br /><br />Old Bundari then begged time to rest from his travels. He bid the investigators to stay in the village whilst he made preparations. Okomu lead them out and to another hut that had been prepared for them.<br /><br />Three weeks passed as they waited for Old Bundari to summon them again. George fed Who-Is-Not-What-She-Seems daily with flies, forming a strange bond with the creature. Though they could not speak the language, the investigators found the Kikuyu villagers welcoming and caring, and they rested well and could not have asked for better hospitality. It was the happiest time they could remember for a long time. Jacob seemed to be struggling with the possibility of killing a child in order to save others, a crack in the facade of the East-end gangster appearing. He wasn't sure he would be able to go through with it.<br /><br />Okomu arranged for the book they had found in Tandoor Singh's cellar translated. It was written in Hindi, and a few days later he returned with a rough translation, much of which was gibberish. One prophecy in particular caught their attention:<br /><br />"<i>And then shall the Gate be opened, as the sun is blotted out. Thus the Small Crawler will awaken those who dwell beyond and will bring them. The sea shall swallow them and shall spit them up and the leopard shall eat of the flesh in Rudraprayag in the Spring</i>".<br /><br />Over the last few days visitors and elders from other nearby tribes began to arrive in the village. Eventually Old Bundari summoned the investigators once again, Okomu coming to collect them. The elders from the various villages were arranged around a dirt circle, in the centre of which sat the old <i>murogi</i>. Together they cast the ritual of the Eye of Light and Darkness beneath the light of a full moon, chanting from moonrise to moon set. Each of the onlookers donated a little blood (and POW), and the Eye was etched into a slab of granite, though Hubert and George decided to skip the ritual.<br /><br />The next day they were ready to leave. Okomu and several Kikuyu warriors would travel with them, leading them to the Mountain of the Black Wind. Okomu carried the Eye, strapped to his back in a wicker bag.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ILVAlIcbRwk/U_n9o02A79I/AAAAAAAAAg4/aKh51wtUyNg/s1600/Kikuyu_warriors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ILVAlIcbRwk/U_n9o02A79I/AAAAAAAAAg4/aKh51wtUyNg/s1600/Kikuyu_warriors.jpg" height="286" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kikuyu warriors</td></tr></tbody></table>They set off into the wilderness, heading for Ndovu village which was within striking distance of the Mountain of the Black Wind. They found the Aberdare Forest to be uniquely temperate. Giant cedars, olives, camphors, and figs thrived there, gradually giving way to montane bamboo as the altitude rose. The undergrowth was often very thick, making for slow travel off the trails. Frequently the mountain slopes were cool and wet from mist, fog, or rain. Many rapid streams had to be crossed. Forest antelopes, giant hogs, duikers, elands, leopards, and lammergeiers were seen.<br /><br />After several days the small band arrived at Ndovu village. Okomu warned the investigators not to reveal that they were headed to the Mountain or to mention the Bloody Tongue. They rested a little and gathered their supplies. It didn't matter - none of the villagers spoke English, though the investigators could detect a slightly uneasy atmosphere.<br /><br />Two days later they continued their travels. They reached a wide saddle-shaped pass that separated Mt. Kenya from the Aberdare range. As the investigators strolled down the north side of the pass, they came upon a mountain meadow perhaps a half-mile broad. It was blackened, as though someone had seared the ground with a gigantic branding iron. All animal trails now skirted the area, and the investigators had to hack their way through disturbing, deformed underbrush. A foul odour hung over the place. Okomu revealed that this was where the remains of the Carlyle Expedition had been found.<br /><br />They crossed the corrupt place and made camp for the last time. The next day would see them arrive at the Mountain of the Black Wind.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UMRYBGVZcU4/VADeZfhSJII/AAAAAAAAAiE/B0d8di2Y-tc/s1600/approaching%2Bthe%2Bmountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UMRYBGVZcU4/VADeZfhSJII/AAAAAAAAAiE/B0d8di2Y-tc/s1600/approaching%2Bthe%2Bmountain.jpg" height="113" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching the Mountain</td></tr></tbody></table>As the next morning dawned everyone was pensive and quiet. A sense of fate hung heavy over the group as they set off.<br /><br />After a day's travel north a dank conical mountain rose abruptly from the broadening plain. Everywhere else the forest had thinned and the grass taken hold, but on the slopes of the Mountain of the Black Wind a dark and lurid green forest persisted.<br /><br />In the valley below the mountain the investigators spied a throng of thousands upon thousands of cultists. Those assembled before the peak appeared to come from East Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Most wore their best regalia in honour of the approaching marvel. Sudanese, Arabs, Bushmen, Indians, and Europeans could be seen, as could many Malays.<br /><br />Shortly after darkness fell, a priestess emerged from a cavern situated halfway up the mountainside. Her voice carried clearly on the winds, despite the distance, and the investigators found that they could understand her words, despite not speaking Swahili.<br /><br />“<i>Tonight is the time of greatness, when our lord sends us his chosen seed! Tonight comes the dread child and its terror to confirm us! Nyar shthan, Nyar gashanna! Nyar shthan, Nyar gashanna!</i>”<br /><br />The echo rolled back from the mountainside and filled the plain. She repeated this chant over and over, and the vast throng before her picked it up. Drums pounded the rhythm of the words again and again, and the thousands of cultists begin to sway. “<i>Nyar shthan, Nyar gashanna! Nyar shthan, Nyar gashanna!</i>”<br /><br />Clothes came off as the frenzy built. The starlit sky grew darker as clouds formed. Lightning flashed, closer and closer, heading directly for the peak. The peal of thunder grew louder. A wind rose - chill, thin, and sharp. A plume formed above the mountain.<br /><br />“<i>Nyar shthan, Nyar gashanna!</i>” The naked cultists grabbed random prisoners from cages, and hacked at them in the most cruel and despicable fashion; the blood of dozens of men, women, and children washed the plain. Beneath the storm-wracked sky, an enormous bolt of lightning struck the mountain-top with a hideous roar.<br /><br />That seemed like a good place to leave things! The session video is embedded below.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mvahaLxsn8o" width="560"></iframe></div>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-85210001829385696492014-08-29T15:05:00.001+01:002014-08-29T15:05:27.700+01:00The Night Eternal by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6945530-the-night-eternal" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Night Eternal (The Strain Trilogy, #3)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327932900m/6945530.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6945530-the-night-eternal">The Night Eternal</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/167605.Guillermo_del_Toro">Guillermo del Toro</a><br />My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1009132575">2 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />This was a disappointing end to what was overall a slightly disappointing trilogy of books. There are some great ideas here, and I enjoyed the post-apocalyptic setting which at least offered something different, but there were too many problems to overlook that spoilt the experience. In fact, I found myself really struggling with finishing the book and only forced myself to as I wanted to start a new one. I wish I hadn't bothered.<br /><br />The already cliched characters become even shallower, and the plot is full of so many holes you could use the book as a colander! Add to that the terrible bolting on of some lazy Christian theology (can vampire-myth writers come up with something new for the origin of their monsters please? The bacterial/viral angle was so much more interesting) and I just lost interest in the unsympathetic characters.<br /><br />The less said about the ending the better. It made no sense and I guessed what would happen ages before I got to it. Two stars, and that's a little generous. <br /><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/26995398-merecraft">View all my reviews</a>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-11664203954156484612014-08-13T15:53:00.000+01:002014-08-13T15:53:24.368+01:00Masks of Nyarlathotep Campaign Journal: Chapter 34 - Out of the Fire and Into the Frying PanFollowing the exertions of their <a href="http://farbeyondmycapacity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/masks-of-nyarlathotep-campaign-journal.html">journey from Mombasa</a>, George and Jacob were resting at the Highlands Hotel when a loud knock came at George's room door. It was two men from the King's African Rifles demanding entry. George greeted them and was told that he had to go with them; they were to take him to the hospital where he would be questioned alongside his companions about the fire on the train.<br /><br />After collecting George the soldiers went next door and apprehended Jacob as well. They were marched down the road to the Highland Breeze Hospital where an official named Corporal Neville Witteringham was waiting in the ward where Hubert and Sebastian were recovering.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aNjJXUJnWuM/U-t18ARTs4I/AAAAAAAAAgI/mDVtzfKWrXg/s1600/kar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aNjJXUJnWuM/U-t18ARTs4I/AAAAAAAAAgI/mDVtzfKWrXg/s1600/kar.jpg" height="257" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The King's African Rifles</td></tr></tbody></table>Once they were all gathered the Corporal began questioning them about what had happened on the train. He took statements from them all, then concluded by warning them to keep their noses clean and not cause any trouble in Nairobi. The only other witness, the salon car porter, was dead, and so the authorities were having to take the matter seriously. Hubert mentioned that he had seen the porter smoking in the water closet!<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Several hours later the soldiers left. George had started to feel unwell, and decided to book himself into the hospital alongside Hubert and Sebastian. Hubert took some time to bring Jacob up to speed on what was going on, and after a long discussion the investigators decided to rest in the hospital for a week whilst Jacob went to investigate Tandoor Singh and Nails Nelson.<br /><br />As they were about to conclude their discussion there was a knock on the door. A black newsboy had arrived with copies of the Nairobi Star, a single-sheet daily newspaper focusing on local news. The main story concerned the train coach fire, and it seemed to be quite accurately represented, though perhaps not surprisingly there was no mention of any supernatural element. The author, editor, and horoscope writer were all listed as Mrs Natalie Smythe-Forbes.<br /><br />Before he left the others to their rest, Jacob Slater informed them that he was a little short of funds. George passed him £50 to cover any expenses, though not before raising his suspicions about their new ally. Jacob took the money and immediately went out and had a nice expensive meal at the hotel.<br /><br />After his meal Jacob took an evening stroll into Browntown. There were few white faces around, and the buildings were much poorer in aspect. Biashara Street was a narrow row of shops built from crude brick. Jacob located Tandoor Singh's shop, a tea emporium, and scouted the area out. The single front door was closed, as was the back door located in a narrow alley. He could see some lights on inside the building. Having scouted the place out Jacob went back to the hotel to rest for the night.<br /><br />The following morning Jacob made some enquiries about the location of Bertram "Nails" Nelson, and was told that he could be found at the Loyal Defender Pub on Smut's Avenue in Whitetown. After doing so he headed back to Biashara Street and went into Tandoor Singh's Tea Importers. Inside he found a cool, dark store with shelves stocked with sacks containing different varieties of tea. Behind the counter was a tall Indian gentleman wearing a turban and tightly rolled beard.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u6okHZrcNKQ/U-t2ledoUlI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/3xLo6tN3cvA/s1600/tandoor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u6okHZrcNKQ/U-t2ledoUlI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/3xLo6tN3cvA/s1600/tandoor.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tandoor Singh</td></tr></tbody></table>Slater walked to the counter and was offered tea by the Indian man, who introduced himself as Tandoor Singh. Accepting the offer, Jacob then asked if there were any jobs going, explaining that he had been told there may be employment opportunities at the shop. Tandoor Singh apologised and said he had no openings.<br /><br />Mr Singh discussed the tea trade and poetry with Slater, and they parted on friendly terms. When asked Jacob told Mr Singh that his name was "Jason".<br /><br />Following his visit to the tea shop Jacob decided to go ad look up his old friend from London, Bertram "Nails" Nelson. He made his way back into Whitetown and headed to the Loyal Defender pub, a rather low-grade establishment. His was in luck. A rather scruffy, unshaven man was tending the bar. It was Nails.<br /><br />The two old friends spent some time catching up. They had a long history, though they had not seen each other for quite a few years. Over a couple of beers they discussed their recent histories. Jacob revealed he was on the run, for some undisclosed scam, and then revealed that he had found a group who were ripe for ripping off - the other investigators!<br /><br />Between them they cooked up a plan to scam the group out of as much money as they could, with Nails posing as an experienced bush guide. Jacob also told Nails that the group would pay well for any information about the tea-seller Tandoor Singh. They discussed the recent train fire, and Jacob revealed that there had been something unnatural about the fire. Nails sounded doubtful and mentioned that they should keep all that voodoo nonsense in Blacktown, with Johnstone Kenyatta and his cronies.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLYpK0aatB4/U-t5GwykqjI/AAAAAAAAAgY/w9Wc4krAz-M/s1600/EastEnders_Title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLYpK0aatB4/U-t5GwykqjI/AAAAAAAAAgY/w9Wc4krAz-M/s1600/EastEnders_Title.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was starting to sound like a certain soap set in the east end of London</td></tr></tbody></table>Later Jacob returned to the hospital to tell the others what he had learnt, though not surprisingly he did not reveal the details of Nails Nelson's plan to scam them out of some cash. They discussed their options and decided to rest properly for the remainder of the week, before discharging themselves and continuing their investigations. They had decided that visiting the proprietor of the Nairobi Star, Mrs Smythe-Forbes, might be a good source of information.<br /><br />At this point we skipped forwards a few days, allowing the group to rest and recover some hit points (they were going to need them). Jacob visited Nails a few times for drinks, and George spotted an unusual item in the Nairobi Star - an addendum to an earlier story correcting a mistake in the name of a "victim" found near the Endicott Game Lodge. The name Endicott rang a bell, being a possible lead given to them in Mombasa. Other than that the week passed without incident.<br /><br />Once they were feeling better and reunited the group set off to meet with Nails Nelson, but not before Jacob had treated them to a celebratory meal (paying with the money they had given him in the first place!). They quizzed Nails Nelson him about his encounter with Jackson Elias. After a little persuasion, aided by the greasing of Nelson's palms with a few pounds, he revealed that he had indeed spoken to Jackson Elias the previous year. He had told Elias of his encounter with Jack Brady in Hong Kong in 1923, several years after Brady's supposed murder at the hand of Nandi tribesmen.<br /><br />They also discussed the situation at the Endicott Game Lodge. Nails was disparaging of Colonel Endicott, and told them that there had been several odd deaths there recently, which according to the Nairobi Star at least were not down to the expected wild animal attacks.<br /><br />Finally they agreed to give Nails a few pounds to allow him to start making hires and enquiries for a possible safari into the Aberdare Range.<br /><br />They decided to take Nails Nelson with them into Blacktown the following morning as a guide to find Kenyatta. Nails had only wanted to charge them £5, but thanks to a badly failed Bargain roll by Hubert (he rolled a 99!) he upped the charge to £10. As dusk was approaching they decided to would head to the offices of the Nairobi Star in the meantime, to see what Mrs Smythe-Forbes knew about the Carlyle Expedition and the problems at Endicott's game lodge.<br /><br />They located the offices of the Star quite easily. From the outside they could hear the sound of machinery, and upon entering the wooden building they saw a large open room which contained a huge printing press manned by a couple of workers. The sound of the machinery competed with the sound of a gramophone playing some popular music, and behind a desk sat a brisk woman in her late forties.<br /><br />Mrs Smythe-Forbes greeted them and asked what they wanted. The group introduced themselves as the travellers embroiled in the recent train fire, and offered her an exclusive interview in exchange for some information off the record. Mrs Smythe-Forbes introduced herself as Natalie, and turned off the gramophone so that they could converse more easily.<br /><br />Over some iced tea they discussed the deaths at the Endicott Game Lodge. Smythe-Forbes revealed that there had been several deaths, and despite the protestations of the Colonel that they were due to the usual wild animal attacks, other evidence such as the strange gnawing marks in the bones suggested otherwise.<br /><br />As Smythe-Forbes was about to look up some more details of the case Hubert noticed a fire starting by one of the doors. Suddenly the doors burst into flames and blue and red sparks flew towards the investigators! "Fire!" screamed Smythe-Forbes.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BM73FBSIj58/U-t53Rghl9I/AAAAAAAAAgg/v5CxVCtsyAw/s1600/cthugha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BM73FBSIj58/U-t53Rghl9I/AAAAAAAAAgg/v5CxVCtsyAw/s1600/cthugha.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They're back! (image courtesy of <a href="http://vaporeon249.deviantart.com/art/CoC-Cthugha-326924795">Vaporeon249</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table>George jumped back across the desk, spilling ice tea everywhere. Jacob ran for the far exit. In the meantime the blue sparks danced across the wooden floor, raising fire in their wake, and attacked Sebastian, setting light to his sleeves.<br /><br />Hubert followed George over the desk and ran past Smythe-Forbes, also heading for the exit. The red sparks also attacked Sebastian, and seeing their fellow investigator in trouble gave them pause. They resolved to try and save him, and stopped fleeing. Sebastian had to use a Pulp Point to avoid a fiery death, stumbling backwards into the desk.<br /><br />Seeing her livelihood going up in flames Smythe-Forbes displayed a great deal of courage. Instead of fleeing she ran to a nearby barrel, trying to prise the lid off to get to the water within. Sebastian meanwhile had grabbed the water jug that had been used to prepare the iced tea and threw it at one of the flames.<br /><br />George and Jacob went to help, and between them they managed to pick up the barrel, attracting the attention of the seemingly living flames. Jacob had to use a Pulp Point to avoid being burnt.<br /><br />At this point Hubert decided on an unusual course of action. He unzipped his flies and started to urinate on Sebastian in an effort to put out the flames! Unfortunately the elderly investigator had a little trouble, and did nothing more than douse Smythe-Forbes' desk...<br /><br />Sebastian found himself attacked again. He was now in the same state he had been before his extended stay in hospital!<br /><br />Smythe-Forbes had now decided to flee, and ran for the far door, along with Sebastian. George and Jacob managed to drag the barrel across the room, and flung it at the remaining sparks. Luck was finally on their side, and they managed to douse the living fire. That still left the huge inferno now raging along the wall of the building however. They looked at each other and ran for their lives.<br /><br />Exiting the flaming building they ran into the back of Smythe-Forbes and Sebastian, who were standing in the alley outside with a look of shock on their faces. There was an explosive noise, and they then noticed the ruddy-faced man standing before them who had just fired his elephant gun over their heads, a look of anger on his face.<br /><br />They had escaped the fire at the Nairobi Star, but had run into yet more trouble!<br /><br /><hr /><br />Here's the embed of the session. Note that there is a brief moment of racist language, but it is in the context of being said by a racist NPC. Apologies if anyone is offended.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6rCLBCYFhNE" width="560"></iframe></div>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-40830397770133782212014-08-04T20:08:00.000+01:002014-08-04T20:09:53.319+01:00Masks of Nyarlathotep Campaign Journal: Chapter 33 - The Fires of AfricaThe investigators took the time on the journey from Sydney to Mombasa to rest, recuperate and study their notes following their narrow escape from the City of Pnakotus <a href="http://farbeyondmycapacity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/masks-of-nyarlathotep-campaign-journal_17.html">last session</a>. Travelling on a Baffrey's line steamship they spent a week in Singapore due to some technical issues with the ship, then headed on to Bombay and finally arrived in Mombasa.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qDY_7hmiFYo/U99EOfXUwvI/AAAAAAAAAes/OXgVMM2szfE/s1600/mombasaguide.jpg" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="262" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mombasa travel guide, 1925</td></tr></tbody></table>This city was Arabic in nature, with those famous narrow and redolent alleys, elaborately decorated balconies, mosques and minarets, muezzins and veils. The famous merchant city and former slave-trading centre was ancient, only a few centuries newer than Cairo itself. About 30,000 lived there on the edge of the Indian Ocean, combining bits and slabs of Arabic, African, Indian, Portuguese, and British ways of life. Pre-colonial traders built Mombasa on a coral island just offshore, for purposes of defence. A railway causeway and foot-traffic ferries connected island and continent.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />As the ship docked at Kilindini harbour the docks were full of life; crowds, merchants and porters yelling for business. The investigators found a porter for their luggage and followed him up the hill and through the narrow passageways of the city to the Hotel Cecil. Once there they decided to book four rooms for a whole month, and the extravagant expenditure attracted the attention of the proprietor, Mr Charles Jordan, who offered to help them in any way he could.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pGXmkT5eMb4/U99IkgIizRI/AAAAAAAAAfA/eveEu9j_HhI/s1600/Photo---Kenya-Mombasa-Stree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pGXmkT5eMb4/U99IkgIizRI/AAAAAAAAAfA/eveEu9j_HhI/s1600/Photo---Kenya-Mombasa-Stree.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mombasa street, 1920s</td></tr></tbody></table>Through the hotel the group arranged a local guide, and shortly later an Indian gentleman introducing himself as Thakur Jandu arrived. Jandu lead them back down into the city for lunch, and waited outside the restaurant which was signed "Whites Only". After an excellent meal the group headed back down to Kilindini harbour where they soon identified the warehouse of "Ahja Singh, Exporter Objets D'Art". They wanted to investigate Mr Singh due to him being the sole exporter to Emerson Imports (and via them to JuJu House) in New York City.<br /><br />Hubert went inside the warehouse and found a cool, dark office with a service counter. He rang the bell on the counter and after a moment a short Indian man entered from a back door and smiled in greeting. It transpired that Ahja Singh was currently visiting family in India and was unavailable, but his factotum offered to help. Hubert cooked up a story about locating a missing package for Emerson Imports and the factotum left to locate a ledger (he was unusually convincing, so I let him off a Persuade roll).<br /><br />The ledger revealed several packages had been sent to Emerson Imports, and Hubert's questioning discovered that the sender of the packages had been a Mr Tandoor Singh of Biashara Street in Nairobi.<br /><br />The investigators retired to their hotel to discuss what to do next. After mulling over their leads they decided to pay Under-Secretary to the Governor of Kenya Colony, Mr Royston Whittingdon, a visit, to enquire about the Carlyle Expedition. Their investigation was delayed slightly as Mr Whittingdon was not at Collingswood House for a couple of days, but eventually George and Sebastian were allowed to see him.<br /><br />Whilst they were waiting for their appointment the group did manage to obtain the name of a safari company in Nairobi that might be able to offer help. They resolved to look up Colonel Endicott of the Endicott Game Lodge when they arrived in Nairobi.<br /><br />Two days later, in Whittingdon's impressive colonial office, complete with walls covered in hunting trophies, including a particularly impressive lion head, they learned little. Whittingdon did of course remember the Carlyle expedition, "a terrible business". The only useful information he divulged was the name of a contact in Nairobi, where the Carlyle Expedition based their safari; one Captain Montgomery of the King's African Rifles.<br /><br />It was becoming obvious that they needed to move on, so they employed Mr Jandu to take them down to the railway station and booked tickets for the next day's train to Nairobi. They booked the tickets to take them as far as Lake Victoria, to put off anyone who was watching their progress.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gh1J7qdFz5k/U99RfpyxxUI/AAAAAAAAAfc/NavN6v3PO6k/s1600/Mombasa_railway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gh1J7qdFz5k/U99RfpyxxUI/AAAAAAAAAfc/NavN6v3PO6k/s1600/Mombasa_railway.jpg" height="165" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uganda Railway, Mombasa, 1925</td></tr></tbody></table>The next day dawned hot and bright and the investigators arranged porters to take their luggage to the train. The seating was arranged by class and by colour. The flatcar, directly behind the locomotive and its tender, was left for baggage, light freight, and poor blacks; the third-class car was mostly left for brown peoples—Indians, Arabs, and better-off blacks. Poor whites of no status could ride more cheaply there. The last car, the one furthest from the smoky, smelly engine, was reserved for whites.<br /><br />They boarded the trains first class salon car and found only one other passenger present. This would turn out to be Mr Jacob Slater, a new character played by Rodrigo's player. For now however the man did nothing but nod slightly in greeting.<br /><br />As they seated themselves and waited for the train to leave George noticed a man in the crowd who was paying them particularly close attention. The man was a tall Indian, who wore a turban and had a tightly wrapped dark beard. He stayed watching the carriage that the investigators were in during a slight delay in the train leaving, then disappeared into the crowd as it pulled out of the station.<br /><br />The journey would take between 15 to 18 hours. After climbing out of a narrow coastal belt of open forest and dense brush, the investigators saw the wide plains of Africa. It was still hot, but less humid. Though farms could be found, exotic animal life was much in evidence — elephants, rhinos, giraffes, lions, hyenas, herds of various herbivores, and so on — were all seen at one time or another from the train. The land was gentle and rolling, broken occasionally by precipitous ravines and canyons. Dry grass spread everywhere, interrupted by thorn and baobab trees.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bXv13jhhzIE/U99PuqJ4eDI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/jWgi-E8LJJI/s1600/Photo+-+Kenya+Mt+Kilimanjaro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bXv13jhhzIE/U99PuqJ4eDI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/jWgi-E8LJJI/s1600/Photo+-+Kenya+Mt+Kilimanjaro.jpg" height="271" width="400" /></a></div><br />The line climbed steadily. Halfway along, a great snow-capped peak could be seen to the west: Mt. Kilimanjaro loomed high in the sky, though it was fifty miles distant. As the train wound away to the west or east for a few minutes, glints of more great white mountains could be seen far off to the north.<br /><br />Following a meal served in the dining car they were only an hour out of Nairobi when the trouble began. The first they knew of it was when Hubert and George heard shouting and screaming from further up the train. Then Jacob saw that the walls of the carriage behind Sebastian were starting to buckle, discolour and smoke. He shouted out a warning.<br /><br />Suddenly the wall next to Sebastian's seat burst into flame, a hole opening up revealing the dark African plains racing by! A ball of flame, glinting with odd blue sparks, seemed to leap at Sebastian. George, who was standing next to the bar, quickly grabbed a soda syphon and raced towards the fire.<br /><br />The flame caught Sebastian's arm and his clothing quickly caught alight, badly burning him. He screamed in shock, then slumped to the floor unconscious, his arm still smouldering.<br /><br />Another ball of fire, this one glinting with red sparks, seemed to leap across a table towards George, leaving a trail of burning wood behind it. George's waistband set alight, burning him slightly, as he shouted and backed off, emptying the syphon of water over himself to douse the flames. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IMJNHeUPTj0/U99UH8Tp99I/AAAAAAAAAfo/epXkaQ56f-g/s1600/train_attack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IMJNHeUPTj0/U99UH8Tp99I/AAAAAAAAAfo/epXkaQ56f-g/s1600/train_attack.jpg" height="400" width="286" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All aboard the fireball express!</td></tr></tbody></table>Hubert raced to the nearby water closet and grabbed a jug of water that lay inside before running back to the fire. Jacob was panicking slightly, demanding that the carriage porter fetch some more water with which to fight the fire. The blue sparks meanwhile leaped down to the carriage floor, setting it alight and causing Hubert's shoes and trousers to smoulder.<br /><br />Hubert then took a course of action I was not expecting. He poured the jug of water over himself, ran forwards and grabbed the unconscious Sebastian under the arms. He then dragged both of them outside of the burning hole in the side of the carriage and leaped into the African night, from a train moving at speed!<br /><br />Thanks to a successful Jump roll, along with both characters using a Pulp Point, they survived the leap. The train was beginning to slow down as the driver had seen the fire, and the brakes screeched loudly. Hubert and Sebastian landed roughly, caught by baobab trees and still taking damage, despite the use of Pulp Points. They rolled heavily as the gradually slowing train raced by leaving trails of fire in the night air.<br /><br />Inside the train the porter was trying to help, running forwards and throwing a small bucket of water over one of the fires. The fire sputtered, the red sparks dying down briefly before flaring up again. The fire was now spreading rapidly through the rear of the carriage as it tore through the night.<br /><br />In response to the porter's actions the fire seemed to leap at him, engulfing him with flame as he screamed. Jacob and George continued to flee towards the front of the carriage, the fires spreading towards them. They raced out of the salon car and entered the dining carriage.<br /><br />Jacob stopped and tried to uncouple the flaming carriage, but was unable to unhook the heavy chains that linked them together. George was screaming out warnings to the porters in the dining car, and between them they gathered up the pitchers of water that stood on the dining tables and the fire buckets filled with sand that stood nearby. Behind them the blue and red sparks appeared to jump the gap between the carriages, landing on the rear of the dining car and setting the wooden floor alight.<br /><br />Between them George and the porters finally managed to dampen the sparks and put the fires out, but the first class salon car was completely gutted by the fire that was still raging. The train finally slowed to a stop and the other passengers disembarked and ran to help. Someone pulled a hose from the locomotive's tender.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XK9DSQwjCG0/U994lCq5iGI/AAAAAAAAAf4/MlJrbF6kF4U/s1600/choochoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XK9DSQwjCG0/U994lCq5iGI/AAAAAAAAAf4/MlJrbF6kF4U/s1600/choochoo.jpg" height="400" width="237" /></a></div><br />Everyone turned out to fight the fire. To the fifty other passengers and crew the behaviour of those big sparks was uncanny, but not supernatural. When the fire was eventually put out the conductor of the train sternly chastised the investigators for carelessness with their cigars, and threatened them with damages. They would have to report to Government House when they finally reached Nairobi, despite Jacob standing up for them.<br /><br />It took several hours for the carriages to be uncoupled and order restored, before the train could continue it's journey. Hubert had managed to fashion a makeshift sled from the broken trees where he and Sebastian had landed, and had dragged his companion back to where the train had stopped, rejoining the others.<br /><br />Google came to my aid yet again when George decided he wanted to explore his knowledge of fire spirits in the occult, but he really knew nothing of value. <br /><br />Two hours later, as the sun rose in the eastern sky they finally reached Nairobi, a new colonial town of about 8,000 people. Just beyond it Mount Kinangop rose within the beautiful Aberdare range. Mount Kenya soared a little further north and east. At an elevation of more than 6,000 feet, the region was relatively cool and dry, the views superb, the water adequate, and the soil excellent for farming. But none of that mattered to the exhausted and badly singed investigators.<br /><br />Jacob, George and Hubert went to the Highland Hotel to rest, whilst Sebastian was shipped off to the Highland Breeze Hospital for treatment. They would be contacted later by officials looking for an explanation for the fire. As they made their way forlornly to the hotel Jacob Slater introduced himself properly, shedding the character of an upper class traveller and revealing himself to actually be a working-class East-ender from London. Slater wanted an explanation for what he had seen, a strange life in the fires that nature alone could not explain.<br /><br />They had arrived in Nairobi, badly injured, but with a potential new ally. They would need him as the gears of government began to investigate what had happened, but for now they just wanted to rest.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ZQo7eq_reBo" width="560"></iframe></div>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-66905075606075619432014-07-28T15:19:00.001+01:002014-07-28T15:19:32.222+01:00The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6723348-the-fall" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Fall (The Strain Trilogy, #2)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327934155m/6723348.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6723348-the-fall">The Fall</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/167605.Guillermo_del_Toro">Guillermo del Toro</a><br />My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/956508138">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />I have to admit I struggled a bit with this book. I stopped reading it halfway through and got distracted by some Lovecraft (an easy thing to get distracted by), and I only picked it up again due to boredom (and it didn't compare particularly well to the Lovecraft I had been reading either).<br /><br />The problem is that the story just isn't that interesting, the writing style isn't particularly dynamic and some of the dialogue is extremely hokey. After the interesting twist on the vampire mythology unleashed in the first book this one didn't seem to go anywhere, and took a long time to do it.<br /><br />The book did pick up towards the end, and it was great that by the end of the book things had changed so drastically for all the characters and the world they inhabit. It's the promise of a changed world that has me reading the third book in the series now. If the big changes hadn't happened at the end of The Fall I don't think I would have bothered, though the book does seem like a long set up for the final novel as a consequence.<br /><br />Let's hope that The Night Eternal redeems the series somewhat. <br /><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/26995398-merecraft">View all my reviews</a>Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3663138252372302846.post-56913415398052508122014-07-18T12:56:00.002+01:002014-07-18T12:56:47.711+01:00Camelot Unchained BSC Days in ReviewWell, what a week! If you've followed the various reveals in the Camelot Unchained BSC (Bat Shit Crazy) Days you'll know what I mean. I thought the week overall was a great success. We got to know the team at City State Entertainment much better, the presentations were a lot of fun, and we got to see why CU might just be the most innovative MMO for years.<br /><br />First of all a quick recap on some of the reasons I backed CU during the original Kickstarter. A good deal of the reason was the <a href="http://camelotunchained.com/en/category/foundationalprinciple/?orderby=date&order=asc">15 foundational principles</a> and the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/13861848/camelot-unchained/posts/455338">11 promises</a> they made to their backers. If all they were doing was creating a Dark Age of Camelot 2, with the tri-realm PvP and realm pride that game had it would have been enough. Tie it into a voxel-based, minecraft-style building system where players and guilds can build their own homes, taverns, towns and cities, and then fight over them, and then add the unique crafting economy... well I was pretty much sold.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lJV6VN47xEg/U8kLOmkdmVI/AAAAAAAAAec/YhMtUPJ7pjc/s1600/mdavalanchedrgn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lJV6VN47xEg/U8kLOmkdmVI/AAAAAAAAAec/YhMtUPJ7pjc/s1600/mdavalanchedrgn.jpg" height="241" width="640" /></a></div><br />They seemed to be doing a lot of things right, and a lot of the things I've written about before. Player-based economies, sandbox game play, mechanics to drive communities, horizontal progression, and the like.<br /><br />It also helped that I was a big fan of the lore of Dark Age of Camelot, and the new lore they revealed during the Kickstarter campaign felt even better. I loved the idea of the Veilstorms that might crop up where huge battles and release of magic, changing the world as they raged. I loved the idea of trading settlements instead of auction houses. I loved that they were building an MMO engine from scratch in order to deliver battles containing hundreds of players with no graphics lag and high framerates.<br /><br />Well, what we saw this week has gotten me both infinitely more excited and also a little worried too. The systems they are putting in place are so innovative and off the wall they they really could change the MMO game space and move things forward. They are also crazy enough that there is plenty of risk involved, but CSE made that plain right from the start of the Kickstarter.<br /><br />This week was intended as a series of presentations to the game's backers of the detailed game systems that will be used. The systems are subject to changes depending on the discussions in the backer forums and the results of internal and alpha testing.<br /><br />Here's a brief run-down on the major reveals of the week, along with my thoughts on each.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>The Stats System</u></b></span><br /><br />The stats system for the game forms the basis for all character abilities and progression. It is a complex system that will allow players to create gimped characters, but the developers are giving out all of the information players will need to ensure they can create the characters they want.<br /><br />The game won't utilise a typical experience system, but rather stats will be improved by player actions that are tied into those stats. Want to improve your strength? Then go and do things that require strength. It's a usage-based system.<br /><br />There will be three classes of stats, and no hard caps. Soft caps will ensure that your stats will always improve, though more slowly the higher they get.<br /><ul><li>Primary stats - can be raised or lowered during character creation, and can increase (or even decrease) through use. e.g. Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Will</li><li>Secondary stats - do not change after character creation, and are not increased through use. e.g. Mass, Hearing</li><li>Derived stats - based on primary and secondary stats, and can change. e.g. Vision, Health, Stamina, Encumbrance, Panic Rating</li></ul>The stats themselves do not give bonuses to skills (such as +damage) but rather open up new skills and skill tiers, acting as a gating mechanic. This means more experienced characters have more options and abilities, but are not necessarily that much stronger.<br /><br />Whilst classes have access to all stats, different stats will be more important for different classes.<br /><br />Unlike almost all other MMOs items and equipment will not give any stat bonuses. Again, the stats are a gating mechanic, so to use the best sword you might need a certain level of Strength. This should reduce gear grinding and make things much easier to balance.<br /><br />CSE's summary:<br /><ul><li>The stat system for Camelot Unchained is a nod in the direction of old school PnP games as well as to some early MMORPGs <ul><li>Player’s actions are directly tied to gains in their stats. Swinging a heavy sword will increase your strength</li></ul></li><li>The large number of statistics allows players great control over their character <ul><li>Players who like to min/max will enjoy this system</li></ul></li><li>During character creation, players will be given points to allocate to their stats <ul><li>Players will have meaningful choices to make, as some stats are “locked” at creation and can’t be changed afterward</li></ul></li><li>No stat bonuses to items is a major divergence from current generation of MMORPGs, where this is the “accepted” way of doing things <ul><li>Instead, crafters will be given greater control over almost every aspect of item creation</li><li>Balancing stat bonuses on items has been a long-term issue for any successful MMORPG</li></ul></li></ul>I like the horizontal progression that this system will bring, and that players can pick areas to specialise in by stat allocation and practice. I also like the removal of stat bonuses from items, which in most other MMOs renders equipment useless once new tiers are opened and make it impossible for younger characters to compete.<br /><br />To be honest this system does not seem that BSC. It reminds me a lot of some old pen and paper systems, and it has been tried in a few games before. I like that it ties certain characteristics into a system that players can understand too, such as why some players can see further, carry more, be harder to knock back, etc. The biggest risk as far as I can see is that it will require grinding to increase skills (repeating the same thing over and over), but CSE addressed this issue directly, saying it will not be possible to do this. Tied in with the truly BSC progression system detailed below my fears of ability grinding have been somewhat assuaged.<br /><br />Check the video below for the full explanation of the system.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AeyKqXeQoRE" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>The Magic System</u></b></span><br /><br />Here is where things do start to get a little crazy. Each magic user in the game will have a spellbook (shades of EQ?) into which they inscribe their spells. The spellbook will act like a journal, tracking successful spells, failures, charges, usage etc. Spells in a book ca be shown to other players and shared, and the books might even level up with the players and even become sentient!<br /><br />That isn't the crazy part. The crazy part is that players will not just be handed spells - they will create their own. A rune will be used to create the core spell, then more runes added to change the basic effect of the spell. Different runes will react with each other differently. The final effect of a spell will depend on the type and strength of the runes used to create it. Other components and infusions can also be added to change the final spell's effect even further.<br /><br />It's going to be fun seeing what unexpected effects players come up with by experimenting and combining different runes to make their own spells.<br /><br />Spells will be able to be cast from spellbooks where they have been pre-created, or they can be built live during combat if the mage has the right components to hand. In this case it will be possible to "hold" the spell for a brief period before firing it.<br /><br />Casting too many spells in one area could cause a Veilstorm, which can have an environmental effect on the outcome of a spell as the strange forces of the Veil rage. Other things that can effect spells include the time of day, season, phases of the moon, weather, and so on. I can imagine a guild waiting to make their assault on a keep until the dark of a winter's moon so that their spells are at their most powerful for example.<br /><br />Even that isn't the really crazy part. CSE have come up with the A.I.R. system for magic spells (Action - Interaction - Reaction). The basis of this system is that spells are actual persistent items in the world when they are cast. A fireball for example, actually exists in the game world , and it can react with anything that crosses it's path as it actually travels to the target.<br /><br />Someone could leap in it's way, sacrificing themselves to save the intended target. Someone could shoot a frost ball at it to cancel it's effects.<br /><br />The effects of a spell will change depending on what it interacts with. CSE gave the example of an ice wall being used to defend the gate of a keep. The enemy team could shoot a fireball at it - the fireball would react with the ice wall and create a cloud of scalding steam - or the defending mages could continue to heal and strengthen the ice wall. If the ice wall is turned to steam by the fireball the defenders could use a wind spell to blow the scalding steam back over the attackers, damaging them.<br /><br />All this means that the magic system will effect the field of combat in strategic and changing ways. Skilled teams will be able to react to these changes and turn the tide of battle, combining their spells. The effect of a spell interaction will also depend on whether the spell was cast by a friend or an enemy. Use a wind spell on an enemy fireball and it might deflect it. Use a wind spell on a friend's fireball and it will increase it's speed and damage.<br /><br />CSE's summary:<br /><ul><li>The magic system of Camelot Unchained is unique to the world of MMORPGs, not in its core concept but rather, in the expression of that concept <ul><li>Degree of customisation of spells unmatched in MMORPGs</li><li>Interaction of spells on the battlefield take RvR to the next level</li><li>Use and growth of spellbook adds level of immersion and customisation</li></ul></li><li>Geared to players who want to have more control over their characters, and are willing to spend time experimenting with spells and combinations</li><li>Requires players to spend more time talking, reacting, and working as a team during sieges, not just mashing buttons as fast as they can <ul><li>A.I.R. system is not only fun, but adds more immersion to the world, while increasing player cooperation and Realm bonding</li></ul></li></ul>The video below explains the whole system in more detail.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/20uBoxgrlAI" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>The Combat System</b></u></span><br /><br />CSE have come up with another innovative system for their combat, and has been designed to be challenging and reliant on strategy and tactics. Here's the crazy part; characters don't just get given combat abilities, they create their own.<br /><br />Each combat ability will be build up as the player likes from basic components. Primary components determine the object that the player wants to use (e.g. a sword or bow). Secondary components define how the object will be used (e.g. slash, fire, sweep). Modifiers are optional add-ons to the ability that change the effect (e.g. add range, add area, target a specific body part). Finally modal components change the nature of the ability (e.g. offensive or defensive). Each ability's power will be limited by a value rating, and each additional component will cost a certain number of value points.<br /><br />Created abilities can then be improved through use and practice. Different classes will have access to different components, ensuring clear diversity between the classes and realms.<br /><br />The system goes further. Armour protects only the part of the body that it covers, and attacks will hit different parts of the body, each of which has it's own health value. This seems like a real throwback to some early pen and paper games (Warhammer Fantasy RP anyone?). Hit someones legs to slow them, or their arms to reduce the speed of their weapon swings for example.<br /><br />Projectiles are currently individually tracked in game, meaning, like spells, arrows can be intercepted. Successful defence can result in counter-attacks, and abilities can be interrupted. There will be no global cooldown, though individual abilities may have individual cooldown timers.<br /><br />CSE's summary:<br /><ul><li>The combat system of Camelot Unchained is one of the most unique systems in any MMORPG to date</li><li>Players literally craft all their own abilities: nothing except the core components of an ability are premade. Epitome of “choices matter”</li><li>Four different categories of components, many with their own customization, yields huge number of possible combinations</li><li>Players can create abilities to match their preferred playstyle, not just play the classes that we create for them</li><li>System supports hard interrupts, positionals, reactionaries, and other staples of hard-core combat systems</li></ul>The system is explained in detail in the embedded video below.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6viMpHvex5k" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>The Progression System</b></u></span><br /><br />Now things start to get really crazy.<br /><br />No experience bar. No levels. No reward for every action (you don't kill something and see your experience progress a little). No experience for killing NPCs. No PvE quests. Once more CSE have gone back to old pen and paper games for their inspiration. As detailed in the Stats system above abilities are improved through use, and improving them opens up new ability components.<br /><br />Instead of receiving experience after each action however, CSE said the system is like old pen and paper games, where you would only receive your experience after the night's adventure. Once per day each player will receive a report detailing what they accomplished during the day and what rewards they have been given in terms of improvements to stats, skills and abilities. Everything they have done that day is detailed, such as defending, killing, mining, building, crafting, destroying, and more.<br /><br />As part of the daily report the realm's King may bestow treasure, honours, medals etc. Not only that but the report will detail the latest Realm News, i.e. what your realm achieved during the day, in terms of activity and achievements. Individual characters may be recognised and praised by the King for their deeds.<br /><br />Only the aggregate rewards will be detailed, not the rewards for individual actions.<br /><br />CSE said that this system will have several benefits. It will make it easier to clamp down on exploits (such as Keep Trading) as rewards are not given immediately. It will also remove the focus off personal gain and watching the experience bar, freeing players to go and do what they want instead of worrying about how they are going to obtain that last bit of xp required to level. It will also encourage realm pride, and allow everything the player does to help the realm and everyone in it as a whole.<br /><br />CSE's summary:<br /><ul><li>CSE’s experience point and progression systems are unique among MMORPGs and most, if not all, computer RPGs</li><li>By tying players’ actions directly to their progression in stats, abilities, etc., we add fun and increase immersion</li><li>The aggregation of data over 24 hours allows a very realistic snapshot of what occurred over that period, and advanced data mining brings scaling rewards based on that data</li><li>The progression system rewards players for playing the game as it was intended (no cross-realm Keep Trading), and rewards based not only on individual actions but those of the Realm</li></ul>Whilst I love the overall idea behind this progression system I do have a couple of concerns. First of all it is so different to any other MMO progression system out there that I fear it may put some people off, specifically those players who like to see an immediate reward for their actions. Secondly, CSE stated that the compilation of the daily reports and realm news <i>may</i> require the servers to be taken offline each day. If this is any more than a few minutes I can see it causing issues and exploits. Let's hope they can deliver this system without having to resort to server shutdowns.<br /><br />Check the video below for details and more examples of the system.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HKgySmQg0gM" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>The RvR Map System</b></u></span><br /><br />The madness continues! This is perhaps the most important system of all, as it effects the world we will play in, where we fight our enemies, build our homes and towns, etc.<br /><br />The basic map sees the lands of the One True City of Camelot surrounded by the lands of the three realms of the game (Arthurians, Vikings and Tuatha Dé Danann). Each realm will have a home city and small area that is safe from enemy attack. Here it starts to get difficult to explain...<br /><br />The game is called Camelot Unchained because the recent tearing of the Veil and breaking of the world has literally torn the lands of Camelot apart into islands of various sizes. These islands can be drawn together and fitted back, like a giant puzzle, by the actions of the realms and the setting up of magical Veil stabilisers.<br /><br />This means that the realms have an overall aim, to increase their own lands, obtaining resources. It becomes a land grab PvP game. Gaining control of the islands has several benefits. First of all the islands are drawn together, reducing travel time, and their resources are more easily available. Space for development and building of mines, housing and towns becomes available. The island will begin to take on the appearance of the realm to which they belong.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HO7qKiIq8Qw/U8jgETQWlVI/AAAAAAAAAdw/bQ6rpIsp_q4/s1600/map01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HO7qKiIq8Qw/U8jgETQWlVI/AAAAAAAAAdw/bQ6rpIsp_q4/s1600/map01.jpg" height="166" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h5v_QiRThtM/U8jgEXMT4XI/AAAAAAAAAd0/TJhQbu0Rmfk/s1600/map02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h5v_QiRThtM/U8jgEXMT4XI/AAAAAAAAAd0/TJhQbu0Rmfk/s1600/map02.jpg" height="166" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pJ-P4KZQR2s/U8jgEVtQlMI/AAAAAAAAAd8/I-RwvA_tdxo/s1600/map03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pJ-P4KZQR2s/U8jgEVtQlMI/AAAAAAAAAd8/I-RwvA_tdxo/s1600/map03.jpg" height="166" width="200" /></a></div><br />The map and the game world therefore become dynamic and change depending on how the RvR war is progressing. Veilstorms can also change the layout of the lands.<br /><br />CSE's summary:<br /><ul><li>The RvR map mechanics are still at an early stage of development</li><li>The map is made up of puzzle pieces that can change over time</li><li>Players need to claim ownership over pieces of the land</li><li>Players need to place stabilizers on the land to speed up claim</li><li>Realms benefit from the amount of land claimed by players</li><li>Land that is stabilized will move closer to other land that is owned by the Realm, and try to reassemble itself</li></ul>It's a difficult concept to explain in writing. The video below does a much better job!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OM-3YcE_Vso" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>The Crafting and Economy System</b></u></span><br /><br />Out of all the systems revealed by CSE this week I think this is the craziest. It's the system that I still have the most difficulty getting my head around. Let's have a go at explaining it.<br /><br />Crafters are a specific class in the game. Despite that all characters will have access to some "popcorn" crafting skills, allowing them to make minor repairs to armour, gather some resources, mine in low level mines, or fletch basic arrows for example.<br /><br />Crafters themselves will need resources to make items. They will make their items using a Vox Magus, a magical instrument that looks like a pipe organ! The Vox Magus will create music and light shows depending on what is being crafted, almost make crafting into a performance that others can watch and enjoy. Guilds can own multi-crafter Vox Magus stations allowing several crafters to work together on items.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KVw0q9_AcN0/U8jhnrG5MII/AAAAAAAAAeM/b4HkP2913uo/s1600/craft-organ-fancy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KVw0q9_AcN0/U8jhnrG5MII/AAAAAAAAAeM/b4HkP2913uo/s1600/craft-organ-fancy.jpg" height="400" width="342" /></a></div><br />Crafters will be able to control all aspects of items that they make, building them up from components much as spells and combat abilities are created. They will be able to draw blueprints for these items so that others can also make them, and mark items they have created. Additionally crafters will be able to infuse the items they make with parts of their own (or captured enemy) souls, to make very powerful items. Someone using a soul-crafted item in battle will be highlighted to the player whose soul shard was used. Imagine fighting a siege and seeing an enemy wielding a sword that contains some of your soul taken from a shard dropped when you were defeated once. You could actually go and get it back!<br /><br />Equipment will not drop from NPCs in the game at all. Everything that the players use will be made by crafters (other than very basic stuff which may be available in the cities). There will be no auction houses, but crafters will be able to set up shops in the city or in claimed territory.<br /><br />CSE's summary:<br /><ul><li>The crafting system of Camelot Unchained will cater to both hard-core and casual crafters</li><li>The Vox Magus takes the familiar MMORPG concept of a forge to an entirely different level</li><li>The use of souls in crafted items, while not a unique twist, is being done in an original manner that will allow master craftsmen to make very rare and powerful items <ul><li>This will allow crafters to charge premium prices for these items, and rarely will two of these items be the same</li></ul></li></ul>The crafting system is far deeper than the above explains. Have a look at the video below for more information.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/nXIN9Otsihg" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br />It wasn't just basic gameplay mechanics and systems that were revealed this week by CSE. There was also information on some of the basic game engine systems that once again were innovative and a little crazy, but could really improve the way MMOs are built in the future.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>The UI System</b></u></span><br /><br />For the first time the entire UI code for an MMO will be made open source and available to anyone to use under a Mozilla Public License. CSE even provided a <a href="https://github.com/csegames/cu-ui">link</a> to the current code.<br /><br />The UI uses Chromium, meaning it is web-based. Written in TypeScript (a sort of Javascript compiler) it will allow anyone capable of programming in HTML5 or Javascript to create and distribute their own UIs. The web based system also means that game UI information will also be available outside of the game, making it possible to chat to your guild via an IRC client or integrate guild rosters with a webpage.<br /><br />CSE's summary:<br /><ul><li>CSE took the first step in making the MMORPG’s U.I. open-source by a decision to build the U.I. out of Chromium</li><li>Now we are taking it to the next level by placing our U.I. code on GitHub and inviting people to work with it <ul><li>Code is already available on GitHub at <a href="https://github.com/csegames/cu-ui">https://github.com/csegames/cu-ui</a></li><li>Code will be under the Mozilla Public License</li></ul></li><li>U.I. codebase also includes jQuery and underscore.js, and is written in TypeScript</li><li>For discussion with your fellow intrepid modders and hackers, hang out in our backer forums at: <a href="http://citystate.vanillaforums.com/categories/ui-modding-hacking">http://citystate.vanillaforums.com/categories/ui-modding-hacking</a></li><li>Camelot Unchained’s chat system utilizes XMPP, and has been in testing for months with our Internal Testers <ul><li>We will soon open chat system to all Backers</li><li>Chat can be accessed through compatible XMPP apps and programs: Backers who are out-of-the-game can talk to players who are in game and visa-versa <ul><li>No cross-realm chat will be allowed at launch</li></ul></li></ul></li></ul><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>The Patching System</b></u></span><br /><br />A small but important presentation made by the CSE team this week detailed a new patching system that will allow the game to be patched, live, without any downtime. Bugs and patches will be able to be deployed much more quickly than is traditional for an MMO, with greatly reduced downtime. Have a look at the video below for details and some demonstrations.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/W3g8AO6aKjU" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>The Physics System</b></u></span><br /><br />This presentation, whilst not the most BSC of the week, and much more technical based, is probably the one that got me most excited about the direction of the game. This explains the whole reason why the team is building an MMO engine from scratch that can handle hundreds of characters on screen and deal with the emergent gameplay that the physics engine will bring.<br /><br />Not only that, the engine they are building mean that it will be impossible for client hackers to cheat. No more speed cheats, clipping exploits, and the like.<br /><br />It's hard not to get enthused when watching the passion and enjoyment of the developers in this video, and it's hard to watch this and not think Andrew Meggs is some kind of genius. Have a look.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jo4unYGQGB0" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Gameplay Demo</b></u></span><br /><br />At the end of every day of the BSC week CSE showed a stream of the game engine running. What we saw was 200 characters fighting on screen at rock solid 60 frames per second, along with particle effects, huge draw distances and a full day/night cycle.<br /><br />At the end of the week CSE opened up the test client to all alpha testers for one day. As there is an NDA I can't really say whether I played the game or not, or what I might have thought had I done so. I'll just say the whole experience left me very impressed.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>My Thoughts</b></u></span><br /><br />I've never really seen a developer do anything like the BSC Days before outside of a fan convention. It felt like a convention for backers, with all the social commentary, feedback, reveals and socialising you would normally get, except it was open to everyone.<br /><br />Right from the early days of the Kickstarter CSE were clear that they were going to create a niche game that would take risks and do things differently. Their very <a href="http://camelotunchained.com/en/foundational-principle-1-be-willing-to-take-risks-even-if-fortune-doesnt-always-favor-the-bold/">first foundational principle</a> discussed this very thing. Boy, did they deliver.<br /><br />CSE have really thought outside the box with their approaches to basic game systems like progression, combat, magic and crafting. It's exciting to see, and if they can deliver the game is going to turn out to be something truly special. They have also taken the same approach to the fundamental mechanical systems underlying the game, such as building their own engine, the physics system, ui, and patching systems.<br /><br />I do have a few worries. Some of the ideas are so crazy that I can see them turning people away or simply not working in practice. Certainly this game will not appeal to everyone. I do have some specific worries about some of the systems, like the potential ability grind or the realm notes downtime. <br /><br />However I have never seen a development team so eager and happy to admit mistakes, discuss core features and decisions with their followers and react to changing situations. Having followed them on the founders forums for some time now I can say that I find their honesty and openness very refreshing.<br /><br />In <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pub/andrew-meggs/2/708/783">Andrew Meggs</a> and the rest of the team they seem to have passionate and smart people trying to make all of this happen. I hope they can, because if they do Camelot Unchained could change the way modern MMOs are designed. The crazy ideas and determination to do things differently and better make following Camelot Unchained very exciting.Merecraft UKhttps://plus.google.com/101378503816962978647noreply@blogger.com2