I know I wasn't here long, but I decided to really really condense my blog presence, and imported all my old Blogger posts over to my new place.
I can now be found over on my WordPress site JotJotIota. Come on over for posts about my latest RPG actual play, geeky thoughts and meanderings, as well as more on the Old Crown fantasy setting.
Friday, 18 July 2014
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
Happenings
Well I just missed four goals in the world cup from going to do the washing up. More fool me, right?
So here's the happenings recently:
I've been putting some work in on my setting. Pretty happy with how magic is forming, but I really need to sit down and get the section on the Ascended/gods done. Then I'll be happy that I can move on somewhere.
I've got a few new locations knocking around my head to throw in too. The Greymarkets, and a shady organisation/gang called the Grey, are first on that list.
I'm starting to run a Legend of the 5 Rings 4E game this week. I'm converting the classic Topaz Championship stuff over to get the guys into the setting a bit before throwing other stuff at them. I've not used any rules since 1E, so I'm excited to see how this goes. I managed to convert my old character pretty easily though, so I think I'll get the hang of it easily enough.
Plus I have all kinds of new hooks to add in to the story, even if they're just to tie in to future stuff I want to do.
I've got a group of three Crab samurai, two bushi and a shugenja, so I might have to overhaul the tournament and throw in a bunch more contestants from each clan. Could be tricky, but we'll see how things go.
In Linux news, I haven't changed my distro in weeks. I've not managed that for about six months, so I must be happy now I'm using CrunchBang. I've had a bit of a play around with Conky and the tint2 panel, adding in stats I wanted to see quickly to the former and a launcher to the latter.
So yeah, the next step might be to create a second panel just for the launcher. I'll see how that goes.
I'm looking into getting myself set up with my own website too, though I've not decided which direction to go with that. I'm currently weighing up Wordpress vs Squarespace, but I'm still not sure which I'd use more.
I've a feeling I'll end up trying them both.
Should I buy myself a domain name though? I have a nice one sitting in reserve right now. Hmm.
So here's the happenings recently:
I've been putting some work in on my setting. Pretty happy with how magic is forming, but I really need to sit down and get the section on the Ascended/gods done. Then I'll be happy that I can move on somewhere.
I've got a few new locations knocking around my head to throw in too. The Greymarkets, and a shady organisation/gang called the Grey, are first on that list.
I'm starting to run a Legend of the 5 Rings 4E game this week. I'm converting the classic Topaz Championship stuff over to get the guys into the setting a bit before throwing other stuff at them. I've not used any rules since 1E, so I'm excited to see how this goes. I managed to convert my old character pretty easily though, so I think I'll get the hang of it easily enough.
Plus I have all kinds of new hooks to add in to the story, even if they're just to tie in to future stuff I want to do.
I've got a group of three Crab samurai, two bushi and a shugenja, so I might have to overhaul the tournament and throw in a bunch more contestants from each clan. Could be tricky, but we'll see how things go.
In Linux news, I haven't changed my distro in weeks. I've not managed that for about six months, so I must be happy now I'm using CrunchBang. I've had a bit of a play around with Conky and the tint2 panel, adding in stats I wanted to see quickly to the former and a launcher to the latter.
So yeah, the next step might be to create a second panel just for the launcher. I'll see how that goes.
I'm looking into getting myself set up with my own website too, though I've not decided which direction to go with that. I'm currently weighing up Wordpress vs Squarespace, but I'm still not sure which I'd use more.
I've a feeling I'll end up trying them both.
Should I buy myself a domain name though? I have a nice one sitting in reserve right now. Hmm.
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Some random thoughts on the Old Crown
I was monotonously busy at work (I work in files) and I came up with some interesting ideas for my RPG setting, the Old Crown.
Whilst there'll be more to follow in other posts, I just wanted to wander down my mindtrack openly for a while.
The way magic is set up in the setting, there are three basic ways to access it: intense schooling (Arcanists), divine sponsorship (Oathed), and natural affinity (Witches).
The Arcanists learn to bend the various elemental energies of the world to their will. The Oathed have more powerful abilities, but with a narrower focus, bound to the powers of their patron.
The Witches have melded their soul with a spirit to act as a sort of liaison with the magical world. Truly powerful Witches have bonded with several spirits, or else somehow became aligned with strong spirits that needed them in some way - a spirit of lightning springs immediately to mind as one that would cease to exist almost instantly without bonding with/striking a Witch.
But I was also thinking about Barrowights, the ghosts of those long dead. The soul of a deceased mortal might hang around (at great danger) in order to fulfill some task or other.
The thing about Barrowights is, these things are LONG dead.
Somehow, they've held on to the last echoes of their life, watching whilst everyone they knew died off as well, whatever their reason for continuing slowly disappearing into dust.
And then they go slowly insane.
Eventually, you get something like a mad ghost/banshee/rusalka, and it might attack anything living out of spite or in abject grief.
Or, and here's where my interesting idea comes in, perhaps a Witch might bond with one.
Barrowights don't get about much, as their range of haunting shrinks from 'everyone and everything they knew in life' to 'close to their physical remains' (since everyone/thing they knew is now all gone). Maybe one isn't quite as mad as all the others, and it somehow finds a kindred soul in the mortal Witch.
So, along with flashy spirits of lightning that make the Witch mildly static at all times, and pack one hell of a magic punch, there's little lights and heat from candles or campfires, light and sound from Will O'Wisps, silence and shadow from spirits of the dark, growth and healing from earth or tree spirits, and now some kind of other powers brought from a bond with the long dead.
Could be cool, right?
Whilst there'll be more to follow in other posts, I just wanted to wander down my mindtrack openly for a while.
The way magic is set up in the setting, there are three basic ways to access it: intense schooling (Arcanists), divine sponsorship (Oathed), and natural affinity (Witches).
The Arcanists learn to bend the various elemental energies of the world to their will. The Oathed have more powerful abilities, but with a narrower focus, bound to the powers of their patron.
The Witches have melded their soul with a spirit to act as a sort of liaison with the magical world. Truly powerful Witches have bonded with several spirits, or else somehow became aligned with strong spirits that needed them in some way - a spirit of lightning springs immediately to mind as one that would cease to exist almost instantly without bonding with/striking a Witch.
But I was also thinking about Barrowights, the ghosts of those long dead. The soul of a deceased mortal might hang around (at great danger) in order to fulfill some task or other.
The thing about Barrowights is, these things are LONG dead.
Somehow, they've held on to the last echoes of their life, watching whilst everyone they knew died off as well, whatever their reason for continuing slowly disappearing into dust.
And then they go slowly insane.
Eventually, you get something like a mad ghost/banshee/rusalka, and it might attack anything living out of spite or in abject grief.
Or, and here's where my interesting idea comes in, perhaps a Witch might bond with one.
Barrowights don't get about much, as their range of haunting shrinks from 'everyone and everything they knew in life' to 'close to their physical remains' (since everyone/thing they knew is now all gone). Maybe one isn't quite as mad as all the others, and it somehow finds a kindred soul in the mortal Witch.
So, along with flashy spirits of lightning that make the Witch mildly static at all times, and pack one hell of a magic punch, there's little lights and heat from candles or campfires, light and sound from Will O'Wisps, silence and shadow from spirits of the dark, growth and healing from earth or tree spirits, and now some kind of other powers brought from a bond with the long dead.
Could be cool, right?
Sunday, 15 June 2014
A moment of inspiration
Inspired by my recent move to Crunchbang Linux, I've decided to refresh my blogging completely.
This right here will be a blog about stuff. Lots of stuff.
From messing around in Linux to messing around in RPGs to messing around with creative writing, that's what I'll be throwing down here.
My old blog, Loca Imaginaria, is dead. Long live the new blog!
So, what have I been up to in Crunchbang so far?
I've fiddle my Conky around so that it displays filesystems and space on disks and stuff like that.
I've fiddled by tint2 panel to add a launcher and change the clock to display the date.
I've installed IceDove instead of just the Gmail web interface, which I've never done since signing up to Gmail back in 2004.
And in RPG land?
I've been steadily writing my FATE setting, grappling with a wedge of different things that need to go in, but also trying to work out what's about to get pulled for various reasons.
I've decided I lacked a bit of focus before, and tried to throw up this massive canvas with loads of ideas on it. Now I'm trying to pull down tighter and look just at one major city, what it's like, how it works, and hint at the world around it.
I did an AMA on Reddit a while back, with a few results that'll get added in to fluff. I'm debating doing another on Google+, but that's had limited success in the past.
I've just finished up a radio production course at my local training centre. I know I passed, but I've no idea of the grade yet. I was initially really interested, but it kind of dragged on and left me feeling like it wasn't really for me by the end.
HOWEVER
I can see how the skills would cross to podcasts easily, so I've always got that on my mind now.
We'll see how that all turns out.
Right, that's me signing off for now!
This right here will be a blog about stuff. Lots of stuff.
From messing around in Linux to messing around in RPGs to messing around with creative writing, that's what I'll be throwing down here.
My old blog, Loca Imaginaria, is dead. Long live the new blog!
So, what have I been up to in Crunchbang so far?
I've fiddle my Conky around so that it displays filesystems and space on disks and stuff like that.
I've fiddled by tint2 panel to add a launcher and change the clock to display the date.
I've installed IceDove instead of just the Gmail web interface, which I've never done since signing up to Gmail back in 2004.
And in RPG land?
I've been steadily writing my FATE setting, grappling with a wedge of different things that need to go in, but also trying to work out what's about to get pulled for various reasons.
I've decided I lacked a bit of focus before, and tried to throw up this massive canvas with loads of ideas on it. Now I'm trying to pull down tighter and look just at one major city, what it's like, how it works, and hint at the world around it.
I did an AMA on Reddit a while back, with a few results that'll get added in to fluff. I'm debating doing another on Google+, but that's had limited success in the past.
I've just finished up a radio production course at my local training centre. I know I passed, but I've no idea of the grade yet. I was initially really interested, but it kind of dragged on and left me feeling like it wasn't really for me by the end.
HOWEVER
I can see how the skills would cross to podcasts easily, so I've always got that on my mind now.
We'll see how that all turns out.
Right, that's me signing off for now!
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