Sorcery & Super Science!

Merry Christmas from the Punjab!

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 20:37:01 GMT

Viruses

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:18:43 GMT

Suzi got a virus on her computer today. A brand new one. So new Google didn't recognize the .exe file. After much wrangling, dusting off my DOS and regediting skills, I think I got rid of the bastard. But, I won't know for sure until the 'puters been up and running online for several hours. In a day or two I expect all the antivirus softwares to catch up and I'll run system scans daily until then.

Freeport 4e is done

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:50:11 GMT

Just finished the last NPC. Freeport's now done. It'll sit for about a week and then we'll start the first pass editing.

3 new books for sale at our website

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:10:26 GMT

It's been a busy week at XRP! We've 3 new books for 3 different game systems that are up for sale at our website: One on One Adventures Compendium (Pathfinder), Castoffs and Crossbreeds (4e), and Advanced Adventures #11: The Conqueror Worm (1e).

XRP hardcopy sale

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:06:09 GMT

We're doing a sale on our hardcopy stuff at our Website !

From now until November 1, you can pick up our 4e and True 20 products for 50% off, plus $5 off our Magical Society titles and $3 off our 1 on 1 Adventures and Advanced Adventure titles. Also, you can get $8 off the hardcover version of Malevolent & Benign, our 1e monster book at lulu. Which is $6 off in softcover form at our website.

We usually only run 1 sale a year, so this is probably your only chance to buy at a discount.

Humor

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:42:31 GMT

Update

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:50:06 GMT

Been a while since the last post, so I thought a quick update was due. We continue working on Freeport 4e, Nevermore 4e, 1on1 Adventure #12 for Pathfinder, getting art for the next 3 Advanced Adventures, and we've started the closed Beta of Sorcery & Super Science.

And I'm eating flowers. :) Our CSA has included some nasturtium in our salad mix and they're tasty. Kinda like a sweet, yet peppery, radish.

The Old-School Sampler

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:40:16 GMT

We and the guys from Goblinoid Games, Brave Halfing, and Lamantations of the Flame Princess have put together an Old-School Sampler containing The People of the Pit (Brave Halfling Publishing), Idol of the Orcs (Goblinoid Games), Death Frost Doom (Lamentations of the Flame Princess), and Advanced Adventures #10: The Lost Keys of Solitude (Expeditious Retreat Press).

I think it's pretty cool that we're all willing to work together.

Suzi interviewed by All Games Considered

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:59:17 GMT

All Games Considered interviewed Suzi at GenCon and the interview is now up. Her part begins around 17:06 or so.

V3 finished

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:15:39 GMT

V3's laid-out and ready to go. I've got to convert the sample character and create a few more small things before it's ready to see the light of day. Hopefully that won't take more than a day or two between all the other things we're doing. Basically, we're to the point where the rules are ready to be tested. I've just a bunch of world-building and MOAR! (of everything) to add.

Sorcery & Super Science! version 3 done

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:57:07 GMT

Just finished V3 of S&SS. Additions include highlights (background quirks with bennies), vehicles, and a new whisper track.

More importantly, I've consolidated the formatting of various things, conveying more information in less space. I've added about 4k more works to V3 than V2, but I'm only using 2 more pages (in Word). I like things to be concise.

Now, to produce a new playtest document for V3, along with updating the sample characters, and then e-mails to those already involved in the process. We're nearing the Beta. Only a few more thing I want to check off the list before opening up the doors to a wider playtest group.

Sorcery & Super Science!

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:05:20 GMT

Just started version 3 of S&SS today. I'm aiming towards a manuscript that is less jotted notes for myself and the few brave others who have read them and more of one approaching publishable clarity. In particular, I've cleaned up the section explaining the core mechanic (the floating die system) and I think it is much better than before.

ZZZ Society

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:19:57 GMT

The prior maps are owned by the ZZZ Society. Every Post-Apocalyptic world needs travel guidebooks!

Up at blogspot

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:32:33 GMT

S&SS is now cross-posted at http://josephbrowning.blogspot.com

Sorcery & Super Science! shaping up...

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:33:58 GMT

I've been working on the map and as the digital pen is put to digital paper, the stories become to come. I've always loved making maps and have found that they are truly inspirational.

The Midwestern Badlands have expanded into Ohio and are now joined with the East Coast Badlands, the Gulf Coast Badlands, and the Great Northern Wastes, where the Cree have returned out of time - their Totem Shamans (mutated animals) breaking all known rules through their use of sorcery, once thought only the purview of pure humans. They remember their mistreatment and are now a fierce warrior tribe, wary of outsiders. The confederated states of Ohio (whose leading member is the Grand Duchy of Coshocton, of course) are civilizing factors while the warring states of Qubec fight within and without. The Holy States of California have established a solid grip upon the continent with their Crusader States and The Lucky Duchy is one of the few "civilized" sections in what was once the Southwest US. The Southern Florida Death Cult has recently taken a few of the Bahama islands and their plans to expand southward seem unlikely to fail.

More to come of course, but things are shaping up nicely, IMO.

And there's politics, of course...

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:18:10 GMT

Updated the map with a new water color (think it pops better) and added in the first of probably hundreds of political organizations. The featured one (orange-in the center) is the Midwestern Badlands. This area doesn't even have a nominal leader or head of state. Most of the other states vary from decent to very loose control. For those interested, the Vulture Men of Waukegan "control" the red area along the cost of Lake Michigan. Also note, California must have had the big one at some time, 'cause it's an island now. :)

Welcome Back Western Interior Seaway

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:11:22 GMT

Time's a bit out of wack in Sorcery & Super Science! The return of the Western Interior Seaway means, of course, the return of Cretaceous flora and fauna as well...

Here's the good 'ole USA in SSS. I'll be updating the map as I go along.

Garden update

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:14:15 GMT

We've been out of town for around the past 11 days and our neighbors picked some veggies in exchange for watering (thanks!), but below is the updated accounting of our garden for this year. I'm pleased we've gone over my optimistic goal of $150 and think we may just reach $200 by the end of the year. Counting the weight produced, we've harvested roughly 250 lbs. of food so far. :)

Radishes: 12 oz ($.71) ($0.0625 per oz)
Kale, Green: 19 lbs 4 oz lbs. ($30.8) ($0.1 per oz)
Kale, Red: 18 lbs 8 oz. ($29.60) ($0.1 per oz)
Lettuce (mix): 9 lbs, 10 oz. ($15.4) ($0.1 per oz)
Sweet Peas: 2lbs. 8oz. ($9.02) ($.22 per oz)
Dwarf Peas: 1lbs. 11 oz.; ($3.51) ($0.13 per oz)
Wando Peas: 2lbs, 14 oz ($5.98) ($0.13 per oz)
Oregano: little bit, it's a herb. :) (nada)
Basil: disappointing little bit (nada)
Spinach: 1lbs. 4 oz ($2.60) ($0.13 per oz)
Swiss Chard: 13 lbs. 12 oz ($21.8) ($0.1 per oz)
Blueberries: .4 oz (unknown)
Kohlrabi greens and bulbs: 1 lbs. 15 oz. ($4.65) ($0.15 oz)
Cucumbers: 33 lbs. 2oz. ($33.12) ($0.0625 per oz.)
Green Beans: 35lbs. oz. ($45.49) ($0.08 per oz)
Raspberries: 8lbs 15 oz ($33.75) ($0.25 per oz)
Zucchini 25 lbs. 10 oz ($27.18) ($0.0625 per oz)
Garlic 7 oz (unknown)
Beet greens: 4.5 oz (unknown)
Beet bulbs: 1lbs. 0 oz. (unknown)
Bell Pepper: 2lbs. 6 oz ($2.37) ($0.0625 per oz.)
Potatoes: 23lbs. 2oz ($23.12) ($0.0625 per oz.)
Chinese Squash: 9lbs. 4oz (unknown)
Blackberries: 4.5 oz (unknown)
Tomatillos: 3 lbs. 13 oz ($9.97) ($0.18 per oz)
Tomatoes: 50 lbs. 15 oz ($50.98) ($0.0625 per oz.)
Chinese Long Bean: 15 oz (unknown) ($2.80) ($0.18 per oz)

(Shelled pea total Wando and Dwarf: 1 lbs. 13oz)
(Grand total: $351.95)

Finland recoup

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:49:21 GMT

Thought I should write at least one more post concerning Finland. Our final day was very low-key - we did some shopping, picking up the Kalevala, a Papa Moomin stuffed toy, and The Canine Kalevala. After seeing the works of art in the museum, the humorous illustrations of dogs was just too much for us to pass on. Ironically enough, I expect to read the Canine version before the real version, but that will probably help as I'll have a better idea of the general plot of the longer work and should find it easier to keep track of. After that we had a light dinner, a nice long sleep (about 7 hours) and than Jukka drove us to the airport for our flight out.

The flight back wasn't too bad, but it was worse than the one going. Suzi and I were both looking forward to returning home, but not with the same excitement we had concerning arriving in Finland. Our friend Chris met us at the airport and we had a brief dinner before making the 1.5 hour drive to our wee town of Coshocton, Ohio. We took yesterday off completely (only doing what absolutely had to be done) and are now back into the swing of things.

Finland? Well, it's been a long and strange trip. There are times in one's life that live brightly. Usually brief moments of intense activity or of powerful emotion, or of both. I think Finland is going to be one of those things that we will not forget for our entire lives. The land was beautiful, the hosts gracious and considerate, and the food and fun thoroughly enjoyable. I've always viewed my life as flowing down a river with the scenery on the sides changing as I go. Some places and people stay on the shore for a long time as we continue our journey together, others are but momentary encounters, and everything but Suzi will pass in time. In this I feel that Finland, and the Finns we met, are only brief companions, but ones that I will fondly remember until this river reaches the sea.

Our Finland trip is Finnished.

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:31:22 GMT

We've arrived home safe and sound and tired as all get out. Will post more later about the rest of our trip.

RopeCon Day... what day is this again?

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:32:16 GMT

Yesterday, Suzi and I entered the RopeCon twilight zone - the Con is over, but the Con is not over - the afterparty awaits. We spent most of the day at the hotel recuperating from the Sing Star contest of the the prior evening. We woke too late for breakfast and the hotel doesn't serve lunch so we make a quick walk to the local small grocery store. I love shopping in foreign grocery stores. It's there that you can really peek behind the curtain and get a better understanding of what a culture is like and what it values. Product placement, quality, price and packaging speek a lot about the mind behind those choices.

We quickly ate our sandwiches and then arrived at the afterparty. There was grilling and drinking and saunaing to be had by all and it was a wonderful night. I made 5 trips in and out of sauna and it's a physical experience that's hard to describe if one hasn't felt it. It's euphoric and floaty and all together good. I believe Suzi did the roughly the same as I. She, unlike me, did the naked seaman wrestling and lost badly - luckily I was able to avoid embarrassing myself in front of such a large crowd as I did meet the male champion in the sauna and, although I am a large guy and used to be a power lifter, I'm far past my prime and think it would have been a disappointing match at best. I know that much of it is skill and experience and suspect that strength, though important, isn't as important as balance and leverage - both of which, owing to the half-dozen or so drinks I'd consumed, I was seriously lacking at the time.

At the end of the night we had a firebreathing demonstration by a Finn whose name escapes me, but who (of his own admission) had more courage than common sense. But nothing was burnt and no one was injured so the experience was thoroughly enjoyable. Since he breaths a non-drinkable alcohol he was constantly spitting into the Baltic and some tended to dribble down his chin, making me think of writing an adventure called The Curse of the Dribbling Dragon. I think there's some potential in that mine and it surely sounds interesting. Inspiration comes from many different sources.

After the after party we went to a private party with some of our hosts and ate some tasty chocolate fruit fondue and just talked quietly about different subjects. I greatly enjoyed the low-keyness of the party and Suzi and I trundled off to bed around 4:30am or so. All in all, the after party was the perfect bookend on pretty much a perfect Finland/RopeCon experience.

RopeCon Day 3

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:53:22 GMT

The final day of RopeCon dawned with another filling breakfast and the sense of gaming in the air. Suzi and I traveled to the convention center where she gave her final seminar (about the Silk Road - putting caravans and trade into your game world). That went smashingly and then onward into a shared panel concerning the gaming industry and the future of said industry. It's always nice to hear different perspectives of the industry from those in different areas and the trend of the discussions to move towards the effects technology has upon game creation and publishing is always thought provoking.

Once that seminar was done it was off to the closing ceremonies wherein prizes were given for best costumes, best art, and best scenarios - if I'm translating what looked like was happening properly. The ceremonies were mostly non-english but these things have a similarity regardless what language, I suspect.

With RopeCon official over, we headed back to the hotel for a quick nap and then on to the big meal for all the people who helped pull the convention off. It was at a placed called Manala, which mean underworld or hell, so I can now say that I have been to Hell and the food is good. :) And the food was good - I was a bit of a fool and ate too much of the bread and butter (love the rye breads here) even though Wizzu directly told me that he has to watch himself not to do just that... oh well, I ended up very full and happy regardless. It was nice speaking with him and some of the other organizers of the convention about the convention and it's history, methodology, and ideas concerning the future. They asked for some feedback and I hope I provided something of use, for although I wasn't a Guest of Honor, the impeccable hospitality Suzi and I have experienced would make anyone feel honored. He asked if there was anything that I thought could be improved in relation to the experience of the Guest of Honor and, although I know it may seem a cop-out, I really cannot think of anything that could make the experience of RopeCon and Finland overall better than what has been done. It's been a truly remarkable visit.

Once dinner was done, we returned to the hotel for a small party in Malik's room. As I write, he's already on the way back to Denmark and his family, who he's been missing as before coming to RopeCon he had spent (I believe) about a week or so in Greenland. We drank and talked and played Sing Star til 5am. I learned that Katri will kick your butt in Sing Star so don't even attempt to compete with her. In Sing Star she's like Conan, seeking to crush her enemies, to see them driven before her, and to hear the lamentations of their lowly scores.

All in all another excellent day of our RopeCon experience. Tonight is the after party, so I'm thinking about napping to save my strength.

RopeCon Day 2

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 11:42:56 GMT

Full day Saturday opened with another super buffet breakfast at the hotel - this time, however it was completely crowed and busy and we could tell all the guests had arrived. The first thing we did when entering was check out the 1e games, but they were already completely full, so I didn't get to do any old-school gaming, but so it goes. It's nice to see the interest still there and I hope all the gamers had a great time.

Suzi and I had mostly a free day as her obligations were in the evening so we spent the time demoing games in the board game area. Tried both Bohnanza and Caribbean and they were both fun. The guys running the games check out kindly translated the rules on the second game for us, going IMO, above and beyond their job duties by being so helpful to a pair of non-Finnish speaking guests.

Suzi then jumped into her seminars - one about creating adventures and then a shared seminar called speculative gaming in which the Guest of Honor are provided names and an imaginary game is built around the name based upon questions from the spectators as well as other panel guests. Below is a summation of the various games created in such manner.

The Button in the Center of the Library--a LARP focusing on the sensual nature of librarians wherein the library is an allegory for the body, currently being pitched to Nokia.

Up to Date on all the Vaccinations--a board game centered on the H1N1 virus/Swine Flu containing face masks, latex gloves, hand sanitizer, saline injections and a deck of motivational cards that get people into public places to enact scenes of mass hysteria.

Stealing the Penguin’s Gift--a board game with cards and fractal ice panels (sold separately at the grocery store) that focuses on the resale-ability (rather than the replay-ability) of the game. Player play penguins, there are movement cards and action cards, and the goal of the game is to steal the last egg (eggs can be destroyed by other penguins), ensuring your personal penguin survival by raising the next generation.

We Start with the Principle That the Mirror is Telling the Truth--an educational LARP that focuses on teenagers of Denmark getting an honest reflection of what they look like. An intense exercise, students project physical attributes of what they would like their characters to be, look into various mirrors that bend light to get a close approximation to that goal, followed by a 4 week training session to work towards that goal.

Suzi had a lot of fun with this seminar. :)

After that we joined Timo in his "office" (a van filled with various boozaholic beverages) and the night became both longer and better. We played a fun game of Who's the Ass? by Phalanx Games and it was a blast. I ended up being the Ass, but that's little surprise. We then traipsed off into the dark distance (it being roughly 1am by then) to find the sauna and Suzi and I had our first Finnish sauna. It's hard to describe, but I'll give it a shot. First you disrobe, jump into a warm shower to get completely wet, and then enter the Sauna. The Finns said it wasn't as hot as it should be (the wood-fired sauna had been unattended and gone cold so they had to fire up the electric one) and it was only about 70 Celsius. Which is 158 Fahrenheit to the non-metric readers. The only way I can describe it is that the heat reached up and grabs your throat, growling like Nathan Explosion from Dethklok, "You are in SAUNA!" You then go in and out as needed based upon heat regulation. You sweat profusely, but it is a very cleansing experience. All in all, Suzi and I found it quite enjoyable.

RopeCon Day 1

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 08:51:50 GMT

The days of reckoning are upon us. RopeCon has officially started. We woke up fairly late, had breakfast and Suzi went off alone to the city center to do some more sightseeing. I stayed behind because I'm doing my best impersonation of a lobster right now (sunburned) and I was feeling a bit ill as well. I spent a few hours catching up on more business-related stuff and soon Suzi was back and we headed out for RopeCon in what seems to have been one hell of a storm from what the locals have said. The rain was coming down in sheets - probably a good inch of rain in only a little more than an hour. Luckily, Jukka arrived with an auto and we made the short trip to the convention center in (dry!) style.

Speaking of the convention center, I believe it was designed by an New Englander who had delved too deep into the forbidden texts at Miskatonic University. Surely it only makes sense when viewed as the first step for a summoning ritual for Hastur or perhaps great Cthulu himself. There isn't (as far as I can tell) a single straight hallway or room with 90 degree angles anywhere in the building. I'm embarrassed to say that I managed to get lost on the first floor even if it was only for half a minute.

The convention began with opening ceremonies and the general sense was one of excitement. I've noticed a significant difference between RopeCon and the other conventions that I have been too: no advertising. Most conventions are commercial endeavors with commercial partner, backers, and supporters, but RopeCon is purely a fan-based convention and the walls are bare of the traditional "Buy My Stuff!" posters seen at other conventions. It makes for a significantly different feel. It really is run by fans for fans. I think I may like it better than the traditional style for large conventions in the US. I understand that it takes a lot of effort and organization to remain essentially advertisement-free and appreciate the effort spent by the organziers to maintain the feel that they believe is essential to the RopeCon experience. One you accept sponsorships it's easy to begin compromising for funding and I think the organizers want the convention to continue with the same spirit that started the convention many years ago.

Once the opening was finished we grabbed a quick bite in the cantina and Suzi ran off to do one of her seminars and I hung out drinking a beer with Petri and Annti . Some of Petri's friends joined us and soon I was involved in a long and hilarious discussion of their most recent Larp. These guys are running a Larp wherein they pretend to be Trolls - musician Trolls. The idea is that the Trolls are starting to reveal themselves to modern-day Hesinkians and the fun and havoc that could come of such a thing. The hilarious part is that of the 4 members of the Troll Band, only two could play instruments, but quickly the other two caught up and then one of the guys was writing songs that were actually good. Before they knew it they were a real pretend band. They actually played/gamed at the cantina while we were there and they have booked their first real gig in a nightclub. It's the most hilarious thing I've heard all week and the whole table started cracking up when they said that they were considering trying to get into the Finnish national music contest on TV. The only thing I can think of is Spinal Tap composed of Trolls.

Suzi's seminar ran well, getting a full 25 minutes of questions from the usually reticent Finns. :)

Today we'll have fun trying out games and I may be able to sign up for an old-school game with James Raggi, but we'll have to see how that turns out - schedules have a way of shifting about when you're with a Guest of Honor so I'm staying flexible.

How The Simpsons and Dio make for the end of a great day

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:48:13 GMT

Today (well, technically yesterday) was another great day here in Finland. We met Scott Johnson (of WW) in the morning along with Antti (the current Magic world champ and Finn) and headed out to the sea with Katri and Timo. Timo's family owns a boat and he thought we'd appreciate a day on the water and he was correct. The sea was chilly to me, but the natives said that it was very warm compared with the average temperature. It was a beautiful day and after a few hours of all but Suzi and I partaking in watersports we gathered up some groceries and headed out to an island for a Finnish tradition - grilling.

After a few slow starts on trying to find the right island (take a look at the satellite map of Helsinki/Espoo and you'll see that there are many choices of islands) we found the one that would be best and set up camp. Antti showed us the proper way of splitting of smaller pieces of wood from a larger block and soon the fire was crackling with fallen and driftwood as well. The food was very good and the company better. IMO, the highlight was Scott's brief impersonation of a trailer-trash teenage girl on an American reality TV show. He's a very reserved guy (the Finns suspect he may be Finnish) and his performance was so unexpected and dead-on that it was hilariously funny for several reasons.

After leaving the island we went to see the fortified island just south of Helsinki called Suomenlinna. It was very much fun walking around the fort (finished towards the end of the 18th century I think) looking at the construction, rotating cannon, and the scenery in general. I think one could spend a full day at the fort itself, as there are many individual buildings to investigate if one has the inclination and the time.

Jukka met us as the ferry and we were quickly shuttled to the pre-party where we gathered together those who would join us for dinner - Peteri, Outi, Annti, Malik (the Danish Larper guest of honor that I can't remember if I mentioned before who runs the first Larp school), and Suzi and me. Dinner was at a restaurant called Zoltan. It's a rather unique place with a Finnish hyper-nationalistic kiscthy theme featuring several tractors. It was enjoyable and the food was quite good. After that we headed out to a mixed-drink bar called Shakers, where I ordered two drinks based upon name alone: The Spider Pig and a Holy Diver. They were both excellent and hotelward we went.