Wonderous Stories

Well being a gamer I have finally realized I need to find a game.  Think we have started to be all set up in the house.  Now something feels like it is missing in various places in my families lives.  I have been intentionally staying away from online gaming as it takes too much time for the reward it gives me. I even deleted Svegrund on Khyber server for D&D Online. But a table top game sounds great.

I am been trying to reach out the through http://www.rpggamefind.com/ but have yet to hear anything.   The funny thing for me is you almost have to be looking for a relationship when hunting a gaming group.  I often say i am looking for something Fun but Serious.  Which sort of means i want to role-play but a few jokes are great.  What I am actually trying to get at is I want to play with folks who are not drunk or on drugs.

So with everyone shocked and outraged I should probably explain.  I am a black and white sort of person and endeavor to be so.  I was raised up in the 80's with the just say no to drugs thing going on. For me drugs are out of the question and even being around pot smoke makes me very uncomfortable.  If pot was a pill I may not feel so weird but I don't even want to smell it.  I would say whatever for other folks partaking but not in a game.  I want to be playing with people active and contributing to the whole.  I'm a game snob i guess.

Well it makes hunting for a game a bit of a challenge.  It this point I am even considering games I actively dislike.  If you are in Vancouver Washington and have an extra seat at the table, maybe give me a comment or email at jameslrickel@gmail.com

Not One of Us

I miss my old haunts and I miss my youth.  I miss the dilemmas of driving to boulder creek or finding a gas station along five. I miss memories rising up with roads near my old homes.  I miss poor friends who never showed up when we needed them.  I miss my marginal successes I've turned into triumphs in retelling.  I miss tables where I first said I love you and parking lot fights.  I miss needing to escape because we escaped.  I miss understanding it was all too much but being too tied in to get out.  I miss sitting on the hillside waiting for the world to end, we missed it and now its time to head on home.

Bethorm first impressions

Howdy friend.  I recently received my copy of Bethrom from the kick starter Jeff Dee ran some months ago.  There was trouble with my address after moving from San Jose to Vancouver.  I have been going through the book and looking over rules for the past couple of weeks.   I wanted to give you not a real review but a few general thoughts.

I have always been a person who favored rules over fluff in roleplaying games, until recently.  I think with Bethorm I was actually hoping for more of the Tekumel back ground than I got.  I was wanting to get into MAR Barkers works, but this is book is not a great resource for those not already familiar with The Empire of the Petal throne.  You almost need to dredge up some old books to get the source material to drive stories in Bethorm. 

That this book tackles is a rules system with an extensive set of magic and creature rules that are setting specific.  I say that not as a bad thing, especially for Tekumel, which has seemed to have more system free sources.  This gives a crunchier setting for adventures in that world.

My general impressions are the book is very content heavy per page.  The material is packed on to each page.  This has come with at the expense of organization and layout.  If anything this book reminds me of the original The Mechanoids book from Palladium, in its lay out.  It can bee a bit of a challenge looking for certain information.

All in all I see this as a good book but a very niche one.  The empire of the petal throne is just weird and any buyer needs to know this going into it.  Folks familiar with Tekumel will enjoy it and those of us wishing to get to know Tekumel will understand its a set on a larger undertaking.

Magic Hour

I just want a warm day to sit under a tree with my dog, jasper.  I want to sit there and be warm and loved.  I want to look at clouds turning pink with softened light with no expectations of any more.  I want not to hope or fear some dissolution. Not worry about flesh or oil not feel acid running though my veins telling me to run.  Not want or scheme anymore.  Not even memory to feel the loss or have any imagination of cost.  Only a soft seldom wind and a broken lust for me.  Fur for my fingers a lap for my face love again eternal.

This is my friend Dittmer he is the wizard of meat

I have mentioned my struggles with food here in the Great North West in my previous post.  I had an experience today that clarified to me whats wrong here. 

Often I am shocked at how much cheaper food is here, but they just give you crap.  I paid 7.99 for a turkey sandwich I could have made at home today.  It was on some bland ass bread they tried to pass off as sourdough.  I want a sourdough roll, homes!  I want a kick ass sausage you made from scratch!  I want Dittmers!

I am sure I am not going to the fantastic foodie places Portland has to offer, since I have no idea where to go.  But!  So far nothing has been a place that makes me want to make a special trip.  I think some of this may be the parking situation dictates you walk.  But also nothing here haunts my nights with vision of awesome lunch.  I am never sated with deliciousness!