In Which the Warlock Raids the Furniture Store for Inspiration...

With the 2011 convention season on the horizon, I’ve been scheming what to run at this year’s cons. My Cthulhian WEGS scenario—WEGS + Cthulhu = WEGSThulhu!—is already locked and loaded, with only minor changes necessary after the playtests I ran at Champion City ComicCon.


I’m tempted to play through one of my already-made “Pendulum” adventures, but I’d rather come up with something new. However, the Pendulum idea hasn’t been at rest. Rather, John—over at World vs. Hero (go check it out!)—got me thinking.

Two of the basic precepts of the Pendulum Method are shifts in time and shifts in place. Certainly, there are other shifts that are available to GMs, but what about shifting the very PCs themselves? What if you could create a game in which the PCs aren’t really fleshed out until the players flesh them out…at the table?

This idea’s still in development, but I think I really could be on to something here. There’d have to be a hard limit as to how many advancements a player could get, as well as a finite system for when characters may advance, but it’d be fantastic to see what the players come up with! It would really provide a unique play experience on both sides of the table, which nothing else really emulates.

What do you think, fellow gamers? Could I be on to something here? Perhaps a playtest at WittCon? Let me know what you think!

What if, rather than before the game, a player-characters were created as the game itself progressed?



The site of the next zombie outbreak?



Bear with me as I change topics. A few months ago, the PlatinumChick and I were off, roaming around the Ikea in West Chester. Ikea’s a store unto itself—rather than wander up and down aisles, you walk through showrooms based around different rooms in a house, each of which display the various furniture options that Ikea sells. The whole store is rife with “secret passages” leading from one section to another, from “Home Office” to “Kitchen and Dining”.

Then, an idea struck me. The idea of a zombified shopping mall is one of the most classic in all of horror, starting with George Romeo’s classic Dawn of the Dead, and even being spoofed in the Dead Rising series of video games. What if, rather than a shopping mall, the invasion started in an Ikea!? The passages between sections would make for glorious gaming, to say nothing of the improvised weapons one could make from kitchen implements, light-duty furniture, and prop displays!



Maybe he's got the Berserk edge?



That’s where the Pendulum kicks in. Using the Savage Worlds system, all of the characters would start with d6s in each of their 5 stats. Rather than having assigned Skills or Edges, the players would be granted the ability to design their own character, based on their actions in the game. Need to get through a locked door that leads to the employee break room? Come up with a reason in-character to do so, and fill in one of your empty Edge slots with the “Thief” Edge! Want to hot-wire a forklift? Maybe you were a heavy construction worker in the past, giving you “McGuyver”!

This idea’s still in development, but I think I really could be on to something here. There’d have to be a hard limit as to how many advancements a player could get, as well as a finite system for when characters may advance, but it’d be fantastic to see what the players come up with! It would really provide a unique play experience on both sides of the table, which nothing else really emulates.


What do you think, fellow gamers? Could I be on to something here? Perhaps a playtest at WittCon? Let me know what you think!

In Which The Warlock Doesn't Geek Out For Once...

This weekend, instead of our usual routine of sitting around Lionel's dining room table and playing Arkham Horror, the PlatinumChick and I headed down for a mini-vacation before she finally begins her Masters' degree program at Wright State. As such, I figured I'd share some of the details here...

We began with something of some hectic errand-running before heading down through Cincinnati towards Newport-on-the-Levee, in Kentucky. I had never been in this region before, aside from a brief field trip to the Reds' Stadium two years prior. I was rather impressed at the set-up to be had down there, as the area felt like an outdoor piazza, complete with street vendors and the like, in amongst the upscale bistros and such.

Jules had been wanting to head to Newport Aquarium for quite a while, so I didn't disappoint--it was our first stop. The aquarium itself, though, was something of a disappointment. A few years ago, when we had spent spring break in Gatlinburg, we had spent an afternoon at the impressive Ripley's Aquarium, which was a pleasant treat--I hadn't expected an exhibition by the infamous "Ripley's Believe it or Not!" to be so well constructed and thought out. However, Newport Aquarium was something of a let-down by comparison. Jules' big thrust for seeing Newport again was their new "Frog Bog" exhibit, which was much vaunted. In reality, though, it was a tiny exhibit aimed mainly at children, with no more actual frogs than your average pet store.

After the aquarium, we walked around the plaza for a while before settling on a Brio Tuscan Grille for dinner. We were not disappointed in any sense. Coming just before the dinner rush, we were seated quickly just off of the main dining room. We began the meal with a pitcher of Mango Bellini--a light, margarita type drink made with prosecco--and an order of Bruschetta Caprese, which was everything one could hope from in a bruschetta: fragrent, delicate, and bursting with flavor.

Jules enjoyed a meal of chicken with a butternut squash risotto, which filled her up nearly to bursting, while I indulged my fetish for pesto. My pasta came in a creamy pesto sauce, coupled with roasted chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh buffalo mozzerella. I often joke that when I've had a good meal--usually at Jeet--I waddle out of the place. I was waddling, coming out of Brio. Stuffed with enough garlic to kill a dozen vampires, we headed north of the city and found ourselves a room.

Today, we slept in at the hotel (in a massive king size bed!), before heading out for two places with a uniqueness all their own: Ikea and Jungle Jim's.

Now, I've been to an Ikea before. When one moved into Moon Township, just outside of Pittsburgh International Airport, my parents jumped on it with both feet. I may not have been able to enjoy it then, but now? My how times have changed.

Jules and I had been searching for a hanging wall-organizer for years, with no luck. Now, we have one, which was apparently dubbed "Luns".

An aside...Ikea amuses me to no end. I'm not sure whether it's a cognate thing or not, but many of their lines of furniture have human-esque names. Billy is a type of bookshelf, while Benno is the accompanying CD/DVD tower--apparently they're friends? However, they don't like Jeff the folding chair, and often talk behind his back to Hermann, the dining room chair.

I wish I was kidding. :D

After roaming around Ikea for the better part of 2-3 hours, we headed to Jungle Jim's to pick up some victuals. Jungle Jim's is like no other supermarket on earth. Specializing in organic foods and world cuisine, we go there to pick up kitchen supplies as well as Indian foodstuffs. This time, in addition to our usual foods, Jules picked up some sashimi grade tuna--looks like she'll be eating well for a while!

So, now we're back home with some new furnishings, quite a bit of relaxation, and some readiness for the coming week. Here's for hoping it'll be a quick one!