In Which The Warlock Leaves Some Plot Hooks Unattended...

Well, friends and neighbors, it's appearing more and more that our The Flood campaign will be racing towards its conclusion by the time that spring rolls around.  Our posse has but 4 glyphs to find in order to bring about the climactic end to this Deadlands excursion.  But, that doesn't mean we're close to being done.

The object of Jayne Cobb's desire...

You see, my Friday night group's been slowly sinking deeper and deeper into a heap of trouble.  Their continual dealings with Big Ears Tam in Shan Fan--specifically his "delicate little lotus blossom," the cybernetic scrapper Mary Ellen Hardigan--have earned them the enmity of pretty much everyone in Kwan Province, the employees of Iron Dragon, and quite a few others.  And, now that the group has agreed to take on a spy mission for Tam, Emperor Norton and Warlord Kwan might just have their revenge for the loss of the Abysmal!

But, that's not all.  After FridayNightWill's possession in Jehosephat Cemetary, the spirit in his head has begun communicating with him in most interesting ways.  With a great roll to scope out the goings-on in Kwan's castle, Jayne Cobb got a great glimpse of Kwan's ancestral daisho...which, after Cobb's vision fuzzed out and the spirit took control, glowed with an intense arcane aura.  Needless to say, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head!

The mysterious Ramirez, perhaps?

And that's not all our good buddy Will saw.  Rather, they caught a glimpse of a truly enigmatic figure.  You see, back when the posse first managed to meet Big Ears Tam, the group ended up being embroiled in a huge underground 'kumite'--a martial arts tournament held by a ruthless dojo.  Mary Ellen, of course, represented Tam.  However, the rest of the group spent quite a bit of time roaming about the stadium, placing bets and scoping out the fighters.  One of them, particularly, stood out...a fencer known on the stadium-sheets as Ramirez.  Ramirez had won several rounds, advancing to the quarter-finals....only to utterly disappear.

Naturally, the mystery man Ramirez made another appearance at Kwan's little soiree, much to everyone's shock.

Yet the mysteries keep piling up.  Who are the Children of Hasteli?  Where's that final glyph, which the party can't seem to find?  Why is there a Hechler & Koch MP5 in Master Antiquarian Wu's shop?  And, what's the deal with Eddie, the totally-unharmed man that the party found in Rock Island Prison?

Needless to say, there's a lot still to come! 

In Which The Warlock Swings Both Ways...

So, in my (admittedly small and feeble) attempts to keep gaming fresh and inspired in the Dayton area, I believe I've finally stumbled across something that might just be a diamond in the massive slag pits of my brain.

And, believe it or not...it came to me in a dream!

While I was editing WEGS: Dice Rule!, one of El Willy's biggest points of discussion was that of adventuring structure. El Willy spends nearly a full chapter discussing the three primary forms of WEGSplay--"Wave" play (the standard, three encounter 'convention' game), "Chapter" play (an extension of Wave play, including three chapters of three waves each), and "Campaign" play (a combination of several chapters into an extended ongoing storyline).

El Willy's discussion is really a fantastic breakdown and review of standard plotting technique. WEGS runs hot and heavy on the "standard fantasy tropes", but does so intentionally, so that the GM/Kreator is free to place his tongue firmly in-cheek and provide fresh, WEGSified views on old classics. That's an advantage for WEGS (and games like it), but what if you want to push a little further?

Plot is typically outlined in a pyramidal format--the traditional dramatic structure of:
Freytag Dramatic Structure Pyramid
--exposition
--rising action
--climax
--falling action
--denouement
Typically, in a gaming adventure, the climax revolves around some "boss fight" against a BBEG, with the falling action and denouement becoming a stereotypical process of "save the princess, loot the bodies."

That's all well and good. But it's time to give it the chop!
"Down--still unceasingly, still inevitably down!

Rather, I've come up with a unique way of telling stories--one that really hasn't come before, especially in terms of adventure writing! Centered primarily around the build-up of tension leading up to a central, pivotal moment, the Pendulum method alternates between times or places, allowing (and even encouraging) players to blend in-character and out-of-character knowledge as they approach their final destinies. As the pendulum descends, who will rise?

I'm only in the early development stages of this idea--I have about 8 pages written, and am currently working on sample adventures that fit the Pendulum formula. Is it a replacement for the standard plot outline? No, absolutely not, but it's a fresh new direction in terms of plot generation and adventure writing that could really change things up, especially in the horror, fantasy, and sci-fi genres!

On a more serious note, though, I'm going to get up on my soapbox for a moment. Much like gamer nation, America as a whole has a tendency to fear change. It took us almost 100 years longer to abolish slavery than any other Western nation. Even then, racial and gender-based discrimination were the norm for over 125 years, until LBJ pushed forward the Civil Rights Act in 1968.

International Coming Out Day

Now, we face a new fight. The gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community fights unceasingly for the rights that millions of others enjoy without thought or consequence: the right to marry, the right to adopt, the right to be free of harassment or persecution for personal beliefs. Each year, the Human Rights Campaign sponsors National Coming Out Day to provide strength for all people, as we fight for equal rights in the community.

If you're among the GLBT community, have strength--we will continue the fight.
If you're a friend of a GLBT person, show us your support--we appreciate it more than you know.
If you stand against us, give a second thought--we only ask for the same rights as others already receive.