In Which The Warlock Gets Down to Brass Tacks...

It's been a busy, busy week, oh devoted followers. Just as the school year is about to kick up again, here I am, taking on even more projects.

I would have announced this earlier, but now that I'm done with it, I can finally talk about it a little: I just finished up editing the last few chapters of El Willy's next WEGS 101 book, "Dice Rule". The book focuses more on the Kreator/Minion Master aspects of the game, and how to keep the action fast and furious around the WEGS table. I can't wait to see it hit print--great stuff in there!

Also, I've been working on putting things together for our weekly Pirates of the Underdark game. Our devoted crew has just finished their first ship-to-ship combat, stealing some spider silk from some duergar shippers, as they're en-route to Gracklestugh with their mysterious passenger, Thulmir Quent. We'll see if they're ready for all the chaos once they get there, though!

And, on top of all this...I'm heading back to Blackfall! Yes, I decided to start updating my Wittenberg-infamous city to 4e, with an introduction to the Cathedral of Erudition--the high church in Blackfall's Inner Ward. I'm about 1500 words in, and more's coming. As for now, though...Here's a preview:

The Cathedral of Erudition

The coupling of various gods within one church has never been an uncommon occurrence. Rather, wherever the humanoid races have gathered and mingled, so too has the worship of their gods, sharing one roof and one holy sanctum. So, too, this occurred within the infamous city of Blackfall, at the Cathedral of Erudition.

The combination of faiths at the Cathedral was comprised of three primary faiths: that of Moradin, Erathis, and Ioun. While shrines to other deities were kept and maintained, the Cathedral proper dealt specifically with those three primary deities. The precepts of the the worship of each faith, as well as the doctrine of their combined worship, will be listed below.

One feature of note, before our discussion continues, is the seemingly odd occurrence of the worship of certain evil deities within the Cathedral of Erudition. More specifically, one evil deity continues to be actively worshipped within the Cathedral: Bane. Bane’s portfolio deals specifically with organized warfare, with battle tactics, and with duty and, as such, is not entirely anathema to the precepts of the Cathedral. While Bane’s more negative aspects (tyranny, brutality) are well-known to the populace, these aspects are typically overlooked when he is worshipped within the sanctity of the Cathedral. Warrior-priests of Bane are typically welcomed at the door, but kindly asked to stow their weapons in the cloak-room.

The three primary deities of the Cathedral of Erudition—Moradin, Erathis, and Ioun—are worshipped as the triumvirate that makes civilization possible. Without the divine intervention of these three, city life would be buried under by the wild forces of nature and the evil forces that lurk without Blackfall’s walls. They are collectively viewed as guardians, as divine muses, and as patrons of the arts and sciences. In deference to this triumvirate, the Cathedral of Erudition is governed primarily by three individuals: one devoted specifically to each of the primary deities.

In Which The Warlock Shows Off...

In my last post, I got to brag a little bit about finally having some space for our game...this time around, I can actually show it off!

The Shelves

No game room is complete without shelving, for all of the geek accessories. The left side of our shelves contains all of our comic books/graphic novels, as well as our D&D 4e stuff. WEGS gets a special place of honor here, too! All hail the Copper Pot!

The Shelves--Part 2

The right side of our shelving contains all our other games--Call of Cthulhu, Dark Heresy, Heroes Unlimited, and more--as well as all of our outdated D&D stuff. Jules wanted to keep her Eberron books after 3e, and I'm a sucker for both Ravenloft and Planescape, so they stayed, of course. We also keep the stereo in here, just in case we need some "mood music" for those epic battle scenes!


Our Game Table!

I've been aching for a huge table for entirely too long. We actually stopped having game at our apartment, in favor of Ken's house, as he had a slightly larger table than us. This one, though, is massive! It's over 6' long, and it's heavy as all get out. Plus, it has a neat stone inlay. I couldn't pass this one up. Yay for Craigslist!

Game Room--Full Shot

And here's our room, in all its glory. We still have to get the fireplace fixed up--we have some money set aside from our house-closing for that--but it's absolutely wonderful as is. The cabinets beside the fireplace house our board games, our minis, and all of our other gaming regalia. Breaking in this room is going to be a pleasure!

In Which The Warlock Takes a Grand New Step...

One of the biggest, most drool-inducing items at this past Origins were put forward by a relatively new company called Geek Chic (Geek Chic's website.)

However, this company doesn't make dice, battle mats, or minis. They make furniture. Geek furniture.

Now, I'm not talking about Captain America-themed bed-frames now. Rather, they make game tables, like the Sultan and the Emissary, and geek-filing system for comics like the Alexandria Codex. Now, they pride themselves on the fact that their products are "heirloom quality" and can withstand the test of time in high style. I'm honestly not sure about that aspect, but the tables were gorgeous, regardless.

No, I'm not getting one of their tables--at least not at this point. But, they did make me realize. For the first time in my life, I have my very own gamer-space. I have an entire room, devoted specifically for playing board-games/rpgs/what-have-you. Yes, I know it's my dining room, but with only Jules and I here...we typically dine in the living room or kitchen. Now, for the first time, I have my own game room.

I started gaming around such a dining table--in 6th grade, my first D&D game was around my old buddy Nathaniel's grandparents' table. I then graduated to my own downstairs basement hideaway, with friends surrounding our ping-pong table on '70s-tastic bar stools.

In college, we ended up finding space wherever we could. Crowded dorm rooms, abandoned study lounges, reserved classrooms after classes had finished...any space could work.

But now? I have it all at my fingertips, and in relative luxury.

Now if I only had a table to finish the ensemble! How much was that Emissary again?

The Warlock's Origins 2009 Wrap-Up

Whew.

That about sums it up.

The last week or so, since Origins, has been an absolute whirlwind both around the table and in "real-life".

The PlatinumChick and I finally closed on the house in Englewood that we've been eyeing up for several months now, which means that our gaming sessions finally have some room to spread out! With luck, we'll have a suitable gaming table by the end of the week to go with our fantastic new game room. Pics, undoubtedly, will be forthcoming.

Mind you, this all occurred not two days after getting back from the Big O, which was a blast in and of itself. It's kind of funny--every year, after getting back, all of the Witt-Weggers lament the fact that it's going to be another year, before we hit up the gaming-nirvana of Origins again.

However, we do have a few massive priorities for next year!

Run Some Games! I know I said this after last year's Origins, but this time everyone's on board. I experienced a little hesitance when I mentioned GMing some events at Origins last time, but the interest is definitely there this time around, particularly for some of the more "esoteric" offerings.

Provide Some Variety! Part of the biggest issue with running some games, is the fact that many of our favorites haven't been offered in any major capacity. The number of Call of Cthulhu games dropped significantly since Rogue Cthulhu didn't show up, and only one Dark Heresy game was offered at all. This is to say nothing of some other Guild favorites like WEGS, Heroes Unlimited, and Ork! Being able to share some of our ready-built offerings could be a ton of fun.

Get the Word Out on WittCon! One of the advantages of having Origins so close-by, is the fact that many gamers commute, using the one-day pass option. That means that they might be fairly responsive to driving out to Springfield, for another day of gaming! Here's for hoping, on this front, but the results have yet to be seen.

Continue to Feast Like Gamer-Kings! If nothing else, the food at Origins has been mind blowing. Tons of great places abound in the Short North, and adding more to our repertoire has got to be a priority for next year. Schmidts', India Oven, and so many other places have yet to be tried, and that's not counting our favorites like the Japanese Steak House! Om nom nom, fellow gamers.