Happy Year of the Snake
I hope you and yours have a good one.
Samurai Battles and ConFusion
I had a great time at ConFusion. I met a lot of people, bought a lot of books, and drank some wonderful beer — the best of which was homebrewed by my buddy Mike. All good. Besides seeing old friends I hadn’t seen in years and meeting new people, I got a chance to do some gaming, in particular Zvezda’s Samurai Battles.
It’s a great game and pretty simple to play once you get over the learning curve. The scenario involved me defending a village from marauders. We played using the Art of Tactics rules, which involve writing orders in dry erase marker on laminated cards and then having both sides act simultaneously. Stuff happened. Enemy arquebusers (like those above) walloped my archers, but not enough to prevent my cavalry from doing a flanking movement. Spear guys poked people with spears. Samurai got hewn down. Folks ran out of arrows, and the village was defended. Score one for the good guys.
Alive, Well, And Doing Stuff
I’m back in the USA, visiting family and friends, and trying to pass unscathed through the flu epidemic while travelling. I was in Boston. I’m now in NYC. Thursday I’m visiting Detroit where I’ll be at ConFusion, the sci-fi convention. Then Sunday I’m returning to Boston for four days before flying back to Korea. Jetlag has made me a model citizen awake at 4AM and in bed at 8PM. By the time I’m back in Pohang, I’ll likely have finally got myself on a US schedule, so I can then go through the process all over again. Joys.
The First 2013 Post
Dig…
The big thing: My story “Shadows Under Hexmouth Street” got a nod from Lois Tilton, one of Locus Magazine’s short fiction reviewers, on her Best of the Year post. You can read her post here.
And, if you’re inclined, you can read the story about urban sorcerers in a decaying city here.
I’m always a bit squeamish about linking to good reviews, because I think in general you should ignore reviews and just keep on keeping on with what you want to do. Don’t let other people define who you are and all that, but… well… it wasn’t like I had a great year publishing-wise, so if I’m tooting my own horn, at least it’s a small horn.
Writing-wise, I wrote a shitastic novel, started two others, wrote five new stories, and sold one (so I’ll have something new coming out in 2013). I received 25 rejection letters and wrote something like 300K words this year. It might be more — significantly so. I don’t have an exact figure because two weeks back I spilled a cup of tea on my laptop, and since there are no Mac stores nearby in South Korea, I’ve been using an old netbook while at home, and the netbook doesn’t have the spreadsheet on it where I track all these things because I am on of those people who tracks data “for fun”, having worked at office jobs for too long and chewed too many paint chips as a child.
Not sure how many books I read this year, something like 50+. I track all that junk at Goodreads, along with keeping a list at home, but it’s on that other computer, you know the one that’s an inert metal slab at the moment.
One great thing about 2012 was finding folks to game with here in South Korea. The Vaults of Ur have been a hoot to run. I might branch out and run a more political game this year — but we’ll see, because I’ve got another novel project I’m keen to work on and that’s where I plan on keeping my attention for the next six months.
In 40 hours I board a plane to the USA. While I’m there I hope to have the inert metal slab returned to functioning computer status.
Yesterday I took part in a Polar Bear Plunge. It was great fun, and I recommend it. Seriously. Tomorrow I’ll likely run around like mad trying to do all the junk I put off doing before my trip.
I finished The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao last night. It’s an amazing book. You should read it.
The Stak is Back
The party is watching out for Gray Weirds — who fortunately aren’t so good at climbing stairs. Picture by Dean. Write up by Dennis here.
The Gray Weirds
The Gray Weirds are the remains of certain wizards and sorcerers who sought to escape the ravages of Ur’s Fifth Cataclysm by transforming themselves into gray oozes.
In their inactive state Gray Weirds resemble stone columns supporting a stone mask or bust depicting the person they were before their transformation. When provoked they lose their rigidity and display all the characteristics of gray oozes. In addition to these abilities Gray Weirds may cast each of the following spells once per day: ESP, mirror image, and hold portal.
Gray Weirds tend to lair in the habitats of their former selves – wizards towers, isolated research facilities, etc. Whether or not they retain any aspect of their former personalties remains unknown — to date no one has successfully communicated with a Gray Weird or knows if such a thing is even possible. Gray Weirds often cultivate other slime creatures in their lairs.
An Ur Post
The party started out on the banks of a forgotten subterranean river having come across by rope-pull after their boat sunk. They wandered through many caverns and encountered many strange things. Some of these things tried to kill them, others made them try to kill each other, and a few just gave them the willies so bad they turned tail and ran in the opposite direction. But when the night’s over, where’s the party? Back on the same riverbank. . . doing their laundry. All except the one guy who died trying to wrestle a REDACTED.
What cracks me up is when I make the adventure the day of the game, and it’s just a broad-stroke scribble-map of “Room 4: 3 Ghouls — 50GP in gems hidden under rock” – and then the players end in the dungeon, giving me another week to add stuff so that when we game again it’s “Room 4: 3 ghoul outcasts from the undercity. If the ghouls hear the party approach they move to the opposite side of the pit in Room 5 and leave a trail of gold coins to the trapped sarcophagi in Room 6.”
So players – if the DM says the adventure got made that day, then that’s the time to be bold. Otherwise those wheels within wheels start turning. . .
Artwork by one of my 3rd grade students.
Idle Question
While you were sleeping all the cats on the planet gained the ability to speak. What kind of accent do they have?
My answer is Sinister German. My wife’s answer is Texan.
Greatest Game-Related Thing I Read All Week
“NOTE: You do NOT need a Ph.D. in History to play this game. This game is based around the most superficial knowledge of U.S. history, and the personages therein. If you only know Samuel Adams as a beer, or think LBJ is a political group fighting for the rights of alternative sexual lifestyles, so much the better!”
From “Presidents of the Apocalypse” a gonzo superhero presidents versus radioactive mutants homebrew Dennis has been tinkering with.
This game is genius.
You can be armed with an Eisenhowitzer.
Yesterweird 