Going Away

Well Marcos has left. He called me the other evening saying he had his money and was on his way to the terminal. He also said he would email me in a few days to let me know how things are going. I'm sure he'll take the opportunity to remind me of that particular street vendor who sold the tastiest chicken known to man. As long as he doesn't get run over by a motorcycle, step on a dead rat, get sunburn, or pick up a cursed bracelet, or ride a suicidal elephant like he did last time we were in Thailand, I'm sure he'll do fine.

Another fateful phone call informed me that there are have been too many jurors picked for 12th January, so I had to choice of being excused or having my duty put back. I asked for it to be put back since this is such an important service. So I can expect it to be around April instead of January. I suppose this gives me even more time to get worked up about it and simultaneously more time to prepare.

I've been working on this weekend's Dark Heresy adventure. What was originally a filler episode to link plot A with plot B has now become something much more intriguing and involving for the players. Almost by accident. Having my campaign play out every weekend instead of every other weekend makes for a much more fluid approach to the game itself. It's almost a shame we don't have more players; but with only two Acolytes, I think we'll have something of a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid thing going on. That or Laurel and Hardy. For example, if there were three or four Acolytes instead of just two, they might have felt more inclined to go in guns blazing when facing last week's assignment; then the motorcycle chase might not have gone ahead. After all, you can't fit three or four people on one bike... well, not without making a spectacle of yourselves and then promptly falling off.

There's a small gathering of staff from my workplace going out for an Indian meal in Battle tonight. It is to celebrate two teachers' new jobs and I'm pleased to say I've been invited along. I'm not entirely sure why because I don't get many opportunities to speak with members of staff other than John, who I share an office with. Hopefully the few occasions on which I've managed to speak to the people in question have been times when I managed to make a good impression. The lack of social interaction that comes with my duties, and the generation gap between myself and most of the other members of staff makes it difficult to form any sort of friendships here; but I am trying. Tonight should be an opportunity to build on those impressions, and to forge new relationships.

I'm just trying to think of a way to avoid going in my biker gear.

Big Plans Fulfilled

First off, Dark Heresy went really well. Even better than I had thought it would.

Nick and Sam were engaged, focussed, and thoughtful. There was practically no messing about and both of them stayed in-character flawlessly. I was able to describe what was going on, the setting and the characters, without feeling rushed or pressured to get to the action. When the action came along, both players had a strong sense of self preservation for their characters.

I gave long, detailed descriptions of the hab domes, space port hangars, and manufactorum levels of the hive that Sam and Nick were taking their characters through. Sam isn't quite as familiar with 40k as a setting as Nick is, but he picked it up very quickly and as a result the game was pretty smooth.

I feel as though there is still a border between narration and combat in which the players forget the mechanics of one while the other is going on. For example: while the two characters are riding a stolen motorcycle away from the scene of their latest... exploits, Sam's character fails his test to make a sharp turn and slams the bike sideways into a wall. This is brilliant, I think, you can imagine this happening in an action film! Unfortunately, the players quickly became more concerned with their dice rolls rather than their characters and instead of saying anything, Sam's character tries gunning the engine again and Nick's character draws a pistol to shoot at their pursuers.

But then, I'm probably expecting too much of my players. It was the first session and the in-game situation was more than a little hectic. So, I'm not complaining, the game was great fun and, naturally, the players took more than one twist or turn that I did not expect. I am looking forward to next week's session even more now.

Another thing I think I should mention is Marcos' plan to travel the world. I'm the eldest, Sam is the youngest, and Marcos is the in-between. He's been living on his own in a flat in Little Common for a while now. He has been mostly surviving on his disability living allowance, and has now decided to visit Thailand as the starting point of his journey throughout the far east. It's a big thing. Especially for him considering his condition.

Marcos is waiting/hoping for a cancelled flight out to Thailand before Christmas. He already has everything packed up and seems to have a plan of sorts. I think I know the feeling of being trapped in your own home and desperately clawing at a way out. This is a big way out though. Not so much a tunnel to the outside as a tunnel to another country.

In my opinion, it's a very brave thing to do and depending on how much of his plan is fanciful hoping and how much is hard theory, Marcos is either being very brave or very brash. However, the hour-long or so phone call he made to me makes me think he really has been thinking this through properly as he has done some serious research into the places he intends to visit. Time will tell, I suppose, how it goes. Hopefully well enough.

Torrent

It's that time of year again folks. No, not Christmas.


Like a nightmare it oozes forth,
Relentless and unwavering as it makes it dreaded march down one's top lip,
You can huff, shake your head, sniff and snort,
But nothing will stop it.

You open your visor,
Hoping to somehow discourage the passage of that salty liquid creeping forth from your nostrils,
The wind on your face only speeds its descent,
And now you can taste that sickly snot as it runs onto your mouth.

You spit and blow,
Only succeeding in splattering the inside of your helmet,
The mucus makes its way down, down, mercilessly,
Dribbling off your chin. Yuck.


It happens every year, I think. I get a cold and my nose just runs like a tap. Particularly horrible when riding my bike into work, as the above "poem" illustrates.

In my Hands

A very good friend of mine once said

"Notice your surroundings, be aware of the temperature, humidity...
Now go stand outside and bask in the sunlight for a minute. Damn that feels good."

I currently think that the finest thing in the world is the smell of the home-baked scone I have in my hands. I haven't smelled anything so good in a long time.

Out of my Hands

Damn. It's freakin' cold. Normally I don't see frost until I get out of Hastings. It seems like we build our towns and cities in the same way we build ovens; they retain heat marvellously (not so great in the summer). As soon as you get out of Hastings, down that huge hill of the A21, you see frost on all the fields, trees, and hedgerows. Cars coming from beyond Hastings' borders will have frost on the windscreens and bonnets.

But this morning, there were cars from within Hastings that were frosted over. My morning commute has become a battle; a battle against ice and frost for possession of my mirrors. If the ice wins, I can't see anything but a grey smudge; if I win, I can see headlights.

Even with the pin-lock mist-up preventative insert in my visor, my vision is still obscured by my breath clouding the inside of my helmet. And don't get me started with my hands. All I can say is "brrr!"

In other news, KC Computers have rang back advising that I go for a replacement case rather than motherboard. Well hey, that sounds familiar. Did I not say, when I first brought my computer in for you to fix, that the problem was caused by a mini-ATX motherboard being put in a cheap-arse ATX case? Oh no. The engineer said. That won't make a difference. But now you're telling me that a replacement case will fix the problem. How doth I express my exasperation?

I shall call these KC Computer people. I shall call them and I shall ask them what they will do if I have to bring the computer in again after they have replaced the case. Will they waive the service charge on my next bill? Will they cry pardon from the summit of the East Hill? Will they build a statue in the likeness of Ambrillikra the Kankanak'ku tribe's god of Humility?

On the Dark Heresy front, I'm writing up rough notes for use in the game which I am going to try and hold this Sunday. I may have to pick Sam up for Hawkhurst and give him a lift all the way into St. Leonards, and then take him back in the evening as well... that's going to cost me petrol money and if I'm going to keep a close eye on my funds now I'm living on my own then I can't be doing that every week. Sam seems to be under the impression that Mum will give me a lift, but that's her petrol money going down the drain too. Mum has no reason to come to Hastings every week and if Sam won't cough up for insurance money so he can drive Mum's car then I don't know how he's going to make it every week to the game.

That's the only thing holding the game back. I'll try and hold the first session this weekend, and if it goes well then perhaps Sam can try and find a way to attend.

Today's mood: held back. I feel like I want to change something, but that circumstances beyond my control have stopped me from attaining this goal.

Alarmed

My first morning of getting up for work from my new flat didn't quite go as well as planned.

The alarm on my mobile phone just didn't go off. I don't know why; it was fully charged up and I actually set the alarm for earlier than usual because I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get from my new address to work.

Half of that journey time is probably getting to my bike rather than being on the road. Okay that's an exaggeration, but it's a fair distance through the underground car park, on foot, before I reach my bike. It just so happens that I'm somewhere in the middle of more than a hundred spaces! Still, I feel much better knowing that the bike's locked up in a secure area every night. The nocturnal streets of St. Leonards are not the safest.

But since my alarm did not go off, I only had time to gulp down a glass of fruit juice, jam a random assortment of food into my backpack, and dash out to work. It doesn't matter how late I am, I refuse to take stupid risks on my bike and so arrived at work seven minutes late. Not that bad actually.

I'm still settling into the new flat. There are still things to be done. I don't have all the features to complement my cupboards and fridge/freezer. Currently there are only some microwavable meals and some chips. Not ideal but I can only fit so much in my pack at a time. It's quieter in the flat than I thought it would be, except for the communal hall light which buzzes softly all night, but it doesn't keep me awake.

I've taken my computer to KC Computers and stated firmly that only a new motherboard will sort it out. I'm sure they can think of lots of other ways of fixing it, but I don't want a temporary solution.

That relates to Dark Heresy which I can't really start until I get my computer back since I need to type the notes up neatly. I also need to see about getting Internet access at the new place as virtually all my notes are up on GoogleNotebook rather than being hard copies. Sam was asking when I will be running Dark Heresy as he is very keen to start role playing again. Honestly I'd like to do it as soon as physically possible. Perhaps this weekend wouldn't be a bad idea? But there's something else coming up which keeps me held back (see below).

Fantasy Flight Games are running a Dark Heresy adventure contest. I don't know if they've had many submissions, or many good submissions, and I'd like to add my own, only I don't think I'll realistically have enough time to do so with all the moving and shaking that I still have to do.

There's something that I haven't mentioned in my blog yet, despite knowing about it for a short while. It's sort of a big thing, and when I first learned of it I was pretty nervous about it. But there's no way out of it, and a big thing like this brings with it a great deal of responsibility. Jury duty. I've been summoned for jury duty. Yikes.

It begins in the early days of January and could go on for ten working days. Or longer if I get chosen for a big case. If I start anything like Dark Heresy before the jury duty begins, there's probably going to be a big gap between one session and another. However, if I'm not in a protected jury (as far as I know you don't find out what cases you're going to be on until the day you arrive) then I think I come home at the weekends. I'm still not entirely certain though. There's still some paperwork to look through.

It really was the last thing I expected to see in the post.

Always Outta Time

There's always one source you forget to change your address for. Driving license, work, doctor, bank, Amazon, eBay... I'm sure there's going to be more than one that I'll forget. I've still got to check and see if I need to pay for a line to be installed so I can then pay for connection from an ISP so I can access the Internet. On top of that I still need to go over to KC Computers and ask that they actually replace my motherboard this time.

In fact it would have been a better idea to get them to do that this week or last week while I'm not home and therefore don't need the computer because I wouldn't be using it anyway. Never mind.

It turns out that some plumbing under the sink leaks quite a lot. That's being seen to on Thursday. On the bright side I have virtually everything moved in now. There are still some things at the old place; DVDs, a pair of shoes, and my panniers to name the ones I can remember right now.

I have a new desk since the old one was small and wobbly. The new one is not as deep, but it is much wider, hopefully allowing me to shove everything computer-related to one side when I want to draw or write by hand. Which reminds me; I need a longer power lead for the PC. Maybe I can find a longer one to swap for mine? I've also got a canvas wardrobe to replace the wooden one which was too big anyway. And a new, smaller, chest of drawers. My mum had this ultra-comfortable chair she was keeping for me, and I got a beanbag. So all that remains is to find another seat or use my bed to GM from when playing Dungeons and Dragons or Dark Heresy or whatever. There is a furniture shop not two minutes from my front door and they have a very, very cool Roman-looking chair complete with tasselled cushion. I might get it.

Disciples of the Dark Gods was supposed to be released by now. Amazon is stating that it is out of copies already. I wonder if Fantasy Flight Games realise how big Dark Heresy is among RPG players out there? I'm also anticipating Creatures Anathema, but that's not out until January.

Speaking of new releases... Prince of Persia! Damn. A horde of new games and no PC to play them on. Not to mention the fact that I'm reading two novels (Eisenhorn, which is actually three novels, and The Last Wish), re-reading the Dark Heresy rulebook to make sure I haven't missed or confused any rules, The Inquisitor's Handbook for all its expansions on Dark Heresy, and I'm not at home anyway. Plus I have the early stages of the Dark Heresy campaign to finalise before I can get to playing. At some point I also promised a bank robbery d20 Modern game which will probably have to be cancelled or postponed because a) I won't have much time or space to play/plan it in and b) I now realise how much the d20 Modern system sucks. In fact, I think (and this is only my opinion) that d20 Modern is worse than Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 and more of a cash cow than a gaming system. Tacking on vehicle rules to an RPG system used for very basic fantasy-medieval kill-and-loot clear-cut-morality games just doesn't work.

I still haven't completed Fallout 3 or The Witcher (because I've not been able to play them); there's Dead Space and Left 4 Dead to get my adrenaline pumping as zombies come out of the walls/void; I'd like to play Mirror's Edge (when it's out for PC) and Gears of War (Die, ground walkers!), and the things I've been hearing about the PC version of GTA IV make me think that perhaps I should just take all the money out of my savings accounts and quit my day job because soon there won't be enough hours in the day. Not so much the PC version of The Force Unleashed.

And speaking of computer games, Sam and I got up to wave twenty on the Horde mode in Gears of War 2. God. Damn. After wave ten, every enemy has double their normal health. Everything from Tickers and Wretches to Boomers and Grinders. The thorn in our collective side was the pressure from Maulers (boomers equipped with bulletproof shields and explosive flails). It took nine sniper rifle rounds to the head (not all of them were from perfect active reloads) to kill one Grinder. The Maulers are much more dangerous thanks to their shields. Fortunately, once you kill one, Boomer-type Locust cannot kick down boomshields that you place on the ground so as long as you don't fight Theron Guard or Kantos or elite Grenadiers, you're fine. When we finally found a method (involving a lot of flamethrowers and tagged grenades) of dealing with Maulers, we ran into BloodMounts. Without a defensible position and a row of boomshields, these things just tore us apart. Literally.

On the bright side, I've been playing Condemned 2: Bloodshot. Although I still think quite a few connections between the two games are for money making purposes only, I see Bloodshot as a big improvement to the original. The big reveal actually made quite a lot of sense and didn't feel tacked on. A great deal of questions were answered. The greater shame, then, was that there weren't enough unanswered questions at the end of Bloodshot the way there were at the end of Criminal Origins.