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April 29, 2004
And this one just has to come up
As things are closing up and people are getting ready to leave...
Sean: I've had two tonight. (talking about actually drinking alcohol)
Spence: So, how much has it lowered your inhibitions?
Sean: Not enough to sleep with you
Posted by amber at 10:04 PM | TrackBack
It's Official
We've got to start a quote book for our face-to-face game.
Comments about making sure the druid takes off his Prince Albert before trying to capture a zorn, the Princess Bride quotes, discussions of "how to make a bottle hot"...
Yeah, I need to start keeping quotes. (Of course, I can start putting them here if I actually THOUGHT about it. Yeah... that almost would work....)
Posted by amber at 09:19 PM | TrackBack
Suggestions?
I want to create a website for my characters. I have plenty of space through Earthlink for it, it's just a matter of sitting down and doing it.
I've been so long out of HTML that the site, most likely, will be lame. But I'm going to do my best for it. At least it will be something that I can come back to on a regular basis, you know?
But at the moment, my brain is mush. So... suggestions? Name, layout, theme, whatever? I know that I'm going to have trumps for all of my Amber characters (or, as many as possible.) I just don't know what ELSE to put up there. I work better with brainstorming so... whatever anyone wants to put up, I'm for.
And, since I'm asking for suggestions, I need suggestions for two casting calls. For Braem, I need someone about 5'6", long, straight black hair, green eyes. Average build. For Maya, I need someone about 5'2", blonde hair, blue eyes. Again, average build, but someone with a bit of fun-loving spunk. She's a fencer, if that helps any.
And, since I'm thinking aloud, I really should do a character write up here for Maya. I don't think I've done her yet and I'd like a place to kind of figure out where I've brought her thus far, between the off camera writing that Paul and I have done and what she went through in SQuAB at ACUS.
Posted by amber at 03:29 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 27, 2004
Character Update
I think everything is away from me for a moment, but here's where we find out.
ACD/RoP
Gabriel
Dealing with Julian - alone - in the infirmary. And not really sure he's liking this plan.
Turn: GM
Amber Throne War
Jennifleur
Trying to decide what to do after the Broadcast, see where she can get info, that kind of thing. Have a few questions and answers out to the GM.
Turn: GM
Broken Lands
It looks like we won't be real-timing the game (thank the heavens!) But, Alan wants an e-mail and a character by Thursday. Which means I need to come up with one. I'm thinking the flirty, greedy, halfling thief that's been bouncing around in my head. I just need to flesh her out a bit more (maybe tomorrow night) and put a name to her, then I'll be ready to e-mail Alan.
Turn: Mine
Dark Shades
Kathy
On Hiatus
DEM
Mirelle
On Hiatus
GA
Mirelle
1. Backstory with Caine - Finished part I of the story, waiting to begin Part II.
Turn: Caine
2. Pre-Ball scene with Corwin - Getting clean together in the tub.
Turn: Corwin
3. At the Ball with Martin - Getting ready to dance the Pavane, waiting for everyone to line up, chatting a little while we wait.
Turn: Mine
Jayla
1. Pre-Ball scene with Pyotr - About to give him her thanks.
Turn: Pyotr
2. At the Ball with Astinius - Waiting for her husband to lead her into place for the Pavane.
Turn: Astinius
Rhianwyn
At the Ball with Luke - Waiting for Luke to lead her into place for the Pavane.
Turn: Luke
Strange Bedfellows
Braem
Finishing up the last of the character creation to have her (soon) ready for prime time.
Threshhold of a Dream
Harmony
Pure Backstory with Gabriel - Just about ready to open up a welcoming bottle of wine.
Turn: Gabriel
Posted by amber at 08:43 PM | TrackBack
Cooperative vs Secrets
The more I play, the more I realize that I'm a much better cooperative gamer than I am one who likes to have my secrets.
Part of the reason for this is that I have a hard time KEEPING secrets. I like to share my character and their background - at least, to a point that would be reasonable for the other characters to know. And, honestly, I'm not good at making secrets for my characters to have. Those hidden bits of knowledge that you work toward with your character that makes everyone go "Ah HA!" My characters are an open book. Probably, I'm sure, because I'm an open book.
Another part is that I'm still new enough to not know how much to share and how much to keep hidden. What shouldn't people know? Unless I play out every little bit of backstory with everyone my character would know, how do I determine what she would have let drop in normal conversation?
Jayla's the closest to a secret-keeping character that I have - she has a mission, she has something that she wants, and she's doing the best she can to not let people know her real purpose. And it seems to be failing. It's no secret that, at the moment, she's my biggest problem character. I'm trying to find ways to bring her about, using this more secretive background, but it's hard.
I'm creating Braem for SB and I want to talk about her, but I'm afraid to say anything at all because I don't know how much I'd be giving away. So I keep silent and feel like a kid on Christmas morning, waiting for Mommy to open up the diamond necklace Daddy bought her one day while we were out, knowing it will please her immensely.
The problem I run into is that most games are NOT cooperative in nature. They rely on secrets. They rely on hiding things. So all I can do is try to get better at it.
Gaming is supposed to expand your abilities, right? Make you a better "actor"? I just have to build on my theater classes from college. Or watch Rich. I still haven't figured out how he pulled off a stoned Connor so well, other than he's got an awesome imagination. I want some of that.
Posted by amber at 12:41 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
April 26, 2004
I'll always have to hide this part of my life
My step-mother is VERY anti-gaming. Incredibly. Apparently, when my brother was busy going psycho in his teens (IIRC, suicidal thoughts, running away to Alaska, those kind of things), he was playing D&D. And these problems, of course, were due to his playing D&D because it was of the devil. (Of course, it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my step-mother, before she got medicated, was a very difficult woman to get along with. Nothing at all.) She will not listen to anything having to do with gaming at all.
Luckily, I found this out from my father before telling her about my new interest in college - RPGs. So I kept it from her while I was in college (one of the major advantages of being two hours away from my parents). I didn't play for awhile, though I had the desire for my dry years. And I actually found the GURPS Basic Set on Amazon and decided I needed to get it. The problem? I was living with my parents at the time. So I had it sent to my brother's house (the self-same brother who had the problems... but he's had a lot of problems, so it's really hard to blame the gaming.) and, when it came, hid it in my bedroom until I moved.
She doesn't know about my PBeM gaming, she doesn't know about my weekly gaming group. When I went to ACUS, I told her I was going to Sci-Fi Con. (She knew I was going because of my visit to Cristi's grave). I've had to tell her that I'm going to "another" convention in June, which is why I won't be able to make it to Florida that month.
Today, I was talking with my father about TBR and my games - he doesn't have the same prejudices as she does - and I mentioned that there was a possibility that she's actually be ok with Amber gaming - because it's diceless, because it could be considered more of a "writing exercise" (at least the PBeMs). But my father and I decided that it's better if I just don't test the waters.
I have a feeling that I'm going to have to come up with a good cover story for all the cons I'm planning on going to over the years. How does a "creative writing convention" sound, anyway?
Posted by amber at 06:42 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 25, 2004
Role-playing rambings
I've got a lot of role-playing things in mind, so bear with me as I hit a bunch of them. It's about to get rambling.
First, the question "Why do I role-play?" What is it about role-playing that draws me so? I think it's a combination of the ability to create combined with the ability to NOT be Amber for awhile. My characters are all bits of alter egos/what I wish I could be for me. Jayla is more seductive than I can ever be, but has a bit of my need; Mirelle more put together, but does have the caring instinct; Rhianwyn has the innocence that I lost, but has my love of beauty; Harmony is more sure of herself, but has the strong love of the arts and is the free spirit that I try to be; Kathy has the magic that I wish I did, but does have a few of my insecurities, despite herself. Jennifleur, Braem and Gabriel don't come into play yet because either they're too new or I didn't create them.
I like the ability to pull away from myself, to lose myself in a world that doesn't require me to pay bills or go to work or clean the apartment. Yes, it's not all relaxing in the sun and eating bon-bons... hell, none of my games can be characterized that way. But my characters have ways to deal with their problems that I don't. It's, in some ways, like losing myself in a movie, but one where I have the ability to direct the plot.
And the creativity... Gods, I used to write all the time - poetry, short stories, letting my imagination run wild. Then something happened - call it life, call it brain short-circuiting, call it focusing on the wrong things that got me down for seven years. But I didn't write any more. A few poems here and there. A little fan fic, but even that... I could never complete. Role-playing, particularly PBeMs, give me that sense of accomplishment. That sense of creating something that's beyond myself. And, one of the things that I've always wanted with movies or stories is to know "What happened next?" And, with many of my games, I can figure that out. Even if the game dies, I can bring my character elsewhere. Maya's like that. She didn't even start out AS a character but as a way to write some very enjoyable smut for the hell of it. And now she's someone that I want to start bringing to cons with regularity. I want to keep weaving her story. I like that chance at creativity.
The next question I've asked/been asked/feel like answering right now is how do I like to play? And that's actually two different questions. One is the medium - and for that, it's PBeM. I prefer the written word because I'm not confident in myself as a face to face role player as I am a writer. In writing, I can take my time to find the best way to say or do something. I don't feel rushed and I don't freeze up. During ACUS, I froze up during (I believe) every game that I played. (It's also one of the reasons I'm not going to run anything by myself for awhile.) Plus, I have a better record of what's happened in PBeMs than I do in face to face gaming. Granted, the drawback is that it isn't as immediate and sometimes I lose the thread of my character (as I spoke about earlier today), but I think the benefits outweigh the detractions for it. At least for me.
The other answer to that question is that I'm a ROLE PLAYER. Not a hack and slasher. I like to advance the story, not get into conflict. I don't care about character sheets - I like to create the background for my character, and I like to know what they can do, but in all honesty, once I create a character sheet, I rarely look at it again. It's just not that important to me.
Making the segue into the next thing on my mind is character creation. I love doing the backstory for characters. I love to find out WHY they are the way they are, what makes them tick. What hooks might be there to exploit. But, as I was saying above, the numbers don't matter to me much. It's actually the hardest part of character creation for me. With Amber, it's because I really don't know the system yet. I don't know what I can and what I can't do. For almost every character I've created, I've gone to either the GM or to Rich or to Paul or to someone else I trust completely and said "Ok, this is what I want for my character. What can I do to make them like that?" They'll suggest numbers or powers or other things to me and I'll say "Ok" and write it down. I guess it's just that, for me, the characters aren't about numbers but about the past and them reacting to the future. Yes, it interests me that my character is a trump artist, but not because it's however many points trump artistry costs (and no, I don't know) but because it's something she'll need to use.
I sometimes wonder if I'm a good role-player. I know that I'm not a bad role-player - none of my GMs have had given me any complaints about my playing, either face to face or PBeM. But not being bad and being good are two different things. I know I have the imagination and the desire. I know that I do my best to have a good turn around time for turns for my PBeM GMs. And I try to be as flexible as possible and help with whatever I can. But are my characters engaging? Am I weaving a good story? Those are the things I need to think about. Not that it will make any difference in whether I do it or not - I love gaming too much to give it up - I've found I love Amber gaming above all else. But I do want to be a better gamer, I do want to learn, so I'll try to deconstruct as best I can on a regular basis, ask for opinions, find out what needs improvement, watch for myself what doesn't seem to be working and see what I can do to change that.
There are a lot of things I'm thankful about for Rich - more than most people realize. But one of the big things, silly as it sounds, is getting me back into role playing. I played GURPS in college. Then I had a 8 year drought because I didn't know anyone who gamed and I had no idea that PBeMs existed. And now I've got the best distraction in the world. Just like I thank Ed for bringing me to the SDMB and the wonderful friends I made there (and, even though he wishes it weren't so, the fact that I met Rich there), Rich's bringing me to Amber gaming is something that I will always thank him for, for much the same reason.
And now that I'm getting maudlin and weepy, I think it's time to end these thoughts and close out this entry.
Posted by amber at 08:32 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Note for LJ Users
LJ has done away with Syndication points for adding syndicated feeds to your LJ. As such, I decided it might be worth it to syndicate Amber's Amber there. For those of you who come here to check when I have something to say, rather than having an RSS reader, and who have an LJ account, you can find Amber's Amber here for your reading pleasure.
For those who don't have my LJ info (even though it's at the top of the blog ;)) and would like to add me to your friend's list (my LJ is kept strictly friends only), my LJ is here.
Posted by amber at 12:09 PM | TrackBack
Hills and valleys
I've been going through my hills and valleys of writing again lately. Yesterday, I looked at the various game mails waiting for me and realized that I had absolutely no desire to write. This morning, I told myself that I HAD to write, but even then... most of my replies were very short.
It's not that I don't enjoy the games because, most of them, I do. (There's only one that I'm not sure of, but it's still early enough in the game that I'm giving it time.) I just feel like I've lost the thread of where my characters are at and what they want. It's almost as though the voices in my head have quieted and I'm not sure where they are going any more.
I'm also losing track of what they ARE, what has been said, other information. I keep saying I'm going to start a website where I can go back and look all of this information up, but I never seem to have the desire.
I seem to be lacking a lot lately. And I just don't know how to get this fire back.
Posted by amber at 12:04 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
April 23, 2004
TBR is coming! TBR is coming!
The beginnings of the game book is up and out there. I'm actually helping to run two games. *nerves* Hopefully, we'll get people that want to play these two games.
Just to give you an idea, though, here's the write up. Getcha thinkin' before the sign up comes.
In Her Shoes
GMs: Amber DiTullio, Rich DiTullio
3-6 players
Another beautiful day at lovely Castle Amber: a place where perfect days are the rule. Today will be perfectly weird. There was a moment of broken cold running through your body. Now you've lost your body, your stuff, and maybe your mind. You better figure out how to get them back before something perfectly irritating becomes permanently weird. There may be a damsel in distress or glass slipper involved.
Characters: All Characters are of Amber descent. Characters are based on 100 points with free pattern and up to 4 points of artifacts. Partial powers ok, advanced powers not allowed. Characters to be e-mailed to the GM before game start. GMs will provide pre-gens without free bonuses for those not submitting characters ahead of convention.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
GMs: Deb Atwood, Paul Weimer, Amber DiTullio
5-7 players (pregenerated)
It is fifty years after Patternfall. The realm is at peace, and life is good. Vialle and Random have a son, and, Martin wanting nothing to do with the throne, the son is now the heir to Amber. Not that Random and Vialle have any plans on retirement.
No, the sticky wicket comes when Random and Vialle's son brings home the woman he has been talking about for months, the woman he would, with their blessing, like to marry. Along with her parent, who has insisted on coming to Amber to meet her opposite numbers...
A social game of mystery, secrets, intrigue and roleplaying.
[Previously run at ACUS 2004.]
(I played this at ACUS and had a blast. So now I get to help run it. It's gonna be a real blast!)
Posted by amber at 03:40 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 21, 2004
Amused Observation
I've watched Rich player Gerard and I've watched him play his son. And I'm slowly figuring out why he's so successful in this character.
Because he's got a lot of Gerard's character traits.
What really got me thinking about it is in the backstory that he's writing with Deb in SoM. There, he plays Andred, son of Gerard. He ordered dinner for the two of them and it took four servers to bring all the food out. He remarked that he got his father's appetite. And it struck me that, while not quite to that extreme, it also fits Rich's appetite as well.
And then there's the joviality. As a general rule, Rich is one of the happiest people I know. He's got a wonderful, exuberant laugh that he never hides it. He's got stories and jokes and just a wonderful jocularity that's refreshing to find.
The biggest drawback to Rich being a Shadow of Gerard, however, is that he DOESN'T have Gerard's strength. Oh well. Maybe Gerard's an ancestor somewhere back there.
Posted by amber at 12:48 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
April 16, 2004
How Do You Learn?
Arref was talking about something he was writing up regarding Rebma and wanted quotes for what people think of Rebman culture. I tried thinking of something to say and realized that, for all that I've been playing with one of Arref's Rebman's and seeing his view of Rebman culture for seven months, I know very little. I know that various pieces of information have been dropped and, while I can make certain views about his CHARACTER known, I can't specifically say anything about Rebma and Rebman culture in general. (Well, maybe something about the ladies dancing together - but of all that's out there, it seems pretty lame.) I then realized that, for all that it was only a... what, three hour slot?... I know more about Arref's Chaos than I do about his Rebma.
The reason? Because I played it.
It made me start thinking about how I learn things in gaming. It seems like the only way to get things to stick in my brain now is to "live" it. If I am in X's Amber, then I KNOW what X's Amber is like. If my character lives through a war, then I know the ins and outs of that war. Mirelle's patternwalk is still so nebulous in my mind (other than the fact that it was utter hell for her - as it should be) because I have yet to write it out.
When I was younger, I learned by reading. I got basic concepts without having to actually write it out or live through something. I could read, remember fairly well, and move on. But as I'm getting older, "living" through something is much more necessary. I sometimes wonder why that is.
It's one of the reasons why backstories are so important to me. I'm finding that it's just as important in the games that I run as it is in the games that I play. I'm finding that I have a better handle on Jinx than I do on anyone else in SoM because I've backstoried so much with Deb that I have a good handle on her. Mirelle becomes more and more real to me - the reason she is who she is and the reasons why she left when she did - because of the backstories I've written with others.
The writing, I think, helps make everything more real to me, more concrete. I can have lovely ideas in my mind but they are very... watery? They don't coalesce until and unless it is somewhere I can look back on it. And, the strange thing is, I find that most of the time, once it's written, I don't HAVE to look back on it. It just sorta sticks.
I expect that I'm not the only one that does this, but it is strange to think about how the way that I learn has changed.
Posted by amber at 01:09 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Well, I did it
I just submitted "In Her Shoes" for TBR. I didn't put any specific times down, figuring Jenn will put it where it needs to be. Hopefully, it won't conflict with either Guess Who, Paul's game (Wizard in the Attic, I think) or Rich's. But... we'll see. Guess Who and Rich's games are musts. Wizard is just something I WANT to play (and, to be fair, I want Paul to play in In Her Shoes, too).
Now I'm getting nervous.
Posted by amber at 11:09 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 15, 2004
Learning Something New
Tonight, we're starting the regular face-to-face session back up. I'm thinking about asking if it can be bi-weekly rather than weekly, just because we don't seem to MEET weekly but... we'll see.
We're starting Spelljammer this week. So I get to learn something new. I've never done Spelljammer before. Heck, before I met Rick, I hadn't done much D&D either (then again, I still am not doing much D&D... this game and the Broken Lands game that Alan will be starting...)
I'm really hoping that a thief in Spelljammer won't be much different than a thief in Ravenloft. She'll still get to steal things, they'll just be... different things.
I'm finding that I'm enjoying the thought of coming back into Mariline again. I didn't realize how much I missed the little minx. It's fun to be sneaky and thieving and have to be forcibly held back by a druid. And it's good to know that, every once in awhile, she makes the right choices. She hasn't quite become the groups Rhiannon yet. And that's probably a good thing. :)
I think I've run out of steam for a little while today on my PBeMs. I've gotten quite a few turns out today - Liz and I have worked quite diligently on one of the threads we're doing together, as have Rich and I for SoM. I've even gotten Theresa started. Tomorrow, I've got to work on getting Ray started. I'm such a schmoe GM.
But I think, since there's only an hour left, and I have a meeting in 15 minutes, that I'll sit back and rest my PBeM muscles for the night. Tomorrow morning, I'll be back in the saddle.
Posted by amber at 03:59 PM | TrackBack
Character Update
It's that time again - time to find out what my characters are up to and where they are.
Let's see if I can remember everyone and all of my threads.
AmberThroneWar - Jenifleur
Sitting at home, having had just had something implanted in her mind/had a memory surface. Right now, she's trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
Turn: GM
ACD/RoP - Gabriel
In the infirmary, headache from hell, trying to figure out what the hell is going on (while Julian is asking questions he really would rather not answer.)
Turn: GM
DarkShades - Kathy
On Hiatus
DEM - Mirelle
On Hiatus
GA - Mirelle
1. Thread with Francesca - Maison has just come in to deliver Francesca's dress after a pretty good heart to heart. Mirelle has only a little while longer to wait until her dress arrives. I think EOT is on it's way.
Turn: Mine
2. Thread with Delwin & Neti - In the temple, debating trying some of the positions in the frieze.
Turn: Delwin or Neti
3. Arranging for the Dance - To talk with Martin tomorrow night, getting the opening for them written. Dance Card complete.
4. Backstory - With Caine - Having morning tea with Caine and Betsy while Betsy loses some of her shyness and begins flirting with the Prince.
Turn: Caine
(I think those are all of my Mirelle threads, but if I'm wrong, someone remind me.)
GA - Jayla
1. Thread with Pyotr - Has just given him his assignments and is now getting ready to have a bite.
Turn: Pyotr
2. Opening ball thread - Entered with her husband, beginning small talk.
Turn: Mine
Dance card complete.
(And I believe that's all I have for Jayla)
GA - Rhianwyn
1. Thread with Caollaidhe - Getting ready for the ball.
Turn: Caol (needs to wait for tomorrow for answer)
Dance card complete
(And Rhi, unless I'm misremembering, only has the one thread at the moment.)
Threshold of a Dream - Harmony
Working out possible backstory hooks for her and Gabriel, hopefully soon to resume game play for her.
Turn: Mine
Those are the only ones that I can think of at the moment - aside from still needing to work with Paul on my SB character. Hrm. It seems like I'm missing something but, for the life of me, I can't remember what.
Posted by amber at 03:04 PM | TrackBack
April 12, 2004
Babbling about various things gaming
Slowly, I'm getting back into the swing of my gaming self. I've finally started Gabriel in RoP. *nervous shudder* And Alan's finally gotten me someone to play with (I hope!) in TD. GA seems to be coming back together for me - I'm comfortable with where everyone is and where they are going. There's still a lot of logging work that I need to do, but mentally, I'm there.
I need to start setting my SoM players together for some backstory. I've got game start threads for three of them, and two more that I need to try to start tonight. I'm enjoying what we have out there at the moment. But it helps that I've got an awesome cast. I'm so lucky to have them. Now if I can just live up to their expectations.
I do need to do a lot more work on Project Omega, though. I'm still not sure who's in and who's not - there've been a couple people I haven't heard from. And I think starting it over/jumping time is going to be the best thing. It's hard to maintain the energy when they're all in their own threads and will be for a long, long time. I need help in generating enough plot there, so I think bringing them to where the plot is supposed to start is the better plan. We'll see how it goes.
I finally sent Arref the write up for "In Her Shoes", so he can give me his two pennies on it. Another case of Nerves Nerves Nerves. I need to come up with a blurb with it before tomorrow, because I promised JennJ that I'd have it for her tomorrow. And I don't want to waste any more time.
I also need to sit down with Deb and Paul and find out what evil ideas are in store for "Guess Who". Which means I really need to be online one of these nights. Scratch that. Online and not hiding. I've been slipping back into that and it's a bad idea.
On the good end of things, it looks like we're going to have a good crowd for the GA dinner. 10 of us, not counting non-GA spouses. I need to update the twiki on this a little more. Maybe tonight. It shouldn't be hard.
I also need to get started on my character for SB. I know nothing about her, other than the fact that she's a Chaosian. Another point where I'm not sure if being completely clueless is a good thing or a bad thing. I'm afraid I'm going to put too much work on Paul. *sigh*
Still on my to do list is typing up my notes for RoP. I can't promise them tonight because we're doing our taxes... but maybe tomorrow night. I really need to set myself hard, fast deadlines. Because if I have wishy-washy deadlines, I end up being wishy-washy about meeting them. I think it's because I'm generally wishy-washy.
Another deadline that I've set is for reserving the room at TBR. Thursday. While my boss is gone. Then I'll have time to do it from work. Though that's still got me nervous. I HATE making phone calls. But, it's got to be done, and I promised I'd do it. So... do it, I shall.
I can make it through all of this. I know I can. And while I'm in it, I'll enjoy it. And when I look back at it from the other side, I'll say, "That wasn't as bad as you thought!" It may not help with the next time, but eventually, I'll believe past experiences rather than my own fears.
Posted by amber at 01:57 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 10, 2004
To Do List Slowly whittling
My forever big To Do list is slowly being cut down. I managed to get most of the game mail I owe out (though I need to e-mail Theresa about something for SoM and get both her and Ray started there, along with getting Project Omega back out the door). I also got most of the logs that I need to get caught up on caught up. The only one missing is Caol/Rhi and that's because I screwed up and deleted what I'd already done. So I'm putting it aside for now.
Still on the list: Typing up the ACUS notes, typing up In Her Shoes to send to Arref, reading the last few Gabe posts so Deb can start me Monday... really, I think that might be it.
Maybe this afternoon, before we got to Rick's parents.
Posted by amber at 10:51 AM | TrackBack
April 08, 2004
Trying to get on the GM wagon
I've been having a hell of a time getting myself able to write my GM posts for Project Omega and SoM. I answer my other mail, but this... I sent the e-mail out to my players for Project Omega about a week plus ago. I haven't gotten anyone caught up. I haven't even decided how I'm going to do this yet - whether I'm going to truncate what's been done right now (the three threads that have been active are at a point where they're not doing much anyway) and go to that night and their plans there or if I'm going to continue bringing people through their day. I need to think about it.
SoM, I haven't gotten people started that I need to start. And Deb and Rich each have e-mails sitting in my box saying "Answer me!" Now, I never promised a daily turn around (I think I said 3x a week) but I feel like I'm being a bad GM because the mail IS sitting in my box. I need to find something that will work.
Part of the problem, I know, is that I'm coming home at night and I'm too exhausted to do real thinking. And the weekends are crazy busy so I haven't had the time to sit down then and do the thinking I need to. So I feel like I'm slipping further behind.
I know I can run these games, if I can just get myself better organized. That's the key. Organization. I just have to find it.
Maybe tonight, when Rich is at Holy Thursday mass, I'll take my time to do some real work. Including sending out an e-mail to my players asking if anyone wants to do a site for either of the games. Contribution points.... :) Seriously, that is something else I need to think about - What I may want to give points out for, or if I just want to bat my eyes nicely and ask if someone will do it regardless of points.
So many things to being a GM. But it's all worth the ability to be evil. Oh yes, it is.
Posted by amber at 07:37 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 07, 2004
Character Update
I haven't done this in awhile, so here goes:
Amber ThroneWar - Jenifleur - Still in the creation process. Points allocated. Waiting on the last of the secondary auctions and the GM.
DarkShades - Kathy - Still in the house, waiting for Alan to decide that he trusts Kathy and Talos to see the girl. Game on Hiatus.
GA - Mirelle - 1. Backstory Caine/Mirelle - In Mirelle's rooms, getting to break their fast. Turn: Caine's
2. Mirelle/Francesca - In MW, being interrupted by one of the ladies of the place. Turn: Mirelle
3. Mirelle/Corwin - In the baths, getting disrobed and Mirelle about to bring up why she's really there. Turn: Mirelle
4. Mirelle/Delwin/Neti - In the temple, curiously looking at the artwork around the temple and building the sexual tension just that much higher. Turn: Mirelle
Jayla - On hold until start of the ball
Rhianwyn - On hold until start of the ball
DEM - Mirelle - Game on Hiatus
ToD - Harmony - Waiting on GM to help me decide what to do with the character now.
Broken Lands - Needing to catch up on what's going on with it.
Face to Face - Mariline - Getting ready to start the Spelljammer adventure.
RoP/ACD - Gabriel - Still unconcious. Turn: Mine.
SB - Need to write up character with Paul.
I have a feeling I'm missing games, but I'm not on the desktop right now and my brain is still fuzzy. Who knows what I'm missing? *sigh*
Posted by amber at 07:38 PM | TrackBack
In Her Shoes
I need to submit In Her Shoes for TBR. Rich and I have worked out the overarcing bits of it and hit a few of the specifics. The problem that we're running into at the moment is that neither one of us know how to write a good blurb. And I want everyone to be in the game so I can't give a long rundown to someone to get a shortened rundown.
We'll figure something out soon enough. We have to.
The other tough thing is going to be the timing for the game. I have a few things I need to work around. Not only am I doing In Her Shoes with Rich, but I'm doing Guess Who's Coming to Dinner with Deb and Paul. I want to play in one of Paul's games. And Rich has his game, A Simple Task, Well Rewarded. I want to play it if it doesn't conflict with anything else (because I may help him playtest it so I'll still have a chance to play if I can't get in for whatever reason.) We'll have to see what happens when the games come out.
Posted by amber at 07:27 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
When You Have Illuminated the Impossible
Since Arref has given me permission, I'm going to do a write up for "Illuminated".
First, this is what the game book said:
Description: Trump anomaly has 'pregens PCs' possessed by strange humors. Players will possess someone else's pregen and play against their 'token' resistance.
Events start at Courts of Chaos celebration with invites from King Merlin. An important social engagement is made mad by our cross-brained Characters.
Roleplay with 'bring-yer-own' plot.
The characters were 100 point characters with a pleasant past tie to Chaos. I brought Marianna, Trump Artist daughter of Bleys, full older (barely) sister to Paul's character, Gavan, Sorcerer. Everything was poured into Trump Artistry and stats (well, except for the 50 points for pattern, but that was given back, so I don't really count it). Her positive experience in Chaos stemmed from having gone in search of her brother when he forgot to check in with her while he was there studying. So she travelled there herself, found him, gave him one hell of a tongue lashing, then proceeded to study Chaosian art. It added a very different flavor to her trump artistry from that point forward.
(And I'm finding, as I'm writing this up, that my notes are much more sparse than I originally thought. So there will probably be a few mistakes and a few gaps, since I don't really remember everything.)
So that's where we stood when the game began. Now...
It started out with four of us - Owen (played by Anne - Trump Artist daughter of ... ), Kerrick (played by David - Warrior grandson of ... ), Gavan and Marianna (and, unfortunately, other than Marianna and Gavan, I don't remember parentage.) The first decision that needed to be made was where we were staying once we got to Chaos. The decision was made that we would be in three different houses - Gavan and Marianna would stay at House Helgram, Owen would stay at House Sawall and Kerrick would stay at House Matrisse.
The next decision to be made was how we were getting there. Marianna and Gavan decided to Trump, while Owen and Kerrick decided to Shadow Walk. The two of them had an adventure or two along the way - including stopping in one Shadow where they did a little gambling and were accosted by some thugs - which, of course, they took care of quite handily. (One of my favorite quotes was Anne saying of Owen "She throws the guy with the vroom vroom vroom.")
While the two of them were traveling in Shadow, Marianna and Gavan were making their arrangements and getting ready for their trip. This included a discussion with their father. He asked them to deliver a couple messages for him while they were in Chaos. (Which, actually, never DID get done... Didn't realize that until after the fact.) They also spent this time deciding on their costumes - the Queen of Hearts and the Jack of Diamonds, including heart and diamond shaped masks and red and white robes.
They jump trumped to the gates where they were met by the guard. Members of House Helgram came to meet them and bring them to the house. As Arref has pointed out, his Chaos is Uber-Polite. They each had their own suites... huge suites... and their own attendants. Very strange for me and even Marianna had a bit of a hard time with it - her impulsive nature usually led her to do something rather than ask for it to be done - even in the midst of painting.
Owen and Kerrick's trip wasn't quite as easy - some of which I've mentioned, but a big portion of which happened at the gate. They, too, were stopped at the gate, but by someone not as accomidating as the ones that met Marianna & Gavan. This guy wouldn't believe they were who they initially claimed, and Owen decided to escalate things. She refused to show them her invitation and told them to contact House Sawall. There was a lot of going back and forth - and Kerrick, who had shown his invitation, was finally released into the custody of House Matrisse. Around that time, IIRC, Mandor showed up for Owen. He asked her for her invitation, which she gladly gave up. He then proceeded to cut himself with it and hand it to the Captain that had been such an ass - putting bad blood between them. Nothing more was said as he lead Owen away.
Then it was time for the Abandonment. Marianna and Gavan got a lot of questions regarding their costumes - which made me realize how difficult it is to describe something that you take for granted in knowing so well. Kerrick went as a very powerful Stallion and Owen, who had left her costume to House Sawall to arrange, was dressed like the pompous ass that had stopped her at the gates.
The abandonment was huge... everyone from Chaos was there. This part gets a little fuzzy for me until Marianna felt what she thought was a Trump contact - except the cold was going throughout her whole body. She tried to get away and find an unoccupied niche somewhere so she could have a bit of privacy to concentrate, but even concentrating didn't really help. She finally pulled out her own Trump to try to block it and instead ended up with Crispy Fried Trump Deck. And at that point, something was in her brain, trying to take her over.
Her first thought was to look for Gavan - he's a sorcerer, he should be able to help. Being as close as they were, they had a... not really telepathy, but strong knowledge of one another, so she was able to head in the right direction at least. While she was looking for him, Owen spotted her and saw that the heart of her costume was beating and heard a really loud "Thum THUM Thum THUM" of a heartbeat. She stopped Marianna and asked her about it. Marianna had no clue what she was talking about. She couldn't hear anything.
This is where things get fuzzy for me again. I think I remember something about Owen reaching out to touch Marianna and Marianna throwing her back. There was something about Marianna gaining control of her muscles again as this... thing... tried to take her over. I think this was about the time that Owen was taken over as well, but I'll be damned if I can remember what took her over.
Oh, and I also think that, somewhere in here, is where Marianna was trying to get naked. She thought that whatever this was was part of her costume or involved with her costume, so getting it off would be a GOOD thing. Unfortunately, when it came off, the pattern of her costume was enameled on her skin. Oops.
Around this time, Gavan was having a conversation with a really cute Chaosian when he realized something was wrong with Marianna. He mentioned that he needed to find his sister - his companion thought they were having a threesome. He never really succeeded in getting her to figure out that wasn't what he wanted. He sent out a spell to locate her while the two of them (because this girl would not be left behind) were running and the thing inside of Marianna turned it into something else and threw it back at him. When it hit him, he switched bodies with his companion and was thrown into a sea of darkness.
I wish I could remember what was happening with Owen right about now, because I know it was important. Something happening with her in here ended up causing her and Gavan to switch places... or maybe it was something that happened to Marianna. I really don't remember. After a brief disagreement between the siblings (with Marianna insisting to Gavan that she did NOT do magic), Marianna decided that she was going to get this bastard out of her mind. Gavan tried talking to her and she gave him the "SHUT UP" finger and went silent and still. This was one of the hardest things for me because I really didn't know what I was doing. I know so little about Amber that it seemed to me to be a big detriment. Admitting it to Arref... Gods, I hated it. But, being the good GM that he is, he got Marianna where she needed to be instead by asking what the end result was that I wanted. And she was successful in pushing the little snarling bastard back down the hole it came out of. She had to keep some attention on it so it wouldn't come back. But most of her attention turned back to her brother.
While all of this was going on, and she was looking, for all the world, paralysed, Gavan was thought to be responsible for it. Three guards came up to talk to him and didn't quite get his explanation. When one tried to attack him magically, he tried to defend by throwing the spell back at him(IIRC) and ended up making the guy's skeleton come out the back of him. So when the other two threw spells at Gavan, they were killing spells. He had to decide what to do then because he didn't want to kill them by bouncing them back and he didn't want to have the spells accidentally hit someone else. So he ended up absorbing them in a shield and dispersing them. The blackness ended up shooting out as far in either direction, forward and back, as his mind could imagine, and, IIRC, as far up as well. Then it all came crashing back at him. Everything was just darker than it had been before. (Oh, and the way he maneuvered was, I believe, through being able to mentally "feel" where other people were. That's the best way I can describe what I understood.) Once he absorbed these spells, the two guys knew they were outclassed and turned tail and ran.
Now it was Gavan's turn to fight the beastie inside of him. I believe the fight was similar to Marianna's but Paul would be better able to tell that. (Or Arref. I expect on of the two of them to come in here.) Once his beastie was gone, it was noticed that Marianna was naked - the only costume NOT allowed at the Abandonment - so she was rushed to be cloaked ASAP. I honestly don't remember if Gavan got his body back or not.
Now, while all this was happening, Kerrick managed to stay away from all the mental beasties by having lots and lots of sex. Publicly. And turning it into performance art. He chose the stallion costume well.
During debriefing, we found out that the beasties were four energies from underShadow. I don't remember what most of them were but mine was Mittee - Calamity. It caused everything around Marianna to go really, really weird.
I notice that there's a lot that I'm forgetting, but the longer I let it go, the more I forget, so I'm going to post this now while I can. Arref, Anne, Paul or David - feel free to come in and post whatever I've missed!
Posted by amber at 07:11 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 06, 2004
TBR is SO going to kick ass
Paul just made his airline reservations for TBR. He's going to be there. This makes me squee like I've rarely squeed before. It gives me another person to (hopefully) play in my game. And it's something I've been trying to get to happen for... oh... 5 months or so now.
Now we just need to get the GA Dinner, Part II set up. Hell, I'll even be the organizer and I'll check with Kris & Tara about having it in our room. It WILL work out.
Gods, this is such a fantastic night.
Next up to work on - Michael and Ginger!
Posted by amber at 08:41 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 01, 2004
My first con game is in the works!
The last couple of nights, Rich and I have been coming up with the scenario for the Con game we'll be running at TBR. And it's gonna be good. I just hope other people will feel the same way. I won't say too much about it, since we haven't decided on the blurb yet, but I will say that the idea came about from what I THOUGHT Arref's game was going to be.
The other thing that I need to make sure to work out is that this game and Guess Who don't run counter so I can help her with it. I also don't want to run counter to any of Paul's games because I'd like him to play in this one.
Rich also has a game in mind to run. So we're really jumping in with both feet. I wonder if I'll be brave enough to do this again come ACUS next year.
Posted by amber at 07:33 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack