The Nightmare Before Smurfmas! - Part I

A Merry Smurfmas and Smurfy Holidays My Smurfs! 

Although there isn't any snow on the ground where I am, it definitely feels like the holidays. New York City has decorations everywhere, with trees large and small covered in all manner of lights. The fancy stores along 5th Avenue have their amazing holiday display windows up and everyone is in a joyous rush to get home to their loved ones.

Now, it's Christmas Day!

Oh what a smurfy time of year! 

What better way to close out the year* than with a Smurfs TRPG one-shot that is also holiday themed? None I dare say! Especially in the case of last weekend's great game of The Smurfs Roleplaying Game, run with a mix of old friends and new, as I got the chance to be 'Storyteller Smurf' for Andy, Brandon, Heather, and Stephen, all formerly part of The Smurfs and The Palace of the Silver Princess. Stephen was the Storyteller for that, as well as for the one-shot The Smurfs and The Bluebird of Happiness. I was very excited [and honestly a bit intimidated] to be on the other side of the table for such a talented Smurfs GM.

Unfortunately, René (Suave Smurf) couldn't join us (we couldn't get a hold of him) but we did have the addition of Julia, a friend of Heather's, who gave us a much needed additional Smurf Girl of Smurfy Grove (since my own Smurfcornflower wouldn't be there). She and Stephen established a very different dynamic between this group and our last big outing even though four of the participants (and three of the Player Characters) were the same. 

Our group of Smurfs was therefore Smurfamaryllis, Apathy Smurf, Brash Smurf, Gamer Smurf, and Smurfhoneysuckle.

Smurfamaryllis (Julia)                  and              Gamer Smurf (Stephen)

Without further adeu, here is Part I of my recap of The Nightmare Before Smurfmas!

Snow is falling, the trees are decorated, and Baker Smurf is making his annual Chocolate and Smurfberry Yule Log Cake - Yes Smurf Boys and Girls, it's almost Smurfmas!** As Smurf Village and Smurfy Grove plan one smurf of a holiday party together, something strange lurks in the woods between the two hidden places. Azrael! Gargamel's nasty ol' cat seems to be searching for the Smurfs but Gargamel himself is nowhere to be seen. Hmm. It could be a trap! 

A group of Smurfs, Boys and Girls alike, volunteer to investigate. Well...sort of. Smurfamaryllis, Brash Smurf, and Smurfhoneysuckle volunteer and basically drag Apathy and Gamer along. What they discover is quite odd. Azrael seems pretty roughed up and eventually falls exhausted in the snow, whimpering softly.

While Apathy and Brash are not sure if they should go help him - I mean, he has tried to smurf many a Smurf over the years - Honeysuckle is already out there checking on the cat (Honeysuckle is a farmer and really cares about animals). Amaryllis tags along.

Gamer plays a quick Riddle/Guessing Game with the other boys. If he wins, they help Azrael. If they win, he'll follow their lead. Gamer wins! The entire group takes Azrael back to the edge of Smurfy Grove and calls on Smurfwillow's help. The wise older Female Smurf gives the cat some medicine and it begins to meow frantically! They are able to determine that Gargamel is in trouble! Something about a Magic Spell and some kind of Monster! Great Smurfs!

While Azrael rests and heals, Smurfwillow sends a message to Papa Smurf letting him know the group is headed to Gargamel's hovel/castle to investigate further. The group grabs their favored gear and receives some holiday treats before heading Northeast.

The trip is not an easy one. The region is covered in deep snow (if you're three apples tall that is) and there is a lot of slippery ice. Branches have fallen from trees and the wind wickedly whipped westward. There is also the matter of the Smurfs themselves, who smurfed each other the wrong way at every turn.

Smurfamaryllis needed to be the center of attention and kept trying to get the others to watch what she's doing. Apathy, well he's Apathy and couldn't have cared less, which just made Amaryllis try harder. The long standing competition/rivalry between Brash and Honeysuckle was friendly (flirty?) and good-natured but that took their focus away from Amaryllis and she didn't like that. She might also have been a little sweet on Brash. Gamer keeps wanting to make it all a game, which proves annoying to the others and potentially dangerous near ponds of thin ice.***

Eventually, Apathy took up the role of leader and got the party to get its smurf together. They decided to make a brief camp, warm up with some Smurfberry Leaf Tea and Smurfberry Biscuits, and smurf out their differences. After some heartfelt and humorous dialogue, Honeysuckle notices a light not too far away. She points it out to the others, believing it to be another campfire. The group gets up to take a closer look but can only see the shadows of small people.

After dowsing their fire, the party walks over to see a dozen or so (Thirteen to be exact) small, wizened elf-like beings gathered around their own campfire. One member of the group invites the Smurfs over to have a bowl of their soup, which the PCs suddenly notice is cooking over the little trolls' flame. Was that there a second ago? Amaryllis bows and says she would be honored to try their soup! After all, "I am well known as a Great Taster of Soups back in Smurfy Grove!", she exclaims. The little men laugh and slap their knees and each others backs. 

"Smurfs you say? Well, *chuckle* splendid, splendid! We, my brothers and I, are the Yule Lads. Here you are lovely Smurf", said one of the 'handsome goblins'**** as he handed her a bowl and a spoon. Smurfamaryllis loved the attention and praise and gladly took the gift of food. She scooped up a spoonful of thick broth and potato chunks and downed it in one gulp. She then spewed it out, coughing and making just the most contorted of faces.

"What the smurf? What's wrong Amaryllis?", shouted Honeysuckle, her hands balling into fists.

"It's sour and spoiled. Like it went bad long ago! Yuck! Awful! But it looked and smelled so good", replied Amaryllis, trying to use her scarf to wipe the taste off her tongue.

All 13 Yule Lads roared with laughter. "Oldest trick we have and still one of the best", said one. 

"The look on her silly face!" barked another.

"That's what you get for boasting", snapped a third, his face more serious than his kin. 

"Let's just be on our way...", Gamer began to say but it was too late. He was traveling with Brash Smurf and Brash Smurf tended to be rather...well...Brash. Leaping forward, his hands wrapped in his signature red cape, Brash grabbed the handles of the soup pot and threw the entirety of it at the Yule Lads. Not to be outdone ('cause isn't that her way), Honeysuckle followed up by smurfing the lid of the pot at them discus (frisbee) style. Amaryllis smurfed the Yule Lad who had handed her the rotten potato soup with her baton (stick) with a rattling 'thok!'

"And take that!", she exclaimed!

The Yule Lads erupted in yelps, shouts, and at least two in a loud 'BONG!' as the pot lid struck them. Suddenly the Smurfs were surrounded by the mischevious bunch, all attempting to trick, trip, pull, push, or steal something from the group. The team fought back in various very clever ways, from Amaryllis drawing their attention so Brash could send them rolling down the hill, to Gamer distracting them with a game of dice while Honeysuckle shook a bush that buried a few Yule Lads in falling snow.

Finally as the tricky, troublemaking trolls looked like they were on the outs, one of the Yule Lads stood tall with a burning stick in his hand, laughing hysterically yet furiously as he approached the Smurfs. Most were taken aback, quite intimidated or at least wary of the threat. Apathy gently pushed passed his friends and stood right in from of the fellow, classic nonplussed***** look of calm disinterest on his face. 

"Yes?", Apathy said in a bored monotone. "You have something to say?"

The Yule Lad leered at Apathy for a long moment. Then looked confused for nearly as long. Then he shut his mouth and stepped back. Apathy, face completely unchanged, took a slow and very deliberate step forward. The Yule Lad gulped, put out his torch in the snow, and grinned sheepishly. "Heh, just a bit of fun ol' nut? No real harm or foul, right? We'll be about our business and you the same."

"Not so fast!", said Honeysuckle in a deep, rough-sounding drawl, right hand clenched in a fist, "What are y'all doing here? You know what's going on up at the castle don't ya?" 

The Yule Lads began to mutter and whisper among themselves, most of the conversations ending in shrugs and head scratching. The one who'd been threatening the Smurfs a mere moment ago said, "We were doing nothing of note 'til you came along. Our Master told us to waylay any who'd come to the aid of the old malcontent up there in the ruined keep. A true misanthrope if ever there was one! Who'd come to help such a churl, I mean really?"

The Smurfs all looked at each other, their feelings and thoughts twisting in knotts. Gargamel.

"Who is your Master..." Gamer Smurf began, but the Yule Lads were gone. There was no fire, no evidence they'd ever been there. Wait...that wasn't quite accurate. On a log the wee cretins had previous been sitting on when the Smurfs first met them, Gamer found a small package in a bright green box tied with a red bow. A present? He showed it to the others and they suggested he hold on to it for the time being.

With that, off they went to Gargamel's...

So ends Part I of our Yule Tide Tale! Stay tuned for more after these messages...

AD

Barking Alien

*This game was not necessarily the last one of the year but it was holiday themed, it was Smurfs, and it just felt like if I had to make this one good just in case I don't get to play again this year. I know, I know. I do it to myself.

**Smurfmas isn't so much Christmas but more the Pagan Yule Tide holidays of pre-Christian France and Belgium mixed with a few more Christmas-y trappings. I always imagine the Smurfs are some sort of Forest Spirits or Fae so it kind of makes sense.

***This group of Player Character Smurfs featured a lot more interpersonal friction than any of my previous Smurf parties thus far. This was absolutely the intention. Discussed right before the start of the game, Julia wanted to play a character that leaned in the direction of Brainy being a Smart Alec, Hefty being Bull-Headed, Baker Being Greedy (at least on the Cartoon), and the like. This doesn't mean Brainy isn't smart, Hefty isn't strong, or that Baker isn't a skilled, er, baker. She just wanted to lean into Smurfamaryllis' flaws, not her Advantage. 

We talked about it to insure that the group understood issues might arise among the PCs but that had nothing to do with the players. More specifically, Julia wanted to make sure her idea didn't harsh everyone else's mellow. Everyone was cool with her character being trying sometimes and how that dynamic could generate a lot of humor and interpersonal moments. 

Stephen leaned into a similar idea but to a lesser extent. 

****Before letting the players and PCs know they were dealing the Icelandic Folklore beings known as 'The Yule Lads' I danced around the name with various descriptions of faerie beings like pre-Tolkien elves, brownies, lutins, and other such creatures. Julia offhandedly called them 'handsome goblins' at one point and, I don't know if it was the phrase or how she said it, but it struck me as really funny at the time. 

*****Nonplussed is such a great word. It is a contranym; a word with two opposite meanings. Nonplussed can mean surprised and confused, often beyond the ability to react or completely unphased, not peturbed at all.

Sorry this is so long. And that it's a Part I. I really thought I could summarize the session more concisely but like a great stocking over the fireplace on Xmas, this session was stuffed full of neat things. 

Blue Plate Special

HAPPY SMURFSGIVING WEEKEND EVERYONE!

To celebrate my favorite holiday1, I am smurfing up a four course meal of deliciously smurfy goodness. I am positively smurfing to smurf the Smurfs Roleplaying Game again, as I have had so much fun with it so far. It's to the point where I have a rather crazy2 thought but I'll smurf that for the end of the post.

First, why do I love this game so much? Seriously, what is wrong with me? lol Well, there are a number of factors actually:

• The obsurdity of it. Someone made an official Smurfs RPG!
• The rules system. I really like the mechanics a lot! 
• It's a comedic cartoon game AND a Fantasy/Fairytale game!
• It's fast and easy to run and play!
• Tools! So many tools for creating Houses, Magic Items, Characters, and more!

So what am I thinking about today...

Expanded Magic

The rules for casting Magic Spells, crafting Magic Items, and making Potions found in the Smurf are just so flavorful and fun that you'll probably have a least one player who wants to create a magic-using Smurf3.

At the same time, it is explained in the rules that 'instant spells', the outright casting of a  magical incantation out of the blue (the blue! get it?) is very rare in the default Smurfs setting. Following the traditions of French and Belgian folklore, most magic manifests in the form of creatures, objects, and elixirs. 

That said, not only do we sometimes see 'Ritual Magic' and traditional spells being used by characters such as Papa Smurf and Gargamel but this is your campaign and there is nothing preventing you from creating a Smurf with a talent for prestidigitation.

To add even more of a Fairytale/Folklore mystique to your Smurf sorcery, any Player Character with the ability to cast Magic Spells should have a limitation/quirk/requirement that accompanies the act. The concept is common throughout the myths and legends of numerous countries across Europe [and beyond]. 

This is an opportunity for the players and the Storyteller to lean into both the comedy and 'Dark Ages'/Early Middle Ages feel of the Smurfs' world [as I run it]. PC Smurfs might require a wand waved in a specific way [without which they can't use magic], spell out the name of their hexes before casting, or they might forget a recent memory after their rote has been used.

I would apply this to Spellcasting only, as Magic Items and Potions already have perimeters and difficulties built into them. Additionally, I would say that no such limiations should apply to Papa Smurf, Gargamel, and other major league Magicans, Witches, and magical beings such as Fairies (beyond something story based). 

Expanded Base-Building

One of the things I like most about the Smurfs game is of course the Base-Building element. The fact that the designers made the Mushroom Cottages a functional part of the game continues to impress me. The Smurf Houses serve to give the PCs a Safety Roll, which allows an unconscious and/or badly injured PC to wake-up in the comfort of their own home. Additionally, PCs begin with a single Room inside their house that gives them a bonus of +1 thanks to its particular design or a piece of equipment found within it

This got me thinking about various 'strategies' (for lack of a better term) for constructing one's personal abode. Imagine for example that my character Smurfcornflower, who started her first adventure with a Potions Room, essentially an indoor firepit with a cauldron mounted above it and some space to store her Ingredients. The Potion Room gives her a +1 (originally a +2) when making Potions in that room.

What if the next time I add a room, it's an Ingredients Pantry? If Cornflower needs to make a Potion with X, she can attempt a roll under her Mind Attribute +1 to see if she has any on hand. Next, maybe add a Recipe Library containing scrolls and books on hope to make a wide variety of Potions. You get what I am going for here.

Alternatively, a Smurf might want to diversify their portfolio, if you smurf my meaning. A Music Room for a Heart bonus, a Workout Area to benefit Brawn, etc. 

In a past post I discussed the idea of multiple Smurfs contributing Rooms to a single House. Since then I have come up with a host of other thoughts regarding the creation of non-standard Smurf homes. What if instead of a Mushroom Cottage your 'House' was an Inn, a Lighthouse, or even a Seagoing Ship4. An Inn would have rooms many Smurfs could use. A Lighthouse might give a bonus to sailing Smurfs so they could find they way safely home. A Ship gives you many advantages, from rooms on board to transportation to far off lands and maybe a canon for fighting off pirates! Such locations would serve a purpose beyond just being the home of a Smurf and may require, or simply benefit, from having additional rules added to the Base-Building mechanics. Maybe. I need to contemplate on this a bit further.

Expanded Folklore

I've mentioned before (many times - my apologies) that I didn't grow up reading or watching the type of Fantasy that inspired Dungeons & Dragons. I was a little too young and my preference was for Science Fiction and Superheroes. Television shows, movies, and comic books were my source material and few of those were of the Sword and Sorcery Fantasy type in 1977 (when I started gaming). I was far more well versed in things like Folklore, Mythology, and the works of L. Frank Baum and Lewis Carroll. 

When I run the Smurfs RPG, I lean heavily on the Legends and Fairy Tales of Western Europe, specially those from France, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. Strong influences sneak in from England, Scandinavia, and elsewhere (to a lesser extent). How far beyond this can I expand? Obviously I can do anything I want in my games. How far beyond this do I want to go? That's a different story and one I've been thinking about quite a lot. 

I don't want to stray too far from Pseudo-Historical Medieval Legend Themed Fantasy Franco-Belgian Setting. The Smurfs themselves go beyond this from time to time, inventing the printing press, dreaming about being an astronaut, and even meeting an alien visitor and a Sci-Fi robot. There are tons of anachronisms in the stories that take place in their default fairytale forest milieu.

For me, I like to keep these instances to a minimum5. Perhaps 'a minimum' isn't quite the right phrase but please bare with me as I explain what I am going for. I think I get the most out of the Smurfs RPG by treating the setting as a Fantasy game, somewhere between Ars Magica and D&D2. Now that's one wide margin to be sure but having run and played Smurfs a number of times now, it really feels like our adventures have all have a very classic Fantasy feel with a humorous twist. A the same time, there is this vaguely dark, fairy folklore feel to them. By keeping the vibes of the original Peyo Comic Strip 'Johan and Peewit' and the legends of France and Belgium in mind, I believe I create a setting with a distinct character that stands out from other Fantasy games. 

Smurfing Solo

My exploration of Solo Roleplaying was rather interesting.

I had fun, I truly did, though I don't know that I ever shook the feeling that it was less a game and more an improvisational writing exercise. I still feel that way for the most part but again, it was fun. The biggest issue was, as always, time. With only so many hours in the day to devote to my hobbies, I couldn't/can't let a game no one will enjoy other than me eat into the time better used generating material for my friends and I to enjoy together.

That said, I have been feeling like getting back into it lately. It's not like I have more free time (I have less in fact!) but right now two of the three campaigns I run are on hold. Others are doing the GMing and that does avail me some room to try some more experiments in Solo gaming. One idea I've been very interested in is 'Solo Smurfs'. The tricky part though is that much like Ghostbusters (which was my previous Solo experience), Smurfs isn't a setting that focuses on the adventures of a single character. Friendship and a group of companions is what the Smurfs is all about. So would I be playing an entire village of 101 characters? Smurf me! It's 201 if you count Smurfy Grove's Smurf Girls (which I absolutely would 'cause they're really neat). 

Hmmm. OK...smurf this...

I would create a single Smurf who would serve as my Solo character and each adventure they would accompany a constantly changing group of NPC friends. Picture this: Solo Smurf goes on an adventure to find a rare medicinal plant. They are joined by Smurfstorm, Brainy, and Smurfcornflower. In the next scenario, Gargamel has smurfnapped Smurfette and Solo Smurf teams up with Hefty, Smurflily, and Champion Smurf to free her. Maybe I would roll randomly to determine who's in Solo Smurf's party and/or how many Smurfs will be involved. 

Anyway, these are just some of my many thoughts on the Smurf RPG. I can't stop coming up with stuff for it! Help! lol Kidding. I'm having a blast. I am really looking forward to my next outing into the Cursed Lands and sharing it with all of you. 

Ta-ta for now! I hope you, your family, and your friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Smurf you soon,

AD

Barking Alien

1. I love Thanksgiving for the holiday it is to me and my family. A chance to get together, be happy we are here, healthy, and happy to be in each others presence. I understand some people don't view Thanksgiving that way but it means a lot to me. 

2. I've been thinking about running a Fantasy RPG lately and I wrestle with finding a game that does what I want it to when it comes to making this genre work. Why, when I actually have a fantastic Fantasy game that I really like. Why not run a long term Smurfs game? Can I? I may just try...

3. At least one but likely many if the option is available. I would limit it to one in a party unless one is a Spellcaster and the other is a Potion Maker. I could totally see my buddy Ray's Spelly Smurf teaming up with my PC Smurfcornflower. That would be really awesome! 

4. My friend Will's first Smurfs character, Lookout Smurf, has a Sailing Ship of the 'pirate ship' variety and it appeared in my very first short Smurf RPG adventure. That's when I first came up with the idea of a ship as Smurf House. We played it pretty fast and loose and it worked quite well but I continue to ponder refining the concept. 

5. My very first original Smurfs character was Spacey Smurf, a Smurf obsessed with 'Outer Space', which in his mind meant the night sky, the stars, and the Moon. He wears a faux 'Space Suit' built for him by Hefty Smurf from notes in a book Brainy has and the imagination of both Dreamy Smurf and himself. He's funny, he's fun, and I love him. He is also the exception and not the rule. He is a rare instance of me choosing to put such a character in my games. There aren't, so far, other characters like him. 

Let Myself Get Spooked

Rose Witch by Atomic Marshmallow

Well here it is the end of October, Halloween itself in fact, and I didn't get to a faction of the stuff I planned on posting. Between work, actual gaming, and some other Real LifeTM stuff, I simply didn't have the time or energy to fully embrace Halloween the way I wanted to.

Honestly I should've seen it coming. Over the past few years, October sees some of my lowest post counts. It's just too busy a month. *Sigh* There's always next year.

 
Then there's the follow-up post to my last entry on reworking Traveller Double Adventure 5: The Chamax Plague/Horde, which has taken 12 days to write and still isn't finished. This is extremely disappointing to me. Most people fail to complete things in far less time.

I just found it too difficult to describe how I recommend running these two scenarios. My approach to adventures is such that there are too many potential variables, adjustments, and changes that can happen or be made that its virtually impossible [for me] to explain how to run my personal take(s) on Double Adventure 5.

It's a problem I've encountered many times over the years. More than once I've been commissioned to write adventures (both personally and professionally) and simply couldn't do it.

How do I explain what happens when the PCs confront a key NPC (for example) not knowing what they're going to say, when in the session they're going to speak to him, and whether they've investigated anything about the person before talking to them? Most pre-made scenarios produced by professional game designers don't bother thinking about these things, preferring to railroad gamers down a limited path of specific choices to get them to where they 'need to be'. Aaand that's why I don't use them. 

One of these days I'll have to explore this further but the bottom line is I freaked myself out trying to get this 'right' and as a result I didn't get it done in time. I will try to get back to it sooner rather than later but right now I have other stuff on my mind. 

Hope you had a Happy Halloween everybody! 

Here's to November...

AD

Barking Alien

Spooky Wishes and Pumpkin Spice Dreams

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's October and you know what that means! It's time for all the jumpin' jack o' lantern, ghastly, ghoulish, freaky fun we can muster here at Boooing Alien! Muwahahaha!

Ain't she a Scream?

What's up my Beastly Buds and Paranormal Pals? I've got a ton of hearty horror and spooky silliness planned for this 'Ectober', including but hopefully not limited to: 

Campaigns and One-Shots I Have Known returns with creepy campaigns and spectral scenarios of Halloweens Past.

Some frightfully funky game ideas, like Scare Score and Morbid Curiousity.

Material for my homebrew Ghostbusters RPG including new Ghosts, new Ghostbusting Gear, and even some Adventure Ideas! 

Fortified with Essential Violence and Ministers!

Last year I had big Halloween blogging plans that amounted to a lot of nothing. Dead on Arrival one might say.

This year I began prepping a few months back so I should (hopefully) have enough material to really make a go of it. Last year's Halloween will Rise from the Dead and Stalk the Living, this time for sure!

Expect to see other posts as well, those of a non-Samhain nature that is, as I still have a few things on my mind from before the coming Spooktacular.

So get out your cauldron, surround yourself in a cloud of darkness, and light a candle inside that pumpkin.

Barking Alien is going full-on Haunted Mode!

AD

Barking Alien

Dragon Dance!

Gong Hei Fat Choi!

Wow but there are a lot of ways to write that! Each of China's regional languages and their variants has a different way of pronouncing and spelling the phrase, which literally translates to 'Wishing You Prosperity'.

I tend to go with the Cantonese pronunciation I've been most exposed to. Sometimes I spell 'Choi' as 'Choy' but generally I use the same phrase the same way every year. 

This year is extra cool for us geeky gamer types as it is the Year of the Dragon and Dragons are pretty damn cool.

Happy Lunar New Year everyone!

AD

Barking Alien

'Twas the Starflight Before Xmas...

 

'Twas the starflight before Xmas and all through the ship,

All systems ran silent, there was barely a blip;
Barkley was nestled in the hypersleep bays;
While a bio-bed monitor counted the days;
And I in my sleepsuit on the bridge all alone,
Set the coordinates for our long warp jump home.

Suddenly on the outer hull there arose such a clatter,
I was sure we'd been struck by debris or space matter.
Away to the main screen fighting off shock,
I pressed buttons and touchscreens for a clear sensor lock.

.
And what to my intricate scans should appear,
But a sleigh-like spacecraft with tractor beam gear!
The next thing I knew the computer alerted,
That several security seals were inverted,

An airlock was accessed and that wasn't great,

So I picked up a blaster before it was too late. 

I crept down a corridor, the lighting was dim,

Chances of a peaceful encounter seemed slim.
When I entered the large crew lounge I was taken aback.

As we clearly weren't under attack.
In the room was a lifeform who seemed rather Human,

His smile was infectious, his laughter was booming!

His helmet transparent, his spacesuit all red,
White hair and beard surrounded his head.
He adjusted some gadget he wore on his arm,

As he considered and smiled I felt no alarm. 

It was than that he saw me and gave me a wink,
I honestly didn't know what I should think.

He pressed something down on the gauntlet he wore, 
And I wondered just what the man had in store.
Suddenly stars rained down from the ceiling,
With a brightness so powerful it near sent me reeling!

I covered my eyes to ward off the glow,

White sparks and gold lightning danced to and fro.

When I looked up again, the lounge was quite changed,

Presents and sweets and a tree were arranged,

The strange entity was nowhere to be seen,

What had just happened and what did it mean?

The entire chamber was holiday decorated,

And I found a note on a pad on a table that stated;

'To you and to Barkley, my best to you both,

Returning next year to fulfill your oath,

To engage, entertain, and write as you feel,

Seeing humor in life and yet keeping it real.

Peace and prosperity through this epic starflight

Merry Xmas to all and to all a good night!'

From Barkley and myself and all those who help keep The Barking Alien blog going, a very Happy Holidays and we'll see you soon!

Peace and love,

AD

Barking Alien

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

Gong Hei Fat Choy!

Saehae Bok Mani Badeuseyo!

Akemashite Omedetō Gozaimasu!

A Very Happy Lunar New Year Everyone! 

AD

Barking Alien

Fireworks

 Hi all,

Sorry for the long delay in getting back to my blog and coverage of Tabletop RPGs in Japan. I've been busy with some real world concerns, most of which have already been dealt with and the results have been positive. Although I am still struggling with some elements, things are generally looking up and so I can get back to doing what I love - jabbering about obscure subjects only a handful of people care about. Yay me!

While I have you here, I thought I'd update you on my 'State of Gaming' and where I and this blog are going in the near future...

These days I am only playing in one game and it's a great one. I am currently in year five of our bi-weekly Hogwarts/Wizarding World campaign. This game continues to be amazing and I am absolutely loving it. Kudos and thanks to my friend and Gamemaster Alex.

I am currently running my ongoing Star Trek: Prosperity campaign, a bi-weekly Star Trek Adventures game now in its fifth year of real time. 'Season 6' has had a bit of a 'Horror' feel to it and remains popular among all the players and myself. 

Additionally, I am running a weekly Mobile Suit Gundam game, UC 0079: The Siege of New York, using my homebrew Mecha System Variant game mechanics. I have decided they need more playtesting and so that is essentially what I am doing as I run this campaign. The campaign is likely to end soon and I am not entirely sure what the follow up will be. 

Later this month I will be starting a Champions 4th Edition campaign set in the my favorite milieu, the Champions Universe of my friend William Corpening's 10+ year campaign. Tentatively, this campaign has been titled 'Champions: UNITY'. I have not revisited this world or the Champions game since the passing of my friend Dave Cotton. It is a little melancholy to think about running a Champions game without Dave but I think it's time and I will be introducing the setting to a group largely if not completely unfamiliar with it which is very exciting. It's a 'Dedicated to Dave', spread the love kind of thing.

Finally, and this is big, we are tentatively set to run the final Episode/Session of our ALIEN FRONTIER campaign on August 7th. This will be an in-person game, not remote, with roughly 8 players and myself, at a public play location. More details as they become available. So excited for this I don't even have the words.

There is a lot more I'd like to talk about but most of it is not directly related to the games I'm currently playing in and running. Instead, my goal is to get back to the subject of Japanese TRPGs and so I'll end here with this...

Happy Fourth of July to the United States of America and all my friends and family who dwell within it. Though an imperfect work to put it mildly, it is nonetheless a grand experiment and a thing of beauty. As we celebrate, let us also contemplate how to truly progress and improve for the betterment of all people.

AD

Barking Alien

The Fourth Is Strong With This One

Happy Star Wars Day Everybody!

Art by Sarah Stone

For most of you this will be posting up on Star Wars Day Eve as I was unable to tear myself away from another project to post this earlier as I intended. No matter, we are together now and I want to say what a lovely May the 4th is has been! 

It all started with a morning cup of tea (as I am low on coffee) and the Grand Finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars with the twelfth episode of Season 7, 'Victory and Death'.

What an incredible end to an incredible final four episodes. The beauty, majesty, and tragedy of the last story arc, 'The Siege of Mandalore' makes up for the rest of the Season 7 episodes which were, in my opinion, rather lackluster. I almost wish they hadn't made a Season 7 but instead just made a single 'Siege of Mandalore' film. 

Be that as it may, it was fantastic and I highly recommend seeing the last four if you are a Star Wars fan of any kind. It is Star Wars at its best in every sense of the word. 

And speaking of Star Wars at its best...

If you have any interest in the creative process behind good Star Wars productions you could do far worse than checking out Disney Gallery - Star Wars: The Mandalorian on Disney+.

An eight episode series, airing weekly I believe, goes behind the scenes of the awesome streaming series to reveal how it was put together and what went into making it work. The first episode features a neat discussion between show Creator and Executive Producer Jon Favreau and each one of the Season 1 directors. It was very interesting seeing each of their different skills addressed and their personalities come through. 

I will definitely be watching this going forward. 

In related news, Taika Waititi, who directed The Mandalorian Season 1 finale and voiced the Bounty Hunter Droid IG-11, will be directing and co-writing a theatrical Star Wars film! That's right, a new Star Wars movie by the man who gave us Thor: Ragnarok and Jo-Jo Rabbit. I am intrigued to say the least.

And that's not all! A new Disney+ series is in the works as well. Read more about that here. 

Finally, because you and I like the rest of the Star Wars loving galaxy can't get enough of The Mandalorian's resident Force Sensitive alien infant, there is this...

Yes, that is a real product - Coming soon to supermarket shelves from your local store to Long Ago, and Far, Far Away. Can't wait!

Well, that's all for this Nerf Herder. Clear skies, Bright Suns, and I'll see you around the galaxy.

AD
Barking Alien

The Sound of Silence

November was something of a bust.

December is no better.

I am not done blogging, not by a long shot, but I have no interest in doing so at this time. 

This may come as a shock to you all - as it does to me - but I really don't have anything to say.

I am currently running two campaigns that are going along quite well, neither being particularly difficult for me to run. I have few problems to ruminate over, advice to give, or interesting insights into the inner workings of the games or their participants. These games just work, so it feels as if there is very little to address about them. That's a bit disappointing in a way but there you have it. 

I'm also in at least two good games as a player. I suppose I could address the differences between the style of the GMs of those campaigns and my own...but I just don't feel inspired to do so. Again, I have no great insight just now. I may give them a more thorough analysis later.

There are definitely other things of interest to me that I could talk about - Star Wars Resistance, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, CW/DC's Elseworlds, the final season of Voltron: The Legendary Defender - but I am simply not motivated to do so at this time. 

*Sigh*

I guess I'll see you all in the new year. 

Hopefully with something more interesting to say.

Happy Holidays and a Joyous New Year Everyone!

AD
Barking Alien

Lucky Dog

Happy Lunar New Year and Spring Festival Everyone!

It is the Year of the Dog, which as you can imagine is a favorite year of mine. Heh. 

Woof Woof and Gong Hei Fat Choy!

AD
Barking Alien

A Little Heart to Heart

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

I am not a big believer in this particular holiday, but I will never back down from a chance to celebrate love. I love the idea of love, peace, happiness, and togetherness. Whatever else this day stands and whatever else is connected to it, I am personally going to embrace the idea that is stands for love and that's all there is to it. 

Monday was my birthday, and in absolutely perfect fashion, I received lots and lots of well wishes but no one made a big deal about it or got overly sentimental. I appreciated that very much. I often get really down on my birthday and it gets worse when people gush. A nice, quiet day, a good dinner, and a beer were more than enough. 

The one exception was the preceding Saturday, where the teachers and students at the tutoring center I work at game me a little party. That was super sweet (as was the ice cream cake) and it made me feel pretty good. 

So what's on my mind?

Ugh...

I am in a funk still and one of my players is only making it worse. He keeps trying to undo all the stupidity he generated in a previous game by trying to make basically the exact same character again for a new campaign in the same setting. 

What makes it really frustrating is that he still doesn't understand how and why he messed up the first time. He has all these ideas that we're in the game. His memory of the details are all wrong. Since I know him pretty well I know he's trying to adjust things to his advantage and get all the good parts of the old character while trying to make the botched events more palatable. 

It's really annoying and just so draining. It's the kind of thing I don't want to be a part of what I do in any way when I game. It honestly makes me not want to do it. 

In addition, I recently learned some truly double edged news. One of my players and best buds, who's been between jobs, has just recently been picked up for a new stint. He's working again and that's awesome, but there is a dark lining to this silver cloud. His new schedule will prevent him from being in our games for the foreseeable future. 

This sucks. No ifs, ands, or buts. True industrial strength suckage folks. 

With these two situations weighing heavy on my mind right now, I am feeling a little lost as to what I am going to run next long term. 

I am definitely going to be running [my version of ] D&D this weekend, but my enthusiasm for running a long term Traveller game has waned. 

Sigh.

I also have other game ideas in my head - ideas that don't fit my current group, especially if one of my key players isn't there. 

Is February over yet? No? Oh well.

Let's talk about something else...after all, it's Valentines Day and I have a great girlfriend. 

I guess I'm feeling OK after all. 


AD
Barking Alien