Last weekend I got a new pair of shoes. They're hiking boots, but they're ostensibly disguised as a pair of street shoes (hmm...perhaps the "transformers" of footwear?). They're pretty nice-looking, but I've had to get used to wearing dark shoes - the last pair that I wore as my everyday footwear was a pair of light-colored cross-trainers. As was the pair before that. And the pair before that. And the pair...
You get the idea.
Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is that I've been really happy with this new pair. They're sturdy, but at the same time they're flexible and comfortable. I can do that ridiculous Michael Jackson move where he pops up onto his toes (from "Billy Jean", I think? Anyway, I'm not very good at it, but I can still do it which is pretty amazing), I can roll my ankles around comfortably, and I've got enough traction in the soles to climb that slick muddy incline at the back of the apartment. On a good day, I could manage to do that with my previous pair of shoes, but only if it was dry. And the best part is that they've formed amazingly well to my feet. I had a little blistering after I wore them the first time (of course, I also probably put like 5.5 miles on them just that first day...not the best idea with a brand-new pair of shoes), but it was far from the worst I've ever had. Uncomfortable, of course, but not overly so, and gone in about 2 days even though I was on my feet almost the entire day for both of them.
All in all, I've probably put 10-15 walking miles on that pair of shoes, and I've had them for exactly a week. I am extremely satisfied.
PLUR!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Historical Fiction
The Crimean war was fought in 1853-56 between Imperial Russia and an alliance of France, the UK, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire. The root cause of the war can be traced back to conflicts over which European nation would be declared the "sovereign authority" over the Holy Land held by the Ottomans, including the privilege of holding the keys to the Church of the Nativity (which were previously held by the Greek Orthodox Church). A series of treaties, intrigue, and threats of violence gave this honor back and forth between the Russian Orthodox Church and the France and the Catholic Church, with France/Catholicism ultimately coming out on top. However, the forceful and devious "diplomacy" of the French caused and escalation of tensions that ultimately resulted in the Crimean War breaking out.
The Crimean War, so called because it took place on the Crimean Peninsula, is often considered to the first modern war, as it introduced a number of "technical changes which affected the future course of warfare." While this war had a strong naval element to it, the vicious fighting on land troops can hardly be discounted. Several important pitched battles took place along the Crimean River, especially between the Russians and the Ottomans. In fact, these battles are the unfortunate origin of the expression "bleeding heart" (as in a person who claims to care deeply about an issue, but only rarely or ineffectually acts on it). As battles raged back and forth across the river, Russian soldiers would often be ordered to bayonet Ottoman casualties in the chest to ensure they were dead. The Ottomans' English allies were incensed by this act and strognly criticized Imperial Russia, although for all their damning words there was very little actually done to address the concern. English protestors began to be derisively called "bleeding heart" Englishmen, representing their connection to the Ottoman allies.
The war ended, ultimately, in a victory (...of sorts) for the French and their allies. The Russian fleet had been heavily daamged, as had many of their supply lines and storehouses. In addition, Russia and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire both had to sign an agreement that they would not establish any naval or military arsenal on the Black Sea coast. This would prove especially difficult for Russia, because it greatly diminished the naval threat Russia posed to the Turks. However, the Ottoman Empire was recognized by the Great Powers, who agreed to respect the independence and territorial integrity of the Empire.
While the Crimean War is known largely for the incompetant way it was operated, it brought several new developments to the field of warfare. The Crimean war is the first real use of railroads and telegraph for tactical purposes. It also pioneered the use of trenching and blind artillery fire. After the deplorable treatment of wounded soldiers was reported by news correspondents, it prompted women like Forence Nightingale and mary Seacole to get involved, and the basis for modern nursing practices was established.
The Crimean War, so called because it took place on the Crimean Peninsula, is often considered to the first modern war, as it introduced a number of "technical changes which affected the future course of warfare." While this war had a strong naval element to it, the vicious fighting on land troops can hardly be discounted. Several important pitched battles took place along the Crimean River, especially between the Russians and the Ottomans. In fact, these battles are the unfortunate origin of the expression "bleeding heart" (as in a person who claims to care deeply about an issue, but only rarely or ineffectually acts on it). As battles raged back and forth across the river, Russian soldiers would often be ordered to bayonet Ottoman casualties in the chest to ensure they were dead. The Ottomans' English allies were incensed by this act and strognly criticized Imperial Russia, although for all their damning words there was very little actually done to address the concern. English protestors began to be derisively called "bleeding heart" Englishmen, representing their connection to the Ottoman allies.
The war ended, ultimately, in a victory (...of sorts) for the French and their allies. The Russian fleet had been heavily daamged, as had many of their supply lines and storehouses. In addition, Russia and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire both had to sign an agreement that they would not establish any naval or military arsenal on the Black Sea coast. This would prove especially difficult for Russia, because it greatly diminished the naval threat Russia posed to the Turks. However, the Ottoman Empire was recognized by the Great Powers, who agreed to respect the independence and territorial integrity of the Empire.
While the Crimean War is known largely for the incompetant way it was operated, it brought several new developments to the field of warfare. The Crimean war is the first real use of railroads and telegraph for tactical purposes. It also pioneered the use of trenching and blind artillery fire. After the deplorable treatment of wounded soldiers was reported by news correspondents, it prompted women like Forence Nightingale and mary Seacole to get involved, and the basis for modern nursing practices was established.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Geek out (le geek, c'est chic)
I've been working recently on expanding my D&D campaign setting world to help give it a more epic feel - I'm reasonably satisfied with what I've had previously, but although the setting is still very fanciful, the action and storylines have been surprisingly "low fantasy" and I really want to kick things up a notch from "land of adventure and peril" to "land of mysical secrets and peril".
...Or something like that.
My first thought on how to do this was to create several locations of high mystical or historical significance. These will hopefully serve as the basis of several adventures individually, and I've toyed with the idea of having my players discover some sort of "connection" between the sites as they progress in levels. I've done some work to this effect, and come up with some pretty neat places, I like to think (although the naming conventions of the people in my setting aren't very creative. I mean, sure you've got places with names like Janurilia and Elenath, but when the second largest population in the Empire lives next to the Deep River in a city called Cotswold-on-Deep River, and important landmarks and geographical features have names like The Peak and the Easter Sea, then you've got to wonder what's going on...). I've also tried to add some spice by introducing some elements of real-world mythology into the setting.
One example of both of these attempts put together is the Huntsman's Lodge. The Lodge is an ancient 6-story tower (yes, I know that's not very practical dimensions for a hunting lodge ~_^) that legend says was once the home of the mightiest hunter of them all, known largely (creatively enough) as The Huntsman (for real-world parallels, see information about the Wild Hunt and Herne the Hunter). The Huntsman, as a sort of creature of spirit, has lain dormant for ages, but the key to his awakening lies at the top of the tower - a magical hunting horn. If the person who sounds the horn has passed the challenges of the tower in order to sound the horn, then it awakens the Huntsman and his pack, and the Huntsman will offer the awakener the favor of a single hunt. If the horn is sounded by someone who has bypassed the challenges, or used trickery and deception to gain the horn, they awaken Herne and they become the quarry of the Hunt.
There are some other ideas I'm toying with, too. A lot of them have to do with powerful artifacts or important locations. I'm not as clever as I probably come across sometimes, and I haven't made up many of them on my own - most of them are derived in some form or another from song lyrics that I like. Ideas I'm currently playing with include The World Bell and La Cifra Sigils. Perhaps I'll put up some more teasers when I've got things better hammered out.
...And then there's The Red World. ( :
PLUR!
...Or something like that.
My first thought on how to do this was to create several locations of high mystical or historical significance. These will hopefully serve as the basis of several adventures individually, and I've toyed with the idea of having my players discover some sort of "connection" between the sites as they progress in levels. I've done some work to this effect, and come up with some pretty neat places, I like to think (although the naming conventions of the people in my setting aren't very creative. I mean, sure you've got places with names like Janurilia and Elenath, but when the second largest population in the Empire lives next to the Deep River in a city called Cotswold-on-Deep River, and important landmarks and geographical features have names like The Peak and the Easter Sea, then you've got to wonder what's going on...). I've also tried to add some spice by introducing some elements of real-world mythology into the setting.
One example of both of these attempts put together is the Huntsman's Lodge. The Lodge is an ancient 6-story tower (yes, I know that's not very practical dimensions for a hunting lodge ~_^) that legend says was once the home of the mightiest hunter of them all, known largely (creatively enough) as The Huntsman (for real-world parallels, see information about the Wild Hunt and Herne the Hunter). The Huntsman, as a sort of creature of spirit, has lain dormant for ages, but the key to his awakening lies at the top of the tower - a magical hunting horn. If the person who sounds the horn has passed the challenges of the tower in order to sound the horn, then it awakens the Huntsman and his pack, and the Huntsman will offer the awakener the favor of a single hunt. If the horn is sounded by someone who has bypassed the challenges, or used trickery and deception to gain the horn, they awaken Herne and they become the quarry of the Hunt.
There are some other ideas I'm toying with, too. A lot of them have to do with powerful artifacts or important locations. I'm not as clever as I probably come across sometimes, and I haven't made up many of them on my own - most of them are derived in some form or another from song lyrics that I like. Ideas I'm currently playing with include The World Bell and La Cifra Sigils. Perhaps I'll put up some more teasers when I've got things better hammered out.
...And then there's The Red World. ( :
PLUR!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
What's the story, Wishbone?
So, I've been doing a lot of thinking recently about gaming, especially role-playing games. I've been trying to (slowly) up my participation in RPGs after a long hiatus in which I basically didn't do any. I enjoy the games very much, and I have a lot of ideas, but I sometimes get frustrated with the pacing of other peoples' games and certain aspects of the rules (mostly with D&D and d20 derivative games, since they're some of the most common, but I think I've had some small level of dissatisfaction with all the different systems I've been exposed to so far).To that end, I like to run games myself. There's a lot to be said for being a Game Master - especially since it allows you a lot more freedom in what ideas you can use to put together a game session, a longer-term adventure, or an entire universe to use as the game's setting.
The problem is, I'm a storyteller at heart. I love intricate webs of events, personalities, and relationships that lead majestically (or perhaps convoluted-ly) to a climax, and then come to an ultimate resolution. With an entire world to play with in the process of setting creation, I'm like a child in a candy store that is also a playground that is located in the middle of a water park that is also the coolest cartoon ever. ...Or something like that. Basically, I've got almost complete and total freedom in creating compelling and interesting stories for the worlds I build. The problem is, because of the intricacy of the stories, or because certain personalities are so central to them, it's not always easy to craft them in such a way that they're accessible to PCs...or at least in a way that I'm willing to make them accessible to PCs (for certain favorite storylines).
For those of you with any amount of experience in running roleplaying games, can you give me any advice on how I might be able to loosen up and open my settings and worlds and stories so that they're accessible to player characters? This is something I've been dealing with a lot recently, esp. as I've been trying to cobble together a campaign setting for a D&D game and I keep coming up with ideas that make me think, "this would make a fantastic storyline!....oh, but wait...the PCs wouldn't be involved in it!"
Any advice, suggestions, sympathies, or - frankly - even abject mockery would be greatly appreaciated!
PLUR!
The problem is, I'm a storyteller at heart. I love intricate webs of events, personalities, and relationships that lead majestically (or perhaps convoluted-ly) to a climax, and then come to an ultimate resolution. With an entire world to play with in the process of setting creation, I'm like a child in a candy store that is also a playground that is located in the middle of a water park that is also the coolest cartoon ever. ...Or something like that. Basically, I've got almost complete and total freedom in creating compelling and interesting stories for the worlds I build. The problem is, because of the intricacy of the stories, or because certain personalities are so central to them, it's not always easy to craft them in such a way that they're accessible to PCs...or at least in a way that I'm willing to make them accessible to PCs (for certain favorite storylines).
For those of you with any amount of experience in running roleplaying games, can you give me any advice on how I might be able to loosen up and open my settings and worlds and stories so that they're accessible to player characters? This is something I've been dealing with a lot recently, esp. as I've been trying to cobble together a campaign setting for a D&D game and I keep coming up with ideas that make me think, "this would make a fantastic storyline!....oh, but wait...the PCs wouldn't be involved in it!"
Any advice, suggestions, sympathies, or - frankly - even abject mockery would be greatly appreaciated!
PLUR!
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