CHVRCHES V

The new CHVRCHES album preview starts at the same time as my fortnightly Vampire: The Masquerade session. This seems like a trick by a cruel god.

Talk Like A Pirate Day vs. BIPOC Vampire Day

This is a busy weekend.

Also International Red Panda Day!

Games Workshop announce Necromunda RPG

Necromunda Roleplay

A box set with miniatures for four intro characters and five enemies, blank character sheets and a screen as well as a rulebook.

I remember when Games Workshop got out of the RPG business, so strange to see them getting back in.

Mission: Impossible at 60

Mission: Impossible first aired September 17 1966. A straightforward idea for a show even if the episodes often weren’t, the setup making a rotating cast for isolated episodes a key and advertised part of the design, full of charming gimmicks like the masks and “This message will self-destruct in five seconds” and an absolute all-timer of a theme and credits sequence. I’ve often said that the Tom Cruise movies are an adaptation of the credits more than the show.

Cassie Workman Is Witchy AF

Cassie Workman Is Witchy AF

A puppet-heavy drinky history of the occult by Australian comedian Cassie Workman. Hail Satan!

Episode one, Aleister Crowley halfasses multiple attempts to contact the divine. Special guests include Shirley Manson explaining the pre-Crowley history of the house by Loch Ness.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Nocturne 2026-7

Reused placeholder chronicle title subject to change depending on emergent theme

Vampires hunt for blood in a world that looks like ours. They have their own societies, their own laws, their own conflicts, but they also walk among us, trying to hold onto their humanity - to some extent, at least.

Vampire: The Masquerade is a modern horror game where you are the monster. Knowledge of the system and setting are not required, the system is straightforward and the setting is full of mysteries.

CW: Horror and action violence, political and occult themes, metaphorical addiction, uneven power relationships, and blood.

V5 one-shot autumn 2026 edition

Vampires hunt for blood in a world that looks like ours. They have their own societies, their own laws, their own conflicts, but they also walk among us. Tonight, some of them just want to hear a singer's set and have a night out. But things are rarely that easy.

Vampire: The Masquerade is a modern horror game where you are the monster. Knowledge of the system and setting are not required, the system is straightforward and the setting is full of mysteries.

CW: Horror and action violence, occult themes, addiction with possible alcohol and drug use, and blood

Complaining about having to do a Vampire one-shot again

The age-old issue (ca. 1991) of preparing one-shots for an RPG with a complicated secretive background, for players who might never have played it or any other RPG either.

Setup for people I expect to know the game can go wild.

Setup for people I expect to know RPGs in general suggests a classic like a heist to show how differently vampires approach it.

Setup for possibly total newbies and... um...

Yes I could run a one-shot for something else, but I’m planning to run Vampire and I don’t like showing something I’m not planning to continue.

Buffy news this week

Sarah and David at the Emmys..

Sarah shared a photo from Scooby-Doo: Origins wrapping, showing McKenna Grace who plays Daphne in a Buffy T-shirt.

McKenna Grace (Daphne) and Maxwell Jenkins (Fred)
But what does his shirt mean?

Most photos suggest more traditional costumes but if the shirt appears in the show it causes a delightful reference paradox.

Raiders Of The Lost Ark 4K

Raiders Of The Lost Ark was great in the new restoration on the big screen.

Of course it was also great the time I saw a thirty-year-old original print that had gone kinda sepia-toned. It fit really.

A thousand ideas!

My pretty vague “ideas” tag just hit 1000!

What to GM, 2026-7 edition

Start of GEAS getting close now. Saturday game shop tour and quiz, Monday one-shots, Wednesday pitches. And in between my regular games are Sunday and Tuesday.

Having had no other brilliant ideas, and having some character sheets left, prolly run Vampire. Likely Sunday afternoons as no Sunday evenings by default (boo!) and have Sunday evening game anyhow (yay!) but would gladly do it at Teviot but no Teviot booking either (boooooo!)

Have assorted setup ideas, but keep it basic for new players.

Ill-Starred

Going back to a previous weird thought due to an unrelated game (Hunter) joked that my next Star Trek character will be a witch.

“Analysis?”

“Nothing on sensors, Captain.”

“Sycorax?”

(sound of bones rattling) “They’re here, alright.”

(And this was before seeing the Strange New Worlds episode trailer for the magic planet follow-up.)

Edit: posting this on BlueSky got a character sheet made.

My thoughts always go to my US based friends today.

Slightly more solid plan for GEAS 2026-7

The game pitch form is out. No check box for Sunday evening. Hrm.

Vague plan for GEAS 2026-7

After last year and this summer, giving some thought to self-contained adventures whatever I run.

Which is an issue for Vampire, of course.

Solar Power!

Mum’s now has a new solar battery infuser.

And will you look at this Axiom from WALL-E lookin’ thing?

The green indicator light showing a leaf has to be an homage. Surely.

I kinda love it.

Trinity Continuum Bundle Of Holding

Trinity Continuum Bundle Of Holding focusing on the modern base era and Adventure! as add-on.

VTMDND Bones Of The Empire

Jason Carl demonstrates the D&D version of Vampire: The Dark Ages, from Gen Con 2026. Hopefully we can get the V6 demo back soon too?

In the meantime the small number of Blood Points and the various uses for them is interesting - especially having to use one not a Frenzy.

Star Trek at 60

Star Trek was first broadcast in the US sixty years ago tonight!

(Not counting the Canadian premiere being two days earlier, as I noted ten years ago,)

There has been a lot of Star Trek in the last decade, in a wide variety of styles.

This is one of the great story engines. Speaking as someone who’s never quite used it for games.

Right now the flagship show is Strange New Worlds, a prequel to the original series, which I feel has gotten mired in the “strange” part of the title. I imagine a full 26-episode season where we get these premieres and finales and two normal-ish episodes for every one we actually see.

And after that there’s nothing in production.

This would be a good day to announce something. But the current rights holders may not be the people to do it.

We could do with some optimism right now.

What future do you want?