Happy Hogmanay!
31: New Year
“And a happy New Year!”
With the post-Dickens modern tradition of Christmas as a time for family, New Year’s Eve has become the big noisy drunk party point on the late December calendar. Time for going out to see friends, or partying.
If your characters have links to a nightclub, as is quite common in the Vampire family of games, this is a Big Night which could make or break the business. Bad time for a rival vampire to summon rats into the kitchens...
We’ve made Hogmanay a big Scottish branding event, and here in Edinburgh we’ve been having street parties since before I was born, and organised ones with big bands and fireworks since 1993, these days ticketed and increasingly inconvenient for people living in the demarcated areas. And when we come in, as First Footers we may or may not provide good luck for the year ahead.
Of course it’s also the symbolic end and beginning of years, a liminal time. What is to come in the year ahead?
Twenty years ago, the Millennium Bug could have wrecked a vast number of computer systems if not for a lot of work to avert it.
The Eighth Doctor Who TV movie was about the then-futuristic millennium as well. The Arnold Schwarzenegger movie End Of Days had New Year 1999 - local time, since he asks - as the potential marker of the Apocalypse. Buffy fought a literal Millennium Bug in a Dark Horse Comics special written by Doug Petrie. And we also have GURPS Y2K.
And this year we go into 2020, and a lot of early Cyberpunk players feel very, very old.
Tuesday 31 December 2019
December 31: New Year
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Monday 30 December 2019
Syd Mead
Syd Mead, concept designer on Blade Runner, Aliens, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and so much SF, has died.
Hunting
Over the holidays I saw a documentary about returning big cats kept as pets to the wild, and one cat was totally tame until they finally got him to hunt, and suddenly he was snarling at them to protect his kill. I think about that with vampires...
December 30: What Comes Next
As Twelfth Night follows Christmas Day...
30: What Comes After
“We’ve got to find Jack! There’s only 365 days left until next Halloween!”
The Christmas story doesn’t start and end at the manger. It’s preceded by the annunciation and followed by the arrival of the Magi, the flight from Herod, and a bunch of other stuff. In a heavily religious setting like medieval Europe, it’s one of many events in the calendar, some connected and some not. What does your setting’s saviour do between their miraculous birth and getting down to the business of saving everything?
30: What Comes After
“We’ve got to find Jack! There’s only 365 days left until next Halloween!”
The Christmas story doesn’t start and end at the manger. It’s preceded by the annunciation and followed by the arrival of the Magi, the flight from Herod, and a bunch of other stuff. In a heavily religious setting like medieval Europe, it’s one of many events in the calendar, some connected and some not. What does your setting’s saviour do between their miraculous birth and getting down to the business of saving everything?
Happy birthday mum!
Happy birthday to my mother. Seven Worlds One Planet, a new Miss Fisher book, chocolate and mince pies. Apple strudel to follow.
Sunday 29 December 2019
December 29: The Selection Box
Okay, one more odd secular Christmas tradition.
29: The Selection Box
“There’s no foot inside but there’s candy...”
When stuck for a gift you can often fall back on a selection box of chocolates, or a cheese board or something like that. In case there isn’t enough food in the house.
You could also do this with gaming if you have time for a biggish session in between regular meetups. If somebody got a one-shot friendly game or adventure for the holidays and wants to run it, if somebody got a board or card game and wants to try it, if someone has a goofy idea that wouldn’t fit a regular game... do them all!
29: The Selection Box
“There’s no foot inside but there’s candy...”
When stuck for a gift you can often fall back on a selection box of chocolates, or a cheese board or something like that. In case there isn’t enough food in the house.
You could also do this with gaming if you have time for a biggish session in between regular meetups. If somebody got a one-shot friendly game or adventure for the holidays and wants to run it, if somebody got a board or card game and wants to try it, if someone has a goofy idea that wouldn’t fit a regular game... do them all!
Not today, Satan!
Not today, Satan!
Tomorrow isn’t looking good either. I have some openings next week. How’s your Tuesday, mid-morning?
Kiersten White
Tomorrow isn’t looking good either. I have some openings next week. How’s your Tuesday, mid-morning?
Kiersten White
Saturday 28 December 2019
December 28: Getting Away From It All
Entering that strange weekend between Christmas and New Year...
28: Getting Away From It All
“Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs...”
If a holiday or other event is overwhelming enough, it might be tempting to go and do something else. People jet off on holiday for Christmas, and not just to visit family and friends.
You can also take a break from the festivities with gaming and run a regular session or a totally un-festive one-shot. Look at all the times something like The Great Escape is on TV during holidays.
28: Getting Away From It All
“Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs...”
If a holiday or other event is overwhelming enough, it might be tempting to go and do something else. People jet off on holiday for Christmas, and not just to visit family and friends.
You can also take a break from the festivities with gaming and run a regular session or a totally un-festive one-shot. Look at all the times something like The Great Escape is on TV during holidays.
Friday 27 December 2019
Cyberpunk 2077 action figures
Cyberpunk 2077 action figures coming soon from McFarlane Toys, featuring Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand and (for now) only the default male V. I hope for rather more, like female V at least, let alone some of the assorted other characters...
December 27: The Lord Of Misrule
An idea I thought was connected to Boxing Day, but apparently not...
27: The Lord Of Misrule
“Then Mister Oogie Boogie Man
Will take the whole thing over then”
A Christmas tradition relating to the Feast of Fools, the Lord of Misrule is in charge of the more anarchic revelry of the season, either actually organising some of it or as a symbolic king-for-a-day situation.
While the real historical Lord of Misrule could only disrupt the social order to a certain extent, a real king-for-a-day situation could make a real mess of a fantasy setting.
And it’s also the kind of mess a player character might get himself into, even without the sometime addition of killing them at the end of their temporary reign.
It also gave its name to Lords Of Misrule, a British folk horror comic about horrible faeries and other folkloric oddities, as well as a Nigel Tranter novel starting a trilogy about the Stewart dynasty.
27: The Lord Of Misrule
“Then Mister Oogie Boogie Man
Will take the whole thing over then”
A Christmas tradition relating to the Feast of Fools, the Lord of Misrule is in charge of the more anarchic revelry of the season, either actually organising some of it or as a symbolic king-for-a-day situation.
While the real historical Lord of Misrule could only disrupt the social order to a certain extent, a real king-for-a-day situation could make a real mess of a fantasy setting.
And it’s also the kind of mess a player character might get himself into, even without the sometime addition of killing them at the end of their temporary reign.
It also gave its name to Lords Of Misrule, a British folk horror comic about horrible faeries and other folkloric oddities, as well as a Nigel Tranter novel starting a trilogy about the Stewart dynasty.
Thursday 26 December 2019
December 26: The Morning After
Boxing Day, also known as...
26: The Morning After
“Ouch...”
Time for leftovers, hangovers, holdovers...
Christmas boxes given to servants give the day its name.
Ever dealt with the cleanup after a grand celebration?
The formerly January sales begin, notably in furniture stores, having already started online, not counting Black Friday and more. Some revelers are very happy to get out and be on their way.
26: The Morning After
“Ouch...”
Time for leftovers, hangovers, holdovers...
Christmas boxes given to servants give the day its name.
Ever dealt with the cleanup after a grand celebration?
The formerly January sales begin, notably in furniture stores, having already started online, not counting Black Friday and more. Some revelers are very happy to get out and be on their way.
Wednesday 25 December 2019
December 25: Christmas
Merry Christmas if appropriate! Have a good day in any case.
And now in this December challenge I should mention the titular Christmas story...
25: Christmas
“Unto us a child is born.”
The Nativity is one of the touchstones of human culture, not just in Christianity as plenty of other traditions have miraculous births marked by signs and wonders. Hercules strangles snakes while in his crib, Athena emerges adult and armoured from the brow of Zeus, Mithras is a miraculous birth around the winter solstice, Anakin Skywalker, Connor in Angel...
Anyway, the specifics of the Nativity have the mother in need of shelter and safety as she’s about to give birth, with an evil king pursuing the mother and baby to raise the stakes, some wise men who may be kings and/or wizards, some earthy shepherds, optionally talking animals...
In the Fantazia magazine article that started me waffling on about Christmas in games, Alison Brooks suggested the heroes helping with a birth. “Is the child a new Messiah, or is the message of hope implicit in every new birth?”
And being me, I went and did it in Vampire: The Masquerade. It does seem somewhat apt as the game roots the Kindred in the story of Cain and has cross-wielding hunters among their problems and angels and demons in various guises in the setting, as well as its own prophecy of the Last Daughter Of Eve.
Of course it’s best to check sensitivities around the table before pulling something like this.
And now in this December challenge I should mention the titular Christmas story...
25: Christmas
“Unto us a child is born.”
The Nativity is one of the touchstones of human culture, not just in Christianity as plenty of other traditions have miraculous births marked by signs and wonders. Hercules strangles snakes while in his crib, Athena emerges adult and armoured from the brow of Zeus, Mithras is a miraculous birth around the winter solstice, Anakin Skywalker, Connor in Angel...
Anyway, the specifics of the Nativity have the mother in need of shelter and safety as she’s about to give birth, with an evil king pursuing the mother and baby to raise the stakes, some wise men who may be kings and/or wizards, some earthy shepherds, optionally talking animals...
In the Fantazia magazine article that started me waffling on about Christmas in games, Alison Brooks suggested the heroes helping with a birth. “Is the child a new Messiah, or is the message of hope implicit in every new birth?”
And being me, I went and did it in Vampire: The Masquerade. It does seem somewhat apt as the game roots the Kindred in the story of Cain and has cross-wielding hunters among their problems and angels and demons in various guises in the setting, as well as its own prophecy of the Last Daughter Of Eve.
Of course it’s best to check sensitivities around the table before pulling something like this.
Tuesday 24 December 2019
December 24: Making Christmas
It’s Christmas Eve. Hopefully by now you’ve done your shopping and any seasonal gaming. And spare a thought for those working over the holidays...
24: Making Christmas
“Making Christmas, making Christmas...”
Given the number of stories with Santa and crew as main characters, that could be playable. A one-shot or even a series about the creators and deliverers of a magical event.
The Prep & Landing series of shorts would gamify very easily for example, playing with heist and spy setups for the elves making Santa’s job a little easier.
Various versions of the Claus family like Arthur Christmas and Noelle could work too, with a series maybe looking at what happens around the rest of the year.
And of course there’s the Tolkien version which is somewhat relevant to gamers.
24: Making Christmas
“Making Christmas, making Christmas...”
Given the number of stories with Santa and crew as main characters, that could be playable. A one-shot or even a series about the creators and deliverers of a magical event.
The Prep & Landing series of shorts would gamify very easily for example, playing with heist and spy setups for the elves making Santa’s job a little easier.
Various versions of the Claus family like Arthur Christmas and Noelle could work too, with a series maybe looking at what happens around the rest of the year.
And of course there’s the Tolkien version which is somewhat relevant to gamers.
Monday 23 December 2019
December 23: Toy Story
A one-shot idea that should be kid-friendly...
23: Toy Story
“T - O - Y, TOY!”
Toys come to life and have an adventure around Christmas, which is hardly a new idea but has obvious advantages such as the availability of playing pieces and scenery. How will Christmas Tree Angel get from the tree to the sofa?
And if you have an army of villainous miniatures lying around, you have ready-made bad guys. :)
Rules-wise you could use something like Puppetland even though its setting wouldn’t really work for this purpose.
23: Toy Story
“T - O - Y, TOY!”
Toys come to life and have an adventure around Christmas, which is hardly a new idea but has obvious advantages such as the availability of playing pieces and scenery. How will Christmas Tree Angel get from the tree to the sofa?
And if you have an army of villainous miniatures lying around, you have ready-made bad guys. :)
Rules-wise you could use something like Puppetland even though its setting wouldn’t really work for this purpose.
Sunday 22 December 2019
Looking For Leia
Looking For Leia, a documentary series on women and non-binary fans of Star Wars and what it means to them.
December 22: The Winter Solstice
It’s the Winter Solstice. So...
22: The Winter Solstice
“Comes the sun again...”
The longest and shortest days are natural points to mark the passing of seasons.
Christmas is (allegedly) three or four days after the solstice because of taking over Saturnalia, and the Romans wanted to make sure the days were getting longer again before celebrating.
And there are days when the old tradition of having a big party around Hallowe’en and then staying indoors for four months sounds quite sensible.
This would be particularly true in settings with extreme and lengthy seasons, like Westeros or Helliconia. The eventual arrival of the time of renewal would be cause for great celebration. Once you’ve confirmed it’s happening, of course.
22: The Winter Solstice
“Comes the sun again...”
The longest and shortest days are natural points to mark the passing of seasons.
Christmas is (allegedly) three or four days after the solstice because of taking over Saturnalia, and the Romans wanted to make sure the days were getting longer again before celebrating.
And there are days when the old tradition of having a big party around Hallowe’en and then staying indoors for four months sounds quite sensible.
This would be particularly true in settings with extreme and lengthy seasons, like Westeros or Helliconia. The eventual arrival of the time of renewal would be cause for great celebration. Once you’ve confirmed it’s happening, of course.
Saturday 21 December 2019
December 21: The Robin
One of the odder symbols of the season here...
21: The Robin
“I? I’m hope that never dies, that is reborn at the end of every winter, laughing at despair! I am its symbol and its harbinger! I am the spring, the promise implicit in every birth, the wonder that rises with every new day! I am The Robin.”
The above quote comes from a Detective Comics story written by John Ostrander in which, because Batman is a public figure, someone starts publishing a Batman comic in Gotham City.
But anyway, it’s a quote about robins, a suggestion of why Batman’s partner took up that title.
The little red-chested bird is a splash of colour most noticeable in winter, our national bird, and with mythic and symbolic connections to the season making it the star of many a Christmas card.
What heralds the end of winter in your game?
21: The Robin
“I? I’m hope that never dies, that is reborn at the end of every winter, laughing at despair! I am its symbol and its harbinger! I am the spring, the promise implicit in every birth, the wonder that rises with every new day! I am The Robin.”
The above quote comes from a Detective Comics story written by John Ostrander in which, because Batman is a public figure, someone starts publishing a Batman comic in Gotham City.
But anyway, it’s a quote about robins, a suggestion of why Batman’s partner took up that title.
The little red-chested bird is a splash of colour most noticeable in winter, our national bird, and with mythic and symbolic connections to the season making it the star of many a Christmas card.
What heralds the end of winter in your game?
Friday 20 December 2019
December 20: Christmas Dinner
I am now done with The Shopping, except for the food. So... much... food.
20: Christmas Dinner
“The smell of cakes and pies is absolutely everywhere...”
Turkey is a Christmas thing here as we have no Thanksgiving. (What is the usual Christmas dinner in the US?)
Along with... mince pies (mincemeat... not mince or meat)... Christmas pudding... fruitcake... Yule log... lately stollen and panettone have been added... gingerbread... chocolate coins... chocolate from advent calendars... candy canes... more chocolate...
What do characters eat at celebrations in your setting?
20: Christmas Dinner
“The smell of cakes and pies is absolutely everywhere...”
Turkey is a Christmas thing here as we have no Thanksgiving. (What is the usual Christmas dinner in the US?)
Along with... mince pies (mincemeat... not mince or meat)... Christmas pudding... fruitcake... Yule log... lately stollen and panettone have been added... gingerbread... chocolate coins... chocolate from advent calendars... candy canes... more chocolate...
What do characters eat at celebrations in your setting?
A || State
A || State second edition, coming soon from Handiwork Games.
Thursday 19 December 2019
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker
Spoilers up in a week. In the meantime...
I liked some of the choices made, but not all.
Tonally, unsurprisingly closer to The Force Awakens. Plot-wise, some may be familiar from certain other Lucasfilm productions.
I liked some of the choices made, but not all.
Tonally, unsurprisingly closer to The Force Awakens. Plot-wise, some may be familiar from certain other Lucasfilm productions.
December 19: Going To The Movies
Another way to give your players a gift - go large.
19: Going To The Movies
“Showtime!”
Jaws was only a summer blockbuster because it was late. Star Wars too. They were meant to be out for Christmas. Even though Jaws is set around the Fourth of July and Star Wars starts out on a desert planet. That was the usual time to roll out a big movie, and it’s still the time for animated features, and James Bond, and now for Star Wars again.
So a festive session would be a good time to do a big crazy fan-service-y session as well. Ever wanted to play the legendary Golden Age heroes your regular game’s characters carry artefacts from? Or the big meta-crossover between your superhero team and all the others the players and GM have introduced to the setting?
19: Going To The Movies
“Showtime!”
Jaws was only a summer blockbuster because it was late. Star Wars too. They were meant to be out for Christmas. Even though Jaws is set around the Fourth of July and Star Wars starts out on a desert planet. That was the usual time to roll out a big movie, and it’s still the time for animated features, and James Bond, and now for Star Wars again.
So a festive session would be a good time to do a big crazy fan-service-y session as well. Ever wanted to play the legendary Golden Age heroes your regular game’s characters carry artefacts from? Or the big meta-crossover between your superhero team and all the others the players and GM have introduced to the setting?
Wednesday 18 December 2019
December 18: The Totally Canon Special
And where there is one idea, the opposite may also apply.
18: The Totally Canon Special
“’Tis the season. Whatever that means.”
Some ongoing series make their Christmas episode hugely important. In the soaps Christmas is often celebrated with a murder. Doctor Who had The Christmas Invasion as the Tenth Doctor’s first adventure, and The Time Of The Doctor as the Eleventh’s last. Buffy The Vampire Slayer had one Christmas episode and the villain went on to become the Big Bad for the final season.
The last session before a holiday break might not be the best time to raise the stakes like this, especially if players miss it due to last-minute packing and the like, but it could certainly play host to a cliffhanger ending...
18: The Totally Canon Special
“’Tis the season. Whatever that means.”
Some ongoing series make their Christmas episode hugely important. In the soaps Christmas is often celebrated with a murder. Doctor Who had The Christmas Invasion as the Tenth Doctor’s first adventure, and The Time Of The Doctor as the Eleventh’s last. Buffy The Vampire Slayer had one Christmas episode and the villain went on to become the Big Bad for the final season.
The last session before a holiday break might not be the best time to raise the stakes like this, especially if players miss it due to last-minute packing and the like, but it could certainly play host to a cliffhanger ending...
Tuesday 17 December 2019
December 17: The Non-Canon Special
Is your Christmas special... canon?
17: The Non-Canon Special
“Incidentally, a happy Christmas to all of you at home!”
Due to tone, fourth wall breaking, strange appearances, or other spikes in Weird Level, special episodes of regular series for the holiday season or other events may not “count” in the official timeline, being included among spinoffs even if they appear in the series’ home medium.
The most notorious example in geek culture is of course the Star Wars Holiday Special. Despite Boba Fett making his debut in the animated section and some other elements being included in Legends and even the modern canon (notably Fett’s tuning-fork rifle being the basis for The Mandalorian’s ranged weapon of choice, and mention of Life Day in the premiere) it’s still very very not counted. In another universe, perhaps Lucasfilm kept a tighter grip on things or they only made the animated section and Star Wars Holiday Specials became a much-loved tradition... And it could still happen!
Less extremely, the above quote comes from the Christmas Day 1965 Doctor Who episode The Feast Of Steven, as William Hartnell led a toast for the Doctor’s companions and then turned to the camera to toast the audience as well. It’s an oddity, but nothing compared to the continuity issues of the 30th anniversary Children In Need telethon special Dimensions In Time which featured a crossover with EastEnders - it has since been established that each show exists as a TV show in the other show’s setting.
So the session nearest Christmas might be a good time to get a bit relaxed with continuity, in keeping with the partying festive spirit.
My plan for Sounds Like Hell involved adorable talking animals. Which might still happen in season two, if I’m feeling weird enough.
Due to tone, fourth wall breaking, strange appearances, or other spikes in Weird Level, special episodes of regular series for the holiday season or other events may not “count” in the official timeline, being included among spinoffs even if they appear in the series’ home medium.
The most notorious example in geek culture is of course the Star Wars Holiday Special. Despite Boba Fett making his debut in the animated section and some other elements being included in Legends and even the modern canon (notably Fett’s tuning-fork rifle being the basis for The Mandalorian’s ranged weapon of choice, and mention of Life Day in the premiere) it’s still very very not counted. In another universe, perhaps Lucasfilm kept a tighter grip on things or they only made the animated section and Star Wars Holiday Specials became a much-loved tradition... And it could still happen!
Less extremely, the above quote comes from the Christmas Day 1965 Doctor Who episode The Feast Of Steven, as William Hartnell led a toast for the Doctor’s companions and then turned to the camera to toast the audience as well. It’s an oddity, but nothing compared to the continuity issues of the 30th anniversary Children In Need telethon special Dimensions In Time which featured a crossover with EastEnders - it has since been established that each show exists as a TV show in the other show’s setting.
So the session nearest Christmas might be a good time to get a bit relaxed with continuity, in keeping with the partying festive spirit.
My plan for Sounds Like Hell involved adorable talking animals. Which might still happen in season two, if I’m feeling weird enough.
Monday 16 December 2019
December 16: Christmas... In... SPAAAAACE
So the ghosts of Christmas past, present... and future.
16: Christmas... In... SPAAAAACE
“And Mrs. Claus has positively identified the kidnappers as Martians.”
Given how much Christmas traditions have changed over the past centuries, and particularly the last century (with humanity’s first actual Christmas in space in 1968 and a number celebrated since on the ISS) what will the holiday be like in another century?
Robot Santa?
Star Trek: Generations had a very traditional Dickensian Christmas in Picard’s mindscape, apt as Sir Patrick Stewart has also performed A Christmas Carol as a one-man show and a film.
Judge Dredd Christmas stories have included Weather Control putting on snow, very briefly, and stores sending Santas out on flying sleighs with robot reindeer.
Hardware has a last-minute Christmas present in a post-apocalypse city prove to be a very bad idea.
16: Christmas... In... SPAAAAACE
“And Mrs. Claus has positively identified the kidnappers as Martians.”
Given how much Christmas traditions have changed over the past centuries, and particularly the last century (with humanity’s first actual Christmas in space in 1968 and a number celebrated since on the ISS) what will the holiday be like in another century?
Robot Santa?
Star Trek: Generations had a very traditional Dickensian Christmas in Picard’s mindscape, apt as Sir Patrick Stewart has also performed A Christmas Carol as a one-man show and a film.
Judge Dredd Christmas stories have included Weather Control putting on snow, very briefly, and stores sending Santas out on flying sleighs with robot reindeer.
Hardware has a last-minute Christmas present in a post-apocalypse city prove to be a very bad idea.
Sunday 15 December 2019
Corporate Cthulhu
Your call of Cthulhu is important to us. A short story collection, including No Doves Come From Raven Eggs by my brother Mark, on DriveThruFiction Deal Of The Day.
December 15: Fairytales
As a family event, a lot of family-friendly stories are brought out around Christmas.
15: Fairytales
“When you wish upon a star...”
In the UK, pantomimes are a big thing in theatres around this time, telling often deeply meta and strange versions of fairytales with a lot more drag and pop culture jokes than a new observer might expect.
Likewise, Scottish Ballet has a fairytale-themed child-friendly show over the holiday season - this year, The Snow Queen - and other shows are on in theatres and special screenings in cinemas as well as on the TV.
Disney films and other versions of various fairytales are also likely to show up on TV and sometimes in seasonal rereleases and screenings, even if there isn’t a new one out for the holidays as there is this year with Frozen II.
So that’s another option, perhaps going higher fantasy than normal for one session if the Weird Level allows it.
15: Fairytales
“When you wish upon a star...”
In the UK, pantomimes are a big thing in theatres around this time, telling often deeply meta and strange versions of fairytales with a lot more drag and pop culture jokes than a new observer might expect.
Likewise, Scottish Ballet has a fairytale-themed child-friendly show over the holiday season - this year, The Snow Queen - and other shows are on in theatres and special screenings in cinemas as well as on the TV.
Disney films and other versions of various fairytales are also likely to show up on TV and sometimes in seasonal rereleases and screenings, even if there isn’t a new one out for the holidays as there is this year with Frozen II.
So that’s another option, perhaps going higher fantasy than normal for one session if the Weird Level allows it.
Saturday 14 December 2019
Hush
Tonight marks the twentieth anniversary of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode Hush.
As noted before, a tricky one to replicate in the voice-only medium of RPGs!
As noted before, a tricky one to replicate in the voice-only medium of RPGs!
December 14: Games
As well as toys, Christmas is a time for something even more relevant here...
14: Games
“Let’s play!”
While Christmas doesn’t have specific party games connected to it like Halloween does, it is a time for family get-togethers including such pastimes. Card-playing is listed among traditional activities in the pre-Dickensian Christmas histories.
Geeky families may well give games and try to have a play during the holidays. Non-geeky families may fall out over M*n*p*ly.
Ever swiped a plot from a board or card game setup? A country house murder mystery with colour-coded suspects, perhaps...?
And one of my earliest Christmas-themed RPG sessions started as a board game, Sleigh Wars from White Dwarf issue 72.
14: Games
“Let’s play!”
While Christmas doesn’t have specific party games connected to it like Halloween does, it is a time for family get-togethers including such pastimes. Card-playing is listed among traditional activities in the pre-Dickensian Christmas histories.
Geeky families may well give games and try to have a play during the holidays. Non-geeky families may fall out over M*n*p*ly.
Ever swiped a plot from a board or card game setup? A country house murder mystery with colour-coded suspects, perhaps...?
And one of my earliest Christmas-themed RPG sessions started as a board game, Sleigh Wars from White Dwarf issue 72.
Friday 13 December 2019
V5 sourcebooks on the way
Coming soon: The Fall Of London (preorder get a PDF) from Modiphius, and Cults Of The Blood Gods via Kickstarter from Onyx Path.
Also, Jackalope and Event Horizon running a Camarilla LARP, In Plain Sight.
Also, Jackalope and Event Horizon running a Camarilla LARP, In Plain Sight.
December 13: In The Bleak Midwinter
It’s twelve days before Christmas but it’s also Friday the 13th, so...
13: In The Bleak Midwinter
“And they call him... Sandy Claws!”
Christmas and horror and related genres.
Christmas is a time for ghost stories besides A Christmas Carol. M. R. James would premiere stories at Christmas readings, hence the BBC adaptations traditionally showing around the season too.
There’s a subgenre of seasonal horror movies popularised by Halloween of course - but the original Black Christmas predates it.
Oh, and there’s that thing I keep quoting...
When else would you want a strange magical being to enter your house while you sleep, by the chimney no less?
13: In The Bleak Midwinter
“And they call him... Sandy Claws!”
Christmas and horror and related genres.
Christmas is a time for ghost stories besides A Christmas Carol. M. R. James would premiere stories at Christmas readings, hence the BBC adaptations traditionally showing around the season too.
There’s a subgenre of seasonal horror movies popularised by Halloween of course - but the original Black Christmas predates it.
Oh, and there’s that thing I keep quoting...
When else would you want a strange magical being to enter your house while you sleep, by the chimney no less?
Thursday 12 December 2019
December 12: Presents
We’re halfway through the Advent calendar. Do you have your shopping done?
12: Presents
“What do you get for the man who has everything?”
It’s better to give than to receive, supposedly. Christmas encourages you to do both. A lot.
Characters’ gift choices may say a lot about them. As may how they react to the gifts they get.
There have been entire stories told about the hunt for the latest craze present, from an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie to an episode of Frasier.
Gift-giving is rarely a moment to introduce major power-ups, although it happens in Narnia.
And the question of what to get for someone who has everything may be a pressing issue if, say, you have to attend the royal court or the city’s vampire Prince’s winter solstice party...
12: Presents
“What do you get for the man who has everything?”
It’s better to give than to receive, supposedly. Christmas encourages you to do both. A lot.
Characters’ gift choices may say a lot about them. As may how they react to the gifts they get.
There have been entire stories told about the hunt for the latest craze present, from an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie to an episode of Frasier.
Gift-giving is rarely a moment to introduce major power-ups, although it happens in Narnia.
And the question of what to get for someone who has everything may be a pressing issue if, say, you have to attend the royal court or the city’s vampire Prince’s winter solstice party...
Wednesday 11 December 2019
December 11: Christmas Pre-Dickens
Before A Christmas Carol made the Christmas we know today, there were over eighteen hundred of them.
11: Christmas Pre-Dickens
“Low the tide, low the light, Comes the sun again”
After a few centuries of arguing when to have Christmas, Christians settled for December and mostly stuck to that. Charlemagne popularised being crowned on Christmas Day, and William the Conqueror followed his example. Feasts and gift-giving and caroling came in, and James VI and I had plays put on every Christmas night, so can be partially blamed for panto season.
Sir Gawain And The Green Knight starts at King Arthur’s Christmas / New Year feast, as Pendragon GMs should know.
11: Christmas Pre-Dickens
“Low the tide, low the light, Comes the sun again”
After a few centuries of arguing when to have Christmas, Christians settled for December and mostly stuck to that. Charlemagne popularised being crowned on Christmas Day, and William the Conqueror followed his example. Feasts and gift-giving and caroling came in, and James VI and I had plays put on every Christmas night, so can be partially blamed for panto season.
Sir Gawain And The Green Knight starts at King Arthur’s Christmas / New Year feast, as Pendragon GMs should know.
Tuesday 10 December 2019
Kavalier And Clay, the series
Michael Chabon is bringing his breakthrough novel, The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier And Clay, to TV, telling the tale of the Golden Age of superhero comics through a pair of fictional creators. Previous non-book work related to the story includes actual comics of the heroes’ superhero creation the Escapist.
December 10: Happy Life Day
But what if your setting doesn’t have Christmas?
10: Happy Life Day
“You mean Exmas?”
So you have a setting with no direct connection to our last two thousand years of history, like a fantasy world, but want to do a festive special anyway. What to do?
You could look at related real festivals like winter solstice celebrations for inspiration, run with the satire, or play with one of the stories or other ideas connected to Christmas but not really part of the setup, like A Christmas Carol or “It’s A Wonderful Life”. The player characters could be visited by ghosts, or be the ones setting someone else up for an apparent visitation.
You could likewise have a festive session for a fictional event at any time. When and how does the Reikland celebrate Sigmar’s birth? How does the New Republic mark the fall of the Emperor?
10: Happy Life Day
“You mean Exmas?”
So you have a setting with no direct connection to our last two thousand years of history, like a fantasy world, but want to do a festive special anyway. What to do?
You could look at related real festivals like winter solstice celebrations for inspiration, run with the satire, or play with one of the stories or other ideas connected to Christmas but not really part of the setup, like A Christmas Carol or “It’s A Wonderful Life”. The player characters could be visited by ghosts, or be the ones setting someone else up for an apparent visitation.
You could likewise have a festive session for a fictional event at any time. When and how does the Reikland celebrate Sigmar’s birth? How does the New Republic mark the fall of the Emperor?
Monday 9 December 2019
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Four Ghostbusters movies, four different tones. And Afterlife looks the most different yet. The trailer music sounds more like The Force Awakens, which is also about a new generation discovering that some mystical legends are true and wielding the relics of a previous battle...
December 9: Let It Snow
Thanks to Dickens growing up during the Little Ice Age, Christmas is a holiday with its own weather pattern. (Halloween has dark and stormy nights, of course.)
9: Let It Snow
“The cold never bothered me anyway...”
Christmas comes in winter in the northern hemisphere, and while British winters are more likely to have snow later on, the beautiful blanket of strangeness would seem to make the world peaceful.
In Christmas stories it’s often actively magical - see Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s one Christmas episode, Amends.
Snow and ice can affect movement, muffled sound making stealth easier but giving much clearer footprints or risking loss of footing, as well as the chill affecting the body.
And consider characters with cold powers. You can fight with it, or create art...
9: Let It Snow
“The cold never bothered me anyway...”
Christmas comes in winter in the northern hemisphere, and while British winters are more likely to have snow later on, the beautiful blanket of strangeness would seem to make the world peaceful.
In Christmas stories it’s often actively magical - see Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s one Christmas episode, Amends.
Snow and ice can affect movement, muffled sound making stealth easier but giving much clearer footprints or risking loss of footing, as well as the chill affecting the body.
And consider characters with cold powers. You can fight with it, or create art...
Sunday 8 December 2019
Wonder Woman 1984
All the world is waiting for you
The 80s as a historical setting still weirds me out, but...
The 80s as a historical setting still weirds me out, but...
I’m an NPC!
Free Guy, starring Ryan Reynolds as a background character in a video game who discovers what his world really is.
This idea comes up in RPGs, usually like this for humour as a way of looking askance at the norms of games, although Over The Edge suggested it more-or-less seriously as one of its possible arc plot.
This idea comes up in RPGs, usually like this for humour as a way of looking askance at the norms of games, although Over The Edge suggested it more-or-less seriously as one of its possible arc plot.
December 8: A Kiss Under The Mistletoe
One of the aforementioned Christmas traditions...
8: A Kiss Under The Mistletoe
“A kiss can be even deadlier... if you mean it.”
Wow, I keep making Burton Batman quotes here, don’t I? Thank meeting Danny Elfman for that.
While the specifics of using mistletoe are puzzling, romance makes sense in any festive occasion with lots of people gathering and having parties. There’s a whole subgenre of Christmas-specific romantic comedies, with optional Christmas magic being involved. (This year Netflix has made one about a time-traveling knight, complete with the modern-day heroine hitting him with her car a la Thor.)
More generally a subplot than a main plot, of course.
8: A Kiss Under The Mistletoe
“A kiss can be even deadlier... if you mean it.”
Wow, I keep making Burton Batman quotes here, don’t I? Thank meeting Danny Elfman for that.
While the specifics of using mistletoe are puzzling, romance makes sense in any festive occasion with lots of people gathering and having parties. There’s a whole subgenre of Christmas-specific romantic comedies, with optional Christmas magic being involved. (This year Netflix has made one about a time-traveling knight, complete with the modern-day heroine hitting him with her car a la Thor.)
More generally a subplot than a main plot, of course.
Saturday 7 December 2019
Star Trek: Discovery on UK TV
Star Trek: Discovery starts on E4 starting on Sunday the 15th. Season one is mostly fun with some issues, notably pacing, but worth it for the characters and style, I think. (Season two is more fun, I think, though still paced oddly.)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released in the US forty years ago today.
It had been more than ten years since the end of the original series (and five since the animated series) and Star Trek was back, looking beautiful and presenting an optimistic vision of the future.
Famously troubled, it started as the pilot script for a planned TV revival while other film scripts came and went, regained Spock after moving to the big screen, and used that screen to show the Enterprise and the threat of V’ger to an epic extent, though it has been observed that the runtime-filling giant uncut effects shots, often beautiful, add to its slow pace.
An interesting experiment in 2001-like big ideas SF using the established characters, being cinema-ified and released in response to Star Wars didn’t help.
Its main effect on the following films and shows was in swinging away from it. The Wrath Of Khan would follow a zippier action-adventure tone with a straightforward villain and more emphasis on dialogue and humour, and subsequent films include a lot more Khans than TMPs. That, and giving the theme tune to Star Trek: The Next Generation. But it provided a future for the setting, and for that I am grateful.
It had been more than ten years since the end of the original series (and five since the animated series) and Star Trek was back, looking beautiful and presenting an optimistic vision of the future.
Famously troubled, it started as the pilot script for a planned TV revival while other film scripts came and went, regained Spock after moving to the big screen, and used that screen to show the Enterprise and the threat of V’ger to an epic extent, though it has been observed that the runtime-filling giant uncut effects shots, often beautiful, add to its slow pace.
An interesting experiment in 2001-like big ideas SF using the established characters, being cinema-ified and released in response to Star Wars didn’t help.
Its main effect on the following films and shows was in swinging away from it. The Wrath Of Khan would follow a zippier action-adventure tone with a straightforward villain and more emphasis on dialogue and humour, and subsequent films include a lot more Khans than TMPs. That, and giving the theme tune to Star Trek: The Next Generation. But it provided a future for the setting, and for that I am grateful.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse fifth edition
Werewolf: The Apocalypse fifth edition, release date 2021, from Hunters Entertainment and Renegade Game Studios, creators of Kids On Bikes and the Altered Carbon RPG.
December 7: Santa Claus
One week in, time for one of the stars of the show...
7: Santa Claus!
“Ho-ho-ho!”
As noted yesterday, Santa Claus is pretty strange. A conglomeration of St. Nicholas, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Lord of Misrule, the pagan overlord of a Christian festival.
Various interpretations and non-Nicholas origins have been presented since he rose to prominence - there’s a new one on Netflix this season, and a new chapter of the Grant Morrison and Dan Mora comic version of the same name - and he has official D&D stats, is available in miniature form from various companies, made a notable surprise guest appearance in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, was the narrator of a series of letter by J.R.R. Tolkien to his children, and Comics Alliance used to adapt odd St. Nicholas stories and discuss his importance in various superhero universes and other settings.
How you might use him in a game depends very much on the game, its general tone, its overall Weird Level and the seasonal adjustability thereof...
7: Santa Claus!
“Ho-ho-ho!”
As noted yesterday, Santa Claus is pretty strange. A conglomeration of St. Nicholas, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Lord of Misrule, the pagan overlord of a Christian festival.
Various interpretations and non-Nicholas origins have been presented since he rose to prominence - there’s a new one on Netflix this season, and a new chapter of the Grant Morrison and Dan Mora comic version of the same name - and he has official D&D stats, is available in miniature form from various companies, made a notable surprise guest appearance in The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, was the narrator of a series of letter by J.R.R. Tolkien to his children, and Comics Alliance used to adapt odd St. Nicholas stories and discuss his importance in various superhero universes and other settings.
How you might use him in a game depends very much on the game, its general tone, its overall Weird Level and the seasonal adjustability thereof...
Friday 6 December 2019
Star Wars representation
Finn and Poe will not be getting together. Will somebody? Someday, surely... We have LGBTQ representation in the books, comics and the like, and recently non-hetero flirting options added to The Old Republic MMO, but not yet on the live-action screen...
December 6: Christmas Traditions
Or, a story all about Christmas and its various accrued traditions, and how weird they can be...
6: Christmas Traditions
“What’s this? What’s this? There’s colour everywhere! What’s this? There’s white things in the air!”
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is all about someone having his first experience of Christmas, and while he likes it he really doesn’t get it. And then in attempting to get it, he tries to appropriate it.
And Santa Claus has to explain what he does, without really explaining why. Really, what is it with kissing under mistletoe? Or Santa’s sleigh being pulled by flying reindeer? Or...
6: Christmas Traditions
“What’s this? What’s this? There’s colour everywhere! What’s this? There’s white things in the air!”
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is all about someone having his first experience of Christmas, and while he likes it he really doesn’t get it. And then in attempting to get it, he tries to appropriate it.
And Santa Claus has to explain what he does, without really explaining why. Really, what is it with kissing under mistletoe? Or Santa’s sleigh being pulled by flying reindeer? Or...
Thursday 5 December 2019
Knives Out
Knives Out was fun, tricksy, I would watch further adventures, though not as consistently funny as I was expecting from comparisons to Clue.
December 5: Die Hard
One of the less traditional Christmas stories...
5: Die Hard
“Welcome to the party, pal!”
The festive season makes an ironic backdrop for action. See also most Shane Black films. Maybe it’s related to the season - a big party being the target for thieves - or not.
See also also Christmas horror movies. And Batman Returns. And quite a lot of romcoms, that just happen to be set around Christmas. How many of the 2005-2017 Doctor Who Christmas specials were really Christmassy? One?
5: Die Hard
“Welcome to the party, pal!”
The festive season makes an ironic backdrop for action. See also most Shane Black films. Maybe it’s related to the season - a big party being the target for thieves - or not.
See also also Christmas horror movies. And Batman Returns. And quite a lot of romcoms, that just happen to be set around Christmas. How many of the 2005-2017 Doctor Who Christmas specials were really Christmassy? One?
Wednesday 4 December 2019
Trinity Continuum
The Trinity Continuum core and Aeon bundle out now!
It’s been quite a ride, and it feels really good to have it out to the wider world.
It is very strange seeing news snippets I wrote laid out as artefacts, and groups I created with logos and character art. But I could get used to it!
It’s been quite a ride, and it feels really good to have it out to the wider world.
It is very strange seeing news snippets I wrote laid out as artefacts, and groups I created with logos and character art. But I could get used to it!
Dr. vs. Dracula
In keeping with the current tradition of BBC One showing genre stuff when I’m probably going to be out, the new Doctor Who and Dracula are both apparently starting on New Year’s Day.
December 4: The Christmas Number One
I will refrain from Whamming you.
4: The Christmas Number One
“I hate this song.”
An odd British tradition, the fight to get your song to the top of the singles chart for the Christmas week. It is now such a ye olde tradition that BBC One music chart show Top Of The Pops now only happens at Christmas, it’s one of the plots in Love Actually, and heroic battles to prevent talent shows winning by default have led to such winners as Killing In The Name Of by Rage Against The Machine, now my karaoke standard.
Gaming-wise... hmm, unless the PCs are involved in music... an earworm could be part of a villainous plot. Even better with advertising jingles, though...
4: The Christmas Number One
“I hate this song.”
An odd British tradition, the fight to get your song to the top of the singles chart for the Christmas week. It is now such a ye olde tradition that BBC One music chart show Top Of The Pops now only happens at Christmas, it’s one of the plots in Love Actually, and heroic battles to prevent talent shows winning by default have led to such winners as Killing In The Name Of by Rage Against The Machine, now my karaoke standard.
Gaming-wise... hmm, unless the PCs are involved in music... an earworm could be part of a villainous plot. Even better with advertising jingles, though...
Tuesday 3 December 2019
D.C Fontana
Dorothy Catherine Fontana, the pioneering Star Trek writer known as D.C. to avoid casual viewers knowing she was a woman, has died, aged 80.
Trinity: Ian Watson interview
The Story Told talks to Ian about the Trinity Continuum and more.
December 3: A Christmas Carol
One of the two big stories around the season...
3: A Christmas Carol
“No. Your past.”
Charles Dickens did about as much to codify the modern traditional Christmas as anyone (rivalled maybe by Victoria and Albert, who we have to thank for trees and the like) and there are... quite a few versions of this story. So there’s plenty of room to chop this one around and inflict it on the PCs, or have them use it on a villain with a shot at redemption...
(Not mentioned: Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s only Christmas episode, Amends, where the ghosts tormenting Angel turn out to be something else...)
3: A Christmas Carol
“No. Your past.”
Charles Dickens did about as much to codify the modern traditional Christmas as anyone (rivalled maybe by Victoria and Albert, who we have to thank for trees and the like) and there are... quite a few versions of this story. So there’s plenty of room to chop this one around and inflict it on the PCs, or have them use it on a villain with a shot at redemption...
(Not mentioned: Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s only Christmas episode, Amends, where the ghosts tormenting Angel turn out to be something else...)
Monday 2 December 2019
December 2: The Little Shop
It was Shop Local Saturday this weekend, the Vision-like good offspring of Black Friday.
2: The Little Shop
“As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared.”
Genre fiction is full of strange little shops for various purposes - adventurer supply stores first and foremost - like the costume shop Mr. Benn frequents, the cursed antique store in Friday The 13th: The Series. Magic shops are such a feature in Buffy that Giles took one over after the latest owner fatality in season five.
The little shop that wasn’t there before and isn’t there when you go back is a staple of fantasy and horror as well. Where else are you going to get a monkey’s paw at this time of year?
2: The Little Shop
“As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared.”
Genre fiction is full of strange little shops for various purposes - adventurer supply stores first and foremost - like the costume shop Mr. Benn frequents, the cursed antique store in Friday The 13th: The Series. Magic shops are such a feature in Buffy that Giles took one over after the latest owner fatality in season five.
The little shop that wasn’t there before and isn’t there when you go back is a staple of fantasy and horror as well. Where else are you going to get a monkey’s paw at this time of year?
Sunday 1 December 2019
December 1: The Parade
Something celebratory!
1: The Parade
“I want a parade! Hot dogs, balloons, the whole schmeer!”
Floats, balloons, bands, possibly torches. Macy’s sponsors the big one at Thanksgiving in New York, a feature of many a Thanksgiving or Christmas movie or TV episode, but it’s far from the only one around the world - more locally, Linlithgow has a torchlit Advent Parade on St. Andrew’s Day, as I discovered when attempting to get across the city centre one year.
In gaming, parades are usually either targets for villains, or celebrations of the PCs’ heroics, or both. But any event that draws a crowd could be a chance to make new acquaintances in other ways too.
1: The Parade
“I want a parade! Hot dogs, balloons, the whole schmeer!”
Floats, balloons, bands, possibly torches. Macy’s sponsors the big one at Thanksgiving in New York, a feature of many a Thanksgiving or Christmas movie or TV episode, but it’s far from the only one around the world - more locally, Linlithgow has a torchlit Advent Parade on St. Andrew’s Day, as I discovered when attempting to get across the city centre one year.
In gaming, parades are usually either targets for villains, or celebrations of the PCs’ heroics, or both. But any event that draws a crowd could be a chance to make new acquaintances in other ways too.
December Advent Calendar O: The Party Christmas Party
In lieu of chocolate, an advent calendar of gaming blog stuff!
0: The Party Christmas Party
“My dearest friend, if you don’t mind, I’d like to join you by your side...”
The most basic idea for a seasonal session of a regular game - what do the characters do for the holidays?
Do they spend it together or apart? What presents do they get each other? What other events do they attend? Snowman monster attack optional.
0: The Party Christmas Party
“My dearest friend, if you don’t mind, I’d like to join you by your side...”
The most basic idea for a seasonal session of a regular game - what do the characters do for the holidays?
Do they spend it together or apart? What presents do they get each other? What other events do they attend? Snowman monster attack optional.
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