There's only one word for it...
Awesome!!!!!!!
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Dazzle Camoflague for the Future
Back in WW1 artist and Naval Reservist Norman Wilkinson came up with the idea of covering ships in bizarre geometric paint schemes to make it harder enemy submarines to target them.
Fast forward a hundred years and we are fast approaching a minority report scenario where we are all subjected to face recognition scanning to some degree as we pass through public spaces. We even carry these devices with us every day (it's in the software of most digital cameras in our smartphones).
Thankfully we're not at the stage where you are scanned by GAP as you walk past their billboard at the tube station, but I'm sure that I'm not alone in thinking that things like facebook's face recognition software are a bit creepy, So here's a free app idea for some enterprising mobile developer.
Enter the guys at CV Dazzle who are developing simple makeup and hair techniques to fool facial recognition software. The only downside is that it makes you look like some uber futuristic cyberpunk cosplayer or Lady Gaga fan depending on your perspective (and age).
Which brings us back to Sci-Fi and RPGs in particular. The most common party concept for Sci-Fi games is the band of misfits sticking it to the empire/corporation/man and engaging in lots of covert ops where your ability to hide your identity is crucial. Unless there's been some sort of utopian revolution there is likely to be some form of mass surveillance at work.
R Talsorian's Cyberpunk 2020 had a plethora of fashionware items such as light emitting tattoos, colour changing hair and contact lenses squarely pitched as mere character affectations. The 2006 adaptation of Philip K Dick's "A Scanner Darkly" had undercover cop Keanu Reeves in his hi tech "Scramble Suit" to prevent his identity from being revealed. Even Milla Jovovich got her identity fooling fashion camo together in the visually entertaining "Ultraviolet".
Put these all together and you've got a really sweet combo which should keep those algorithms busy.
 |
| HMS Kildwick in Dazzle Camoflauge |
Thankfully we're not at the stage where you are scanned by GAP as you walk past their billboard at the tube station, but I'm sure that I'm not alone in thinking that things like facebook's face recognition software are a bit creepy, So here's a free app idea for some enterprising mobile developer.
 |
| Muppet face recognition |
Enter the guys at CV Dazzle who are developing simple makeup and hair techniques to fool facial recognition software. The only downside is that it makes you look like some uber futuristic cyberpunk cosplayer or Lady Gaga fan depending on your perspective (and age).
 |
| CV Dazzle Makeup and Hair Techniques |
Which brings us back to Sci-Fi and RPGs in particular. The most common party concept for Sci-Fi games is the band of misfits sticking it to the empire/corporation/man and engaging in lots of covert ops where your ability to hide your identity is crucial. Unless there's been some sort of utopian revolution there is likely to be some form of mass surveillance at work.
R Talsorian's Cyberpunk 2020 had a plethora of fashionware items such as light emitting tattoos, colour changing hair and contact lenses squarely pitched as mere character affectations. The 2006 adaptation of Philip K Dick's "A Scanner Darkly" had undercover cop Keanu Reeves in his hi tech "Scramble Suit" to prevent his identity from being revealed. Even Milla Jovovich got her identity fooling fashion camo together in the visually entertaining "Ultraviolet".
Put these all together and you've got a really sweet combo which should keep those algorithms busy.
Monday, 7 April 2014
International Tabletop Day 2014
Last Saturday was the second International Tabletop Day and unfortunately it wasn't possible for my regular Friday night group The Hobbits Hole to host an event this year. So a bunch of us did the next best thing... we went to someone else's event.
The Role Play Haven RPG Club are based inside Lewisham Hospital at The Lewis Club and they were a very friendly bunch. They meet on Wednesday nights for RPGs and Monday nights for Boardgames.
I got to play a couple of games, namely:
The Quiet Year
A free form drawing game based around a year in the life of a post apocalyptic community. Players draw cards to determine what random events affect the community and then choose to either discover something new or plan a project.
Of course the temptation with this sort of game is for it to go totally gonzo and we ended up having Ninja Rabbits attacking a Nazi Zeppelin whilst a party of explorers went to the mysterious pyramid and discovered the ark of the covenant.
A Game of Thrones
With season 4 of the TV series just around the corner I couldn't resist playing Fantasy Flight's epic game of royal houses fighting for control of the Iron Throne. I was playing House Tyrell and although the lack of any court influence at the beginning was a bit of a pain, I had a fantastic tussle with House Martell. Sadly I couldn't stay to find out how it all turned out, but I will definitely play this again.
Thanks guys it was a lot of fun and roll on 2015 when we can "Play more Games!!"
The Role Play Haven RPG Club are based inside Lewisham Hospital at The Lewis Club and they were a very friendly bunch. They meet on Wednesday nights for RPGs and Monday nights for Boardgames.
 |
| Game of Thrones - House Stark on the move |
The Quiet Year
A free form drawing game based around a year in the life of a post apocalyptic community. Players draw cards to determine what random events affect the community and then choose to either discover something new or plan a project.
Of course the temptation with this sort of game is for it to go totally gonzo and we ended up having Ninja Rabbits attacking a Nazi Zeppelin whilst a party of explorers went to the mysterious pyramid and discovered the ark of the covenant.
A Game of Thrones
With season 4 of the TV series just around the corner I couldn't resist playing Fantasy Flight's epic game of royal houses fighting for control of the Iron Throne. I was playing House Tyrell and although the lack of any court influence at the beginning was a bit of a pain, I had a fantastic tussle with House Martell. Sadly I couldn't stay to find out how it all turned out, but I will definitely play this again.
Thanks guys it was a lot of fun and roll on 2015 when we can "Play more Games!!"
Monday, 3 March 2014
Retroblasting Explain the Evolution of Adventure Heroes
I'm a big fan of the Adventure Hero / Pulp genre of 80s films like Indiana Jones, Goonies and even Romancing the Stone and I've always know that their origins lay in the Saturday matinee serials of the 20s and 30s.
But for those of you who love the genre and want to know more, here's an interesting video taken at Pensacon 2014 where the Retroblasting team (Melinda Moch and Michael French) explain the history and influences behind them.
I'm going to look at Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in a different light now.
But for those of you who love the genre and want to know more, here's an interesting video taken at Pensacon 2014 where the Retroblasting team (Melinda Moch and Michael French) explain the history and influences behind them.
I'm going to look at Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in a different light now.
Friday, 28 February 2014
I know what you did last Summer!
Okay I admit it...
I was kindly asked by Joe Wetzel of Inkwell Ideas to contribute some random maps for his successful Creature and Encounter Decks Kickstarter project (I did the spaceship deck plans in Encounter Deck 2). Joe sells these decks on his website which also contains some of the best RPG random generators the internet has to offer (like the amazing hexographer I reviewed in my mapping mini series) and comes highly recommended.
It's a deck of 56 cards containing ideas for DMs to use either
during play to add a little randomness or spice to their game. They can also be used during scenario or campaign preparation as a random idea
generator.
Each card has on one side:
Here I've simply taken 7 different cards and selected one item from each category to use to generate my scenario. I could have just used the entire scenario idea from the reverse of the same card, but my objective here is to generate something really random and get those creative juices flowing. I've used cards from Encounter Deck 2 and referenced the card number next to each item for those of you who want to recreate my steps.
An evil plague is spreading over the land, leading to an influx of refugees into the capital city. This plague is a magical slime whose epicentre is a town some twenty leagues from the capital. The PCs have been passing a steady stream of refugees all day as they head in the direction of the town. That night as they search for a likely looking camp spot they encounter a band of Gypsies.
The gypsies agree to let the PCs stay the night in their camp, which is unusually subdued, and during their conversations learn that the Gypsies have been blamed by the locals for the outbreak of this slime. The Gypsies have nothing to do with it, but one of their number is a fortune teller who predicted that they would meet the PCs. The Gypsies insist that one of the PCs must have their future foretold, during which they must forfeit some item of great value (or a lesser body part like a finger, toe or earlobe).
During the divination the gypsies reveal that they must retrieve the mystical cube from the shrine of St. Haute Pointe and take it to the slime infected town. Once there, they will know what to do.
On the way to the shrine of St. Haute Pointe the PCs are ambushed by another adventuring party who are also heading to the shrine (but they are after a legendary chalice said to be able to restore missing minor body parts, observant PCs will notice that their leader has lost one of her ears). There will most likely be a stand-off, a chase, another stand-off and the final realisation that the two parties are after entirely different things and either leave on good terms, or not.
After recovering the cube, the PCs finally arrive at the town. From a hilltop vantage point they can see that the town is dotted with patches of this slime and overtime they will notice brown robed riders arrive in town on horseback and then leave shortly afterwards carrying a cylinder on their backs.
If they venture into town they will observe a cult of brown robed human monks congregating around the towns municipal water well. They are decanting slime and something like frogspawn from the well into these cylinders and handing them to the dispatch riders who arrive in town. All the while chanting some eldritch verse.
The solution to the PCs problem is to slay the monks and venture down the well where they discover some small innocuous looking creature the monks have chained up, laying its eggs. If they capture one of the monks, preferably the leader, they can transport him and a frozen sample of the eggs back to the capital for the Lord's apothecaries to inspect.
To Adventure and Beyond
Naturally, the Lord rewards the PCs for their heroism and then mention that he has another problem of a delicate nature. He explains that as a young man he had an unfortunate hunting accident and now the kingdom (and his wife) is pressing him to sire an heir. He's heard that there's a fabled chalice, located somewhere in the kingdom, that is rumoured to have the power to restore minor body parts...
I was kindly asked by Joe Wetzel of Inkwell Ideas to contribute some random maps for his successful Creature and Encounter Decks Kickstarter project (I did the spaceship deck plans in Encounter Deck 2). Joe sells these decks on his website which also contains some of the best RPG random generators the internet has to offer (like the amazing hexographer I reviewed in my mapping mini series) and comes highly recommended.
So What the Heck is an Encounter Deck?
 |
| Card #06 from Encounter Deck 2 (featuring map by me) |
Each card has on one side:
- A Map - this could be a room, a building, an outdoor space, a map of a region or even a section of spaceship deck plan.
- A Trap Idea - something to throw at your players in game if they're having it too easy.
- A Twist - Something to stir up the plot
- A Trivial item or Treasure - Something to reward your players with, it could be inconsequential or it could become the focus for an entire game.
- Title and Outline - A brief synopsis of the scenario with some keywords to get you thinking about where to take the plot.
- Getting the PCs Involved - a couple of plot motives for your PCs.
- Encounters - A bunch of potential encounters you might want to throw at your PCs in line with the overarching plot outlined above.
- Conclusion - A couple of ideas on how the scenario might pan out for the players.
Example of their use as an Idea Generator
Here I've simply taken 7 different cards and selected one item from each category to use to generate my scenario. I could have just used the entire scenario idea from the reverse of the same card, but my objective here is to generate something really random and get those creative juices flowing. I've used cards from Encounter Deck 2 and referenced the card number next to each item for those of you who want to recreate my steps.
- #46 The Hunted - (Protection, Battlefield) - The refugees approach the city with tight lips and haunted eyes. The lord cannot turn away his charges in their time of need, but what drove them from their homes may hunt them still.
- #55 Getting the PCs Involved? - The PCs stumble across the gypsies at dusk.
- #05 Encounters - The would-be interlopers (The PCs) are offered information by a diviner, but at a hefty price.
- #16 Trap Idea - The slime on the walls and floor of a corridor has been deliberately cultivated, conducting the energies of an attack spell throughout the area.
- #32 Twist: A group of mercenaries mistake the party as searching for the same treasure that they are.
- #56 Trivial? Treasure - A small one foot cubed metal box with a door on one side. Inside the temperature is always just below freezing.
- #47 Conclusion - With the troublesome cult revealed, the news must be spread and the panic halted.
My Adventure Outline (as outlined using the cards above)
An evil plague is spreading over the land, leading to an influx of refugees into the capital city. This plague is a magical slime whose epicentre is a town some twenty leagues from the capital. The PCs have been passing a steady stream of refugees all day as they head in the direction of the town. That night as they search for a likely looking camp spot they encounter a band of Gypsies.
The gypsies agree to let the PCs stay the night in their camp, which is unusually subdued, and during their conversations learn that the Gypsies have been blamed by the locals for the outbreak of this slime. The Gypsies have nothing to do with it, but one of their number is a fortune teller who predicted that they would meet the PCs. The Gypsies insist that one of the PCs must have their future foretold, during which they must forfeit some item of great value (or a lesser body part like a finger, toe or earlobe).
During the divination the gypsies reveal that they must retrieve the mystical cube from the shrine of St. Haute Pointe and take it to the slime infected town. Once there, they will know what to do.
On the way to the shrine of St. Haute Pointe the PCs are ambushed by another adventuring party who are also heading to the shrine (but they are after a legendary chalice said to be able to restore missing minor body parts, observant PCs will notice that their leader has lost one of her ears). There will most likely be a stand-off, a chase, another stand-off and the final realisation that the two parties are after entirely different things and either leave on good terms, or not.
After recovering the cube, the PCs finally arrive at the town. From a hilltop vantage point they can see that the town is dotted with patches of this slime and overtime they will notice brown robed riders arrive in town on horseback and then leave shortly afterwards carrying a cylinder on their backs.
If they venture into town they will observe a cult of brown robed human monks congregating around the towns municipal water well. They are decanting slime and something like frogspawn from the well into these cylinders and handing them to the dispatch riders who arrive in town. All the while chanting some eldritch verse.
The solution to the PCs problem is to slay the monks and venture down the well where they discover some small innocuous looking creature the monks have chained up, laying its eggs. If they capture one of the monks, preferably the leader, they can transport him and a frozen sample of the eggs back to the capital for the Lord's apothecaries to inspect.
To Adventure and Beyond
Naturally, the Lord rewards the PCs for their heroism and then mention that he has another problem of a delicate nature. He explains that as a young man he had an unfortunate hunting accident and now the kingdom (and his wife) is pressing him to sire an heir. He's heard that there's a fabled chalice, located somewhere in the kingdom, that is rumoured to have the power to restore minor body parts...
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