Whither gaming....?

Well for a gaming blog, the gaming content has been on the light side lately. Mostly this is because I have stopped playing on Thursdays. This is for several reasons, none of which I intend to go into here. The upshot of it is that i'm not preparing anything to run and so have been filling my game-time with other things, not necessarily worthy of posting here. Firstly i've been revising the Justice Associates in prep for a game which may run in October. This one I have to finish so it's been getting most attention. I've also been fiddling around with Decipher's Star Trek system as I have a hankering to write up some adventures for public consumption. The system's not as bad as I remember, actually. I've been thinking about Savage Hawk The Slayer amongst other things. Finally real life has been pretty hectic lately, and, as always must take priority. Still, i'm not going anywhere so watch this space.

I Love Puppies...

But I couldn't eat a whole one... ;-)

Fame Beckons...

Well, as promised I put my Savage Worlds conversion of Thunderbirds on my website. I've also submitted it to Savageheroes.com so hopefully my name will soon be up there in lights...

New Stuff

Having moved my website across to a new hosting service, i'm casting around for new content to post. I've picked up work on my Savage Worlds Thunderbirds conversion and hope to have it posted in pdf format in a few days time. I may also submit it to Savageheroes but either way it should be available soon. I hope to follow that with my writeups for Savage Hawk The Slayer.

New Website

Hi. further to my earlier post, i've migrated Renny's Game Corner website.

http://rennyscorner.webs.com/

Hopefully, this site will be a little more stable.

Blast From The Past

Found a piece of artwork I did some 18 years ago-ish. Was meant to be a poster advertising a Star Trek RPG campaign which never happened. Nice to know my obsession with Star Trek gaming continues unabated.

Yay...

Maddie passed her Level 7 gymnastics badge today. She's taking part in a summer class and seems to be really enjoying it. Just thought i'd share.

Webpage

Sigh...once again my Renny's Corner website seems to be down. Having browsed the user forums it seems my account may have been deactivated due to lack of content being posted. Funnily, no mention made of the amount of time the servers seem to be down. Anyway, i'm on the look out for a more reliable free hosting service. Feel free to let me know if you are aware of any good ones out there....

Maddie's birthday....

It's my little sweetie's 7th birthday today. I have the day off work, the sun is shining and the dog is sitting on the sofa chewing a bone. Logan is relevant to the post (yes, we changed his name...long story, and yes he was named after THAT Logan) as having a puppy has helped make Maddie's birthday all the sweeter. She's growing up so quickly (literally, as well as figuratively) and is a pretty nice person to have around at the moment. So we'll try to make sure she has a lovely day (especially as she's going riding at 11am which is a surprise...shhhh!!) and maybe bring Logan a special treat home as well.

Tommy Awesome

Tommy Awesome

Altered Human

Fighting: Excellent (20)
Agility: Good (10)
Strength: Good (10)/Incredible (40)
Endurance: Excellent (20)
Reason: Good (10)
Intuition: Good (10)
Psyche: Excellent (20)

Health: 60
Karma: 40
Resources: Good (10)
Popularity: Excellent(20)

Known Powers: Tommy Awesome has the following abilities, each of which are useable one at a time. It takes one round to switch powers.

BODY ARMOUR: Tommy Awesome has Incredible (40) protection against physical and energy attacks.
ENERGY ATTACK: Tommy can focus his internal energy into eye beams of Remarkable (30) force.
LIGHTNING SPEED: Tommy Awesome can run at Unearthly (100) speed, around 150mph.
STRENGTH: See above.

Talents: Martial Arts A B & E, Tumbling, Escape Artist and Military.

White Knight - MSHRPG

White Knight

High-Tech Hero

Fighting: Good (10)

Agility: Good (10)

Strength: Remarkable (30)

Endurance: Remarkable (30)

Reason: Good (10)

Intuition: Good (10)

Psyche: Excellent (20)

Health: 80

Karma: 40

Resources: Good (10)

Popularity: Good (10)

Known Powers: White Knight's powers derive from his mystic armour and sword as described below. The above statistics reflect his abilities when suited.

BODY ARMOUR: White Knight's armour provides Remarkable (30) protection against physical and energy attacks.

RESISTANCE TO FIRE AND HEAT: Whilst in armour, White Knight gains Excellent (20) resistance to fire and heat.

PROTECTED SENSES: White Knight's helmet provides him with Excellent (20) protection from light based attacks.

TELEPORTATION: Whilst in possession of his enchanted sword, White Knight can teleport up to Remarkable (30) distances or 8 areas.

ENERGY TOUCH: White Knight's sword can channel it's energy into a Remarkable (30) strength attack.

Talents: Weapon Specialist (Sword), Martial Arts A, Resist Domination, Oratory, Mystic and Occult Lore.

Jet Commando - MSHRPG

Jet Commando
High Tech Hero

Fighting: Excellent (20)
Agility: Good (10)
Strength: Good (10)
Endurance: Excellent (20)
Reason: Good (10)
Intuition: Excellent (20)
Psyche: Excellent (20)
Health: 60
Karma: 50
Resources: Excellent (20)
Popularity: Excellent (20)

Known Powers:

Jet Commando has no inherent superpowers, but does have the following equipment:

MARK 1 ROCKET PACK
The experimental rocket pack is made of Remarkable strength material and propels Jet Commando at up to Remarkable speeds.
AUTO PISTOL
This hand crafted weapon inflicts Good shooting damage at up to Excellent range.
BODY ARMOUR
Jet's flight jacket is specially reinforced to provideGood protection from physical and energy attacks.

Revealed Talents:
Marksman, Martial Arts B, C and E, Aerial Combat, Military, Pilot and Leadership.

Erm...

And somehow the first version of my previous post got published, even though I thought i'd lost it.

Weym-ouch!

So yesterday we took a road trip down to Weymouth to meet our puppy for the first time. We all fell in love with the little chap as he's a little cutie. Weird highlights of the day, though; While at the excellent Sealife Centre we bumped into a chap who lives in the house across the road from us in Crawley, saw Rory McGrath wandering along the prom and got stuck in the traffic jam from hell in Weymouth town centre, moving about 200 yards in a n hour and a half. And it rained, boy did it rain! Still, a great adventure and so pleased to see we made the right choice of puppy. He'll be coming home with us in three weeks.

Weym-ouch!

We took a road trip down to Weymouth in Dorset, yesterday. The breeder of our puppy lives there and we were going to meet him for the first time. The trip down was un eventful, if wet, as the heavens decided to open most of the way. We had a lovely visit and all fell in love with the little chap. So far so good. We then went into Weymouth, first of all to the Sealife centre, which is one of the best i've seen. Strangely, while there, we bumped into a guy who lives over the road from us back in Crawley. This was fairly strange. We then made a tactical error and decided to go into Weymouth town to try and score some fish and chips. Bad move. Combination of heavy rain, sea food festival and road closures meant we spent the next hour and a half moving about 200 yards in some of the worst traffic jam i've ever seen. Literally people were getting out of their cars and popping to the shops and back again before moving again. Then, as things were finally moving a bit, I saw Rory McGrath wandering down the seafront. Fortunately the trip back was less eventful, although the rain never stopped the whole way back.

Where has the month gone?

Well, i've been remiss in posting lately. Mainly because June was holiday month and so most of the first two weeks was spent in getting ready to go away. We then went and had a wonderful week. Follow the link at the bottom of this post to look at some photos. Anyway, a great time was had by all. The rest of the month was spent in mostly moping because we'd had such a great holiday. Anyhow, we're now looking forward to a new arrival in a couple of weeks, our new labradoodle puppy whom we have named Milo. You'll be seeing more of him soon i'm sure.

http://s571.photobucket.com/albums/ss151/steveraceuk/Turkey_2009/

A World Of Adventure...

So we took advantage of an inset day at Maddie's school today (note for those of you without kids that's a teacher training day). Both of us took the day off, and armed with our new Merlin passes, visited Chessington. It was Maddie's first visit, and our first for a few years. Maybe it was the weather or maybe it was the feeling that we were skiving off work but we had a thoroughly wonderful, if exhausting day.

Character - Deadlands Reloaded

Jackson Scott (Wild Card)
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d8, Guts d6, Investigation d6, Knowledge (Law) d6, Notice d4, Persuasion d6, Streetwise d4.
Pace: 6", Charisma: +0, Parry: 2, Toughness: 5, Grit: 0
Hindrances: Bad Eyes (Minor), Tenderfoot
Edges: Connections, Martial Arts (Boxing).
Worst Nightmare: That he will lose control of his fists again.
Gear: Cheap suit, hat (derby), carpet bag, fob watch, expensive pen, journal, legal documents in sealed envelope.
Background: Jackson Scott is a lawyer from Boston. Less than a year out of Yale he has been employed as an intern by the prestigous law firm McKinley and Hoag. He has been dispatched by the senior partners to deliver papers to a certain individual out west. All Scott has to go on is a name and a modest expense account.

Home again...

We're home from Stoke after a lovely weekend. Now I must work on uploading some of the great photos to Flickr.

Grumble, grumble....

I hate cutting out counters. Why do I always leave it until the night before?

Again...

As the details of the new movie float around my head, i'm keen to go again to check out all those details which I no doubt missed the first time around. Hopefully I should be heading out again on Saturday at some point. I cannot wait.

Boldly Going...

That says it all, really. It's been a long wait for Star Trek and the thing that surprised me most was how much JJ and his team were willing to shake things up going forward. I don't want to get into a big review because others have done that much more capably than me. Suffice to say that I loved the movie and most everything about it. The first ten minutes or so of the film leading into the opening titles neatly sums up a lot of what I love about Star Trek, namely courage, self sacrifice, nobility, drama, adventure and heart. This movie had a lot of those qualities in spades and it's good to see the Big E doing her thing on the big screen again. I can't wait to see it again and again.

3D

I took the munchkin to see Monsters Vs Aliens today and I was blown away by the 3d experience. It was really cool and I was a tad skeptical before we went, so it was good to be pleasantly surprised.

Bang On....

Felt good to get back to some gaming last night. Thanks Kevin for running a spiffing game of HEX.

Phheeeeeewwwww.....!!!

Apparently the Trek movie got a surprise world premiere in Austin, Texas last night and by the sound of things it's actually good.

We're the Watchmen...

Love this

Book him ...

Two notable bookings this week, and yes I am stretching things a bit. We booked our holiday this week. We're going to the Hotel Titanic on Lara Beach. You can check it out here . You can have no idea how much we are looking forward to this holiday.
Secondly, I booked my day off for the 8th May so I can go see Star Trek...yay!!!

Bye bye Battlestar...

I finally watched the conclusion of Battlestar today and I really enjoyed it. Thought it was a nice payoff with lots of emotion and some great action. I'm going to miss it.

James Bond, 007

James Bond, 007 (Wild Card)

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, Strength d8, Vigor d10

Skills: Boating d6, Climbing d8, Fighting d10, Gambling d10, Guts d8, Intimidation d8, Investigation d6, Knowledge (French) d6, Knowledge (German) d6, Notice d8, Persuasion d8, Shooting d10, Stealth d8, Streetwise d6, Swimming d8, Throwing d10

Pace: 6", Charisma: +4, Parry: 8, Toughness: 7

Hindrances: Enemy: Smersh (Major), Habit: Smoking (Major), Loyal, Overconfident.

Edges: Attractive, Block, Charismatic, Combat Reflexes, Connections (MI6), Nerves of Steel, Marksman, Trademark Weapon (.25 Beretta).

Gear: Expensive clothes, cigarette case, shoulder holster, .25 Beretta, forged credentials.

Note: This is Bond as described by Fleming in "From Russia With Love". The image is of Hoagy Carmichael, a likeness given by one of the characters in "Moonraker".

I Know, I Know.....

Things have been a bit mental on the home front for the last few weeks as some of you may know. Hopefully, i'll soon be rolling dice again and things will pick up around here a bit.

Cthulhu called...

I had fun playing in D's game today. Shame I couldn't stay until the end but i'm sure Justice was done in the end. And the chilli was fine as usual.

The return of George Holmes..

Well, last Thursday I ran a solo game for Chris marking the return of George Holmes in a fun little escapade modestly titled "Death in Atlantic City".
The game was pretty much spur of the moment although I did spend half an hour the night before revising Holmes' and Jersey's stats in line with Ravaged Earth. I'll post a write up of the game on the forum in a few days but I just wanted to mention that we had a lot of fun and I hope Chris found it a satisfying diversion. I didn't think i'd revisit the Associates so soon but I enjoyed it.

Update - Write up can be found here.

Love/Hate

I am feeling both of the above emotions in regard to Adobe Illustrator at the moment

Brrr...

Today it snowed. On the bright side, i'm feeling a little less like death warmed up.

Ah well...

I am now officially crap at ACTA. That is all.

Mazer Venn - Savage Star Wars

Mazer Venn (Wildcard)

Attributes:

Agility: d6 Smarts: d8 Spirit: d6 Strength: d4
Vigor: d6
Skills: Fighting d4, Gambling d6, Guts d4, Lockpicking
d6, Notice d8, Persuasion d6, Piloting d4, Repair d4,
Shooting D6, Streetwise d6
Charisma: +2 Pace: 6" Parry: 4 Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Curious, Loyal,
Edges: Culturally Adaptable, Low Light Vision, Force
Attuned
Gear: Blaster Pistol, Comlink, Sabbac Deck, Dice

Description
Young, male Twi'Lek. Lithe and fairly slight of build. He has an intense gaze which has
served him well at the sabbac table. Normally wears coveralls, often tied around the waist.
When in port, dresses in considerably finer clothes. Blaster pistol, when worn is carried in an
Ullian shoulder rig, usually concealed beneath his jacket. Mazer presents a calm and relaxed
demeanour for most of the time.

Background
Mazer Venn is unremarkable in almost every respect apart from two things. He is considered
attractive for his species and seems to carry good luck with him. His undistinguished early life
on Ryloth ended when he managed to work passage off world following an unspecified indiscretion with the daughter of a prominent businessman. He had paid little attention during formal schooling but proved to be a quick learner and popular with his newly acquired crew mates. As he had little to hold him on Ryloth, he didn't look back and has never returned. He soon discovered a taste and aptitude for games of chance in some of the seedier dives in the galaxy and spent most of what he earned indulging this hobby/occupation. He picked up a modicum of knowledge in a wide range of shipboard jobs, which has served him well over the years. When the ship he was crewing on was impounded while taking on cargo on Sullust, he managed to avoid imprisonment through a characteristaclly lucky turn of events. It was shortly after this incident that he encountered Reeth Lightstar over the sabbac table and won himself a berth on the Tigerclaw. Originally seeing her as an easy meal ticket, he has since come to respect the Corellian captain a great deal. He has stuck around and has become a useful addition to the crew. Mazer functions in a variety of roles as needed; co-pilot, deckhand, engineer and sometime bodyguard. His indefinable “good luck” has also come in handy on several occasions.

Notes
What Mazer does not know for sure but may suspect is that he is a force sensitive. If times were
different, his talent may have been spotted early enough and he would likely have trained as a jedi. As it is, this gift may prove dangerous if he crosses the path of another force sensitive, especially one in thrall to the Empire.

Friends & Enemies
Mazer may be considered to be on first name terms with many of the clientele of whichever gambling den you care to mention. In particular, he is close to Reena Thal, owner and barkeep of the Staggered Claw on Sullust. It is widely rumoured that Mazer and Reena were once lovers, although neither will ever confirm or deny this. Mazer’s childhood friend, Kin Chel, is currently flying a Y Wing fighter for the Alliance. Neither has seen the other since childhood but the two still share a strong fondness for each other and would doubtless aid the other if needed. Halton Shale, once master of the transport Obsidian Dawn holds a strong grudge against Venn, believing the Twi’Lek responsible for selling him out on Sullust. In fact, it was a greedy cargo hand who did the dirty deed but Shale is not one to let the facts stand in the way of a good vendetta.

Khhhaaaaaannnnnn!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ1pE4WrBzM&eurl=http://trekmovie.com/2009/01/25/watch-wrath-of-khan-the-opera-via-robot-chicken/&feature=player_embedded

Not the tidiest post but the video is well worth it...

James Lafayette Calvin - Call Of Cthulhu

Gaslight era character created for upcoming Call of Cthulhu. Background is followed by stats at the bottom of the post.

James Lafayette Calvin

Born: June 9th, 1850, Plainfield, MA.
Background: James Calvin was born into the small village of Plainfield, Massachusetts. His father was a clerk at the town courthouse. James was a bright student from an early age, although somewhat introverted. He found most comfort in the short stories he wrote, mostly for his own amusement. His brother, William, passed away due to illness when James was 9 and this traumatic event caused him to withdraw further into his own imagination, causing concern in his conservative yet doting parents. This incident also awakened an interest in the spiritual, beyond the routine church going which was part of the regular life of all the families in the small community. His questing mind latched onto the teachings of the church and he found a willing listener in the community pastor. The pastor saw something of worth in the troubled young man and sponsored an application for Calvin to attend Andover Newton Theological School, located in Newton Centre, MA. Calvin's voracious mind meant he was a quick and keen study. Soon, however, his inquisitive faculties sought him to seek knowledge from outside of established doctrine. He began researching other, less respectable teachings and established friendships with some members of the spiritual community beyond the sphere of the church. His grades remained impressive but his ability to deliver exceptional work was due in larger part to his technical writing and research skills, than his belief in the subject matter. Regardless, he remained focussed on his studies and eventually obtained his degree. To the surprise, and disappointment, of his parents and sponsor, Calvin accepted a post at the University of Boston as a research assistant. Away from the distractions of family and obligation, Calvin worked long hours on both his career and the first of what would be a string of books in the field of theology and the occult. His second book, The Black Arts, became a somewhat surprise success and somewhat to his annoyance, Calvin became a minor literary celebrity and somewhat feted on the Boston literary circuit.
In his late twenties and early thirties, Calvin became reconciled with his parents and he produced several more regarded works in the occult field. His relationship with the church establishment remained somewhat tense, as the clergy saw him of something of a traitor to their cause. This opinion did not bother Calvin in the slightest however. It is as a result of his reputation, and his monograph on the case of Giles Cory, a victim of the Salem trials, that Calvin has been invited to the present ceremony.

In personality, James Calvin is somewhat serious, although not without a sense of humour. He can become passionate when involved in discussion on a point he feels strongly about. He has some skill as a pencil artist, and has also invested in a camera recently for the purpose of taking photographs of locations featured in his books.

Call Of Cthulhu Investigator Statistics

STR 9
DEX 8
INT 18
CON 15
APP 10
POW 11
SIZ 12
SAN 55
EDU 16
Idea 90
Luck 55
Know 80
SAN 55
MP 11
HP 14

Skills

Accounting 20%, Archaeology 40%, Art (Drawing) 25%, Bargain 30%, Climb 40%, Conceal 20%, Credit Rating 45%, Dodge 26%, Drive Carriage 30%, Electrical Repair 10%, Fast Talk 30%, First Aid 30%, Hide 10%, History 70%, Jump 25%, Law 5%, Library Use 70%, Listen 25%, Mechanical Repair 20%, Medicine 5%, Natural History 10%, Navigate 10%, Occult 60%, Other Language (Latin 30%, Italian 10%), Own Language (English 85%), Persuade 55%, Photography 35%, Psychology 40%, Ride 15%, Sneak 20%, Spot Hidden 25%, Swim 30%, Throw 25%, Track 20%.

Happy Birthday...

...to me

B5

For no apparent reason, i'm currently watching Babylon 5: The Gathering again. I suspect this will herald the start of another re-viewing of the whole series. Looking forward to it.

Ravaged, I tell you...

Thanks to the opinion of a friend whose opinion I value, i've been looking again at the Ravaged Earth Society book from Reality Blurs. Although I was initially underwhelmed by it, on a second look i'm liking it more and think i'll pick up a hardcover copy later this month. Thanks Kevin.

Pure Genius

I found this comedy classic while listening to a Star Wars podcast.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=En3atiTAHXM

I haven't laughed so much in ages

Matt who?

Did you see what i did there? I think, going on record, that Matt Smith is a good choice for the new, eleventh Dr Who. What i've seen of his work i've liked and I think this could be an interesting direction. I would really like to see an older companion to balance out his youth as well.

Forum

My new forum has it's first couple of members now. Hopefully it should soon grow to 5 or 6 members before too long. No, i'm not being ironic. Anyway, follow the link and come on in.

http://rennysforum.forumotion.net/

More stuff to come...

As a little tease, i'm planning on publishing player characters created during the Dr Who and Dawn Of Legends playtests when the games come out. I'm looking forward to sharing them soon.