Proud dad

Today I am very proud of my daughter. Or should I say, more proud than usual. Foremost among the reasons for this are that tomorrow, she and one of her school friends will be selling tickets at school for a fund raising project for Children In Need. What is so cool about this is that Maddie, and her friend, decided to do this on their own. They came up with the scheme. Approached the headmaster to get approval, came up with the posters and pretty much organised the whole thing themselves. That she and her friend felt moved  enough to take action is pretty amazing, in this world where we are led to believe that children are lazy and self absorbed. Not these kids, and the same can be said for kids all over the UK tomorrow who will be doing similar things, and for other kids around the world who get involved in charitable endeavour because they know it's the right thing to do.

Savage Worlds: Space 1999 title image

Just playing about with a bit of imagery for Savage Worlds; Space 1999

SAVAGE WORLDS: SPACE 1999

One of the projects I have been mulling over for a while is Savage Worlds: Space 1999. Here is the bulk of the fluff text written so far.

Introduction  

Following a nuclear atrocity in 1987, global thermonuclear war is narrowly avoided. As mankind finally begins to operate with common cause, the resultant treaty demands that all weapons grade nuclear material is buried on the far side of Earth’s moon. Man’s first permanent lunar habitation is being constructed at this time, and it is determined that Moonbase Alpha will serve as guardian of this testament to man’s folly and it is hoped that finally humanity can begin to take it’s tentative first steps out of the solar system. Humans have already walked on Mars and Venus. Several more ill fated space missions are launched before Moonbase Alpha finally becomes fully operational in 1997.




During 1999, preparations for a landmark mission to the recently discovered planetoid, Meta, are under way. A mysterious signal has been detected which indicates there may be intelligent life awaiting mankind’s arrival.  Following a series of unexplained deaths among the Meta probe crew, it becomes apparent that massive energies are building in the nuclear waste disposal areas. Before the situation can be controlled, a vast thermonuclear conflagration hurls the moon, Moonbase Alpha and her 307 inhabitants out of Earth’s orbit and plunging into interstellar space. The date is September 13th, 1999.

Moonbase Alpha

Moonbase Alpha probably represents humanity’s greatest single achievement. The latest developments in the fields of engineering, science and humanities come together in this lasting testament to man’s determination and ingenuity.
The base occupies a circular footprint 2.5 miles across in the crater Plato. The structure extends deep underground as well. At the hub of Alpha is Main Mission, the central operations command post.  This tower stands eight stories above the lunar surface and it is from here that all base operations are managed. In addition, all deep space exploration activity is co-ordinated from this location as well as the base’s secondary function, the monitoring of the nuclear waste areas. The rest of the base’s surface structures are arranged in a radial fashion around Main Mission.




Situated at outlying points around the base are the five launch pads. It is from these facilities that Alpha’s fleet of Eagle spacecraft are launched and recovered. In addition, the launch pads can be reconfigured to receive all current and planned manned spacecraft. Each pad connects with the large underground Eagle hanger complex, allowing craft to be moved between launch pads in a matter of minutes.
All sections of Moonbase Alpha are connected by the underground travel – tube system. This rapid transportation network consists of fast moving passenger pods, which travel through a sealed tunnel system.  Each car can hold up to six personnel in seated positions. In addition, there are stairwells and elevators located at convenient points to ensure ease of movement around the facility. All sections of the base are designed to be sealed by pressure tight doors in case of rapid decompression.
Moonbase Alpha is totally self-sufficient, with power generated by several highly efficient nuclear reactors and solar power accumulators. In addition, Moonbase personnel are able to grow or manufacture all required foodstuffs, fabricate and repair the base’s fleet of Eagle spacecraft and process all of the oxygen and water requirements for the facility.
Several artificial gravity net towers encircle the base, providing slightly less (0.93%) than earth normal gravity conditions within the base and environs. The field generated by these towers also offers some protection against micrometeorite strikes and the like.
The base is equipped with the latest advances in long-range sensor instrument packages in keeping with its intended role as command post for man’s expansion into extra-solar space. In addition, Alpha’s main computer is by far the most sophisticated ever constructed, integrated with all aspects of the base and it’s operations.

Base Personnel

The population of Alpha represent the best physical and mental specimens from the world’s population.  Competition for a place on the base’s staff is fierce and unremitting. Personnel are rotated through the facility in roughly six-month duty cycles although this may vary depending on mission requirements. The successful applicants are often world leaders in their respective fields, and certainly qualify as the best of the best.




Base personnel are organised into several sections, identified by uniform sleeve colour for clarity. Visitors to Alpha wear uniform with a plain sleeve. Each section has a section chief, who reports to the base Commander. As of September 1999, sections and associated chiefs are as follows;

Section	Uniform Sleeve Colour	Section Chief
Command	Charcoal	John Koenig
Main Mission	Flame	Paul Morrow
Technical	Rust	David Kano
Services	Yellow	Sandra Benes
Reconnaissance	Yellow	Alan Carter
Medical	White	Helena Russell
Security	Purple	Tony Verdeschi
Special	None	Victor Bergman

Technically, services and reconnaissance are one section but due to the varied nature of the tasks covered, two section chiefs are assigned, each with a different area of responsibility.

Uniforms consist of a beige two-piece uniform with the appropriately coloured sleeve denoting Section. In addition, a vinyl belt is worn which holds the individuals commlock and can also be fitted with a stun gun holster if required. Security personnel wear an additional over shoulder sash connected to the belt.

Eagle Spacecraft for Savage Worlds

The Eagle spacecraft is a modular transport and utility vehicle deployed to the Moonbase Alpha facility.  The Eagle, in it’s different configurations, carries out all crew and equipment transfers to and from the  base. It also serves a defensive and scientific function as required.

The Eagles are maintained by the technical section on Alpha. The base also has the facilities to fabricate new Eagles as required. A large underground hanger provides housing for the bases’ complement of thirty vehicles. Eagles are transported through the hanger complex to the bases’ launch pads as required.

Eagle (Reconnaissance)

Acc/TS 100/800 Toughness 28(6) Crew 2+4 Cost Special
Notes Climb 2, Spacecraft/Atmospheric, VTOL
Weapons Laser Gun, Space-to-space missiles


Also referred to as Survey Eagles, this type  has an extensive computer bank on the starboard side of the passenger pod. Reconnaissance Eagles are used to explore alien planets and regions of space; the sophisticated computer bank is used to obtain, store, and analyse data gathered from the planet being studied including atmospheric composition, valuable minerals resources and biological life.

Eagle (Passenger)

Acc/TS 100/800 Toughness 28(6) Crew 3+8 Cost Special
Notes Climb 2, Spacecraft/Atmospheric, VTOL
Weapons None

This Eagle is designed to transport personnel in relative comfort. The passenger variant was used primarily to transfer crew from Earth to the moon and vice versa. In addition to the pilot and co-pilot, the passenger Eagle has a steward as part of it’s crew. Originally, this Eagle carried no armaments, although these are likely to have been added following breakaway.

Star Wars D6- Lars Nellon

Lars Nellon

Character Type: Failed Jedi

Character Name: Lars Nellon
Player Name: Steve Race
Height: 5'6"
Weight: Unknown
Sex: Male
Age: 50 - ish
Physical Appearance: Short, balding with a grey, bushy beard. His robes are looking extremely worn and dog - eared.

DEXTERITY: 2D+2, Dodge 3D+2, Melee Parry 4D+2, Lightsaber 4D+2
KNOWLEDGE: 3D+1
MECHANICAL: 2D
PERCEPTION: 3D+1
STRENGTH: 2D+2,
TECHNICAL: 2D
CONTROL: 1D
SENSE: 3D
FORCE POINTS: 1

Equipment: Lightsaber (5D), robes, bottle of rotgut, 250 credits.
Personality: Cynical, foul mouthed and pessimistic, but with a heart of gold.
A Quote: "Kids? Gah, kids! You wanna learn how to use the force or not? Where's the whiskey?"

I have a good feeling about this......

It feels good to be excited about Star Wars again. Like most males my age, and some females, my first experience of Star Wars is indelibly burned in my brain. It was around my 11th birthday so I assume early January 1978. My memory might be failing me, but I believe in those days, movies would often take months to cross the pond. I remember my parents had bought me the novelization and I had devoured that before my dad took me to see it. We saw it in Leicester Square. I think it was playing at the Odeon and i have a strong memory of queuing for hours, along with a bunch of long hair types, you know, sci fi fans. Bizarre side note, but I remember we queued for so long that my dad had to nip to a bakers and get us Cornish pasties to eat.

Like most people, the opening moments of the movie had me hooked on the saga within seconds. The music and that iconic imagery which blew all other cinematic experiences up to that point out of the water. I was in love with Star Wars, big time.

So we all know how the rest of the story goes. I saw all three movies at the cinema multiple times. The first movie we owned on vhs tape was Star Wars. I went and saw the special editions in 1997, and the feeling of disquiet began. Sure it was cool to see the movies on the big screen again, but those changes niggled.

Then the prequels came out and I went like everyone else I knew. After all the rationalization and discussion, I realised, you know what, they're just not that good. The reasons vary but I then began to fixate on the original movies again. I was determined to own the original editions and only watch those. You've heard it all before .

So here we are in a new era in a galaxy far, far away. I've heard a lot of negativity but also a lot of positivity regarding the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney. I'm definitely in the positive camp. I see no reason the believe that Disney will dumb down Star Wars any more than Lucas already had. Star Wars is a fairytale like any other and predominantly will, and should, hold appeal for the young. Disney know how to walk the fine line of appealing to the kids and pleasing the adults. Disney also know how to make money in a variety of ways. Anyone who has been to a Disney park in recent years will have seen the vast range of Star Wars/Disney related merchandise you can get. From Jedi Mickey statues to Clone Wars crossover t-shirts. It's high quality product and does nothing to dilute the brand of Star Wars.

I believe that Disney will bring all of their creative and financial might to bear on making Star Wars Episode VII the biggest and best movie of 2015. Shame that New Hope title has already been used. I'll be in line, as i'm sure most of you will be. What is exciting to me that this looks to be only the beginning of a new chapter in the Star Wars saga. Hopefully I can get past all the bad feeling and disappointment of the last few years and look forward to new adventures which will blow my mind all over again.

Punch it, Mickey.

Necessary Evil Redux - Part 1

Here's a link to the Necessary Evil thread on my forum. The write up for the first session is on this page.
Bear in mind this is not the beginning of the campaign, rather a restart. Hopefully you'll get a flavour of it, though.

Necessary Evil on Renny's Game Forum

Cake...eat it.

I've started up a blog on Wordpress for no other reason than I fancy messing about with that tool. So far i've simply set up a page and duplicated some of the posts from this blog. It was that process which prompted the redesign of the header on this page, actually. Moving forward, i'll probably cross post on both.

Renny's Game Corner on Wordpress

You can’t go home again, or can you…?

So the cliche goes. This week I returned to the gaming table with some of my regular gaming group, and one friend I haven’t gamed with for a while. Things have been shaken up recently, as our long – running AD&D campaign has come to an end. This state of affairs may or may not be permanent, but the gap gave us a chance to revisit a campaign we last touched in 2009. The campaign is Necessary Evil for Savage Worlds, a game set in a world where alien invaders have killed all of the superheroes and it’s up to you, the super-villains to save the world. We had a ton of fun playing this when we started the game, but for one reason or another it had come to an end. This was the single most requested game to revisit since our old Justice Associates days. The enforced break in the AD&D game gave us a chance to pick up where we left off. Suffice to say, this game went great. Everyone seemed invested in it, and pleased to be there. The characters were as much fun as we remembered and even my last minute decision to run without maps and miniatures seemed to pay off. It was gratifying and a great experience. Hopefully, this time around, we’ll be able to keep the game going for a while longer.

Sgt Christopher Bourne, Unit Soldier

This is a character for the Dr Who: Adventures in Space and Time RPG.

Sgt Christopher Bourne - Professional - Unit Soldier 1970's.

Background Concept

Sgt Bourne is a seasoned soldier with extensive experience, much of it against the alien nasties who seemed to make it their business to invade the home counties during the 1970's.
He's a steadfast soldier, and not much rattles him, although he was briefly captured by a Silurian war party and the memories of that experience still trouble him somewhat. Generally another brew and a fag will steady his nerves though.
 
Native Space Time

20th Century, 1970's, Earth

Attributes

Awareness: 3
Co-Ordination: 4
Ingenuity: 2
Presence: 3
Resolve: 4
Strength: 4

Good Traits

Brave
Face In The Crowd
Military Rank (Minor)
Tough
Voice Of Authority

Bad Traits

By The Book
Dark Secret (Minor - Flashbacks)
Dependency (Minor)
Obligation (Major)

 
Skills and Areas Of Expertise

Alien Culture 2
Athletics 3
Convince 2
Fighting 4
Knowledge 2
Marksman - 4 (Automatic Weapons)
Subterfuge 2
Technology 1
Transport 3

Herbert Leech, Victorian Police Detective.

This is a character for the Dr Who: Adventures in Space and Time RPG.

Herbert Leech - Professional - Victorian Police Detective.

Background Concept
 
Herbert Leech was a police detective, working in Victorian London in the 1890's.
Whilst investigating a bizarre series of murders with apparent links to a strange religious cult with unsettling rituals, he fell in with a mysterious stranger who identified himself only as a "traveller". This traveller possessed a strange conveyance which has since transported Herbert and his other  companions through no end of strange goings on. Through it all, Herbert has displayed the solid, dependable behaviour and sometimes insightful pursuit of wrongdoing which characterised his police work.

Native Space Time

19th Century, Earth

Attributes

Awareness: 4
Co-ordination: 2
Ingenuity: 3
Presence: 2
Resolve: 5
Strength: 3

Good Traits

Brave
Face In The Crowd
Indomitable (Major)
Keen Senses (Major)
Tough

Bad Traits

Code Of Conduct (Minor)
Technically Inept

Skills and Areas Of Expertise

Athletics: 2
Convince: 3
Fighting: 2
Knowledge (Criminology):4
Marksman: 3
Subterfuge: 3

Savage Worlds - Blake's 7 - Kerr Avon

Kerr Avon

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d12, Spirit d10, Strength d6, Vigor d8

Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d8, Investigation d8, Knowledge (Computers) d12, Knowledge (Electronics) d10, Lockpicking d8, Notice d6, Persuasion d6, Piloting d4,  Repair d8, Shooting d6, Stealth d6,  Streetwise d8, Taunt d8

Charisma: Pace: 6 Parry: 5 Toughness: 6

Hindrances: Arrogant, Cautious, Enemy (Major) Servalan, Stubborn, Wanted (Major)

Edges: Alertness, Scholar

Blake's 7

Seems appropriate that given the announcement of a possible American reboot for Blake's 7, I should publish the Savage Worlds write ups i've done for the original characters.

Savage Worlds - Blake's 7 - Roj Blake

Roj Blake

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, Strength d6 ,Vigor d6

Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Investigation d8, Knowledge (Engineering) d8, Notice d8, Persuasion d10, Piloting d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d6,  Taunt d6

Charisma: +2 Pace: 6 Parry: 6 Toughness: 6

Hindrances: Enemy (Major) Travis, Heroic, Loyal, Overconfident, Stubborn, Vengeful, Wanted (Major)

Edges: Command, Natural Leader, Charismatic , Strong Willed

Icons

While i've been sitting around, recovering from my knee op, i've been looking at the Icons RPG again. Gaming is very sparse at the moment with the exception of my much loved AD&D game every three weeks. I seem to have a perpetual desire to play superhero rpgs. Icons is a strange thing. Released a couple of years ago to much acclaim, it seems to have dropped off the radar a bit. Based on Fate, it's written by Steve Kenson, the genius behind Mutants and Masterminds. Looking around on the internet, support for the game is a bit sporadic. There is no dedicated forum for it, unlike say the Atomic Think Tank for Mutants and Masterminds. PDF products are still being released including a great range of WW2 adventures and supplements from Vigilance Press. I have a hankering to run a couple of these and have spent a bit of time finishing off the WW2 characters my gaming group came up with a couple of years back. Now that the PCs are complete I may have to run this thing. Watch this space.

Downtime

So I'm moping around a bit at the moment. I've had a minor knee operation which means I'm laid up for at least a few days. Been catching up on clearing out old emails, done a bit of writing and watched a load of tv. Hating the fact that I can't contribute to the running of the house much.

Father's Day

Despite all of us getting the date for Father's Day wrong (we thought it was last week), we had an afternoon out at the Asdown Forest llama park. It wasn't actually a treat for me, as such, but I enjoy going. It's a nice peaceful attraction with some lovely animals to see and an excellent coffee shop for afters. Worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

Ashdown Forest Llama Park

Olympics

Thanks to my lovely wife's perserverence, we're off to the Paralympics in September. We've managed to get tickets for the swimming finals. This means we get to see the Aquatic Centre and the Olympic Park. Very exciting although the ticketing system is bonkers.

State Of The Union Address...

A grand title to be sure. Just thought i'd take a few minutes to bring you up to date with all that's happening in Renny land.

Ironically, as this is Renny's Game Corner, there's been very little gaming going on. I've played some ACTA, although this has been delayed by my singular failure to finish painting my Federation fleet. I'm hoping to get this moving again. I'm still playing AD&D every three weeks or so but haven't done much else. I did a bit of play testing for a friend back in March but other matters are filling up my time.

Things have been very busy on the real life front. My daughter has been singing in choir concerts. She continues to ride at weekends, and swim. That and homework has been keeping us all busy. We're deep in a creative homework project to do with space, and as such we've been making moons and planets and other fun stuff.
She also spent a weekend at Brownie camp in May

We've also had a 25 year reunion of some local bands which was a lot of fun. Saw a lot of old friends and reconnected with a bunch of people. We then spent a week at Center Parcs in Norfolk, attended my mum's 70th birthday party and lived through the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

I managed to see John Carter on the big screen, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and loved the heck out of The Avengers, like most of the rest of the planet, apparently.  

On a personal note, I've also picked up an arthritic knee, which had me in some pain for most of March and April. I've been referred for an exploratory surgical procedure on July 10th which will hopefully alleviate the situation. Luckily, the discomfort has subsided somewhat and as such i'm functioning more or less normally at the moment.

There you have it. Lots going on and lots to come. Hopefully i'll post some more updates soon.

Something from the album...

Thought i'd share some pictures from the last ACTA:Star Fleet game.

Snigger...

Well, that must be a record. I didn't even manage to make one post before breaking my resolution. Ah well. Life in general has been extremely busy since christmas so there you go :-). Played a second game of ACTA since my last post and the game is good fun, although due to a misreading of the rules, the second game was a bit of a washout. Hopefully a rematch will follow in the next couple of weeks. The RPG side of things has been quiet so far this year. I've dropped out of the online ST:RPG I was playing as I was finding it hard to keep up with posts and finding anything meanigful to add. I really enjoyed the experience, however.
Have been reading loads and watching lots and i'm going to keep track of all the movies i've watched and books i've read during the year, just out of interest. See you next time.

Resolution

I'm going to try and update my blog more frequently this year and to this end i'm going to try and post at least once each Monday. We'll see how long this lasts. For now, a quick update. Christmas was good in the Race household. sans child, we managed to see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows on the big screen. really enjoyed both, although MI probably edged it a bit. New year was a bit of a washout as we all came down with a stomach bug but happily we're all well again now.

The gaming year kicks off tomorrow with Digger and I trying out ACTA: Star Fleet for the first time. I look forward to seeing those miniatures on the table properly. A battle report to follow, hopefully.