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Monday Mashup #1: Greyhawk and CSI

July 14, 2003
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So this is an experiment.

I like genre-mashing. I also like drawing on the tropes of Western media to give genres a new spin. I also think the Game WISH is the bee’s knees.

Thus, I’m kicking out Monday Mashup as a writing exercise. The format is pretty simple: I’ll toss out a roleplaying game/setting and a piece of pop culture, and you write up a brief rendition of a possible campaign that incorporates ‘em both in whatever unhealthy form you prefer. If people dig it, I’ll keep going, and if not, I will continue to chortle about my weird ideas in privacy.

This week: the forensic scientists of CSI meet Greyhawk. Go!

Continue ReadingMonday Mashup #1: Greyhawk and CSI

Nobody likes

July 13, 2003
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Hint to Roger Clemens: nobody likes you much. Poor guy. He has a milestone season, gets his 300th win, strikes out his 4,000th man, and yet nobody wants him to get that final All-Star appearance in the final season of his career. The public didn’t vote for him, the players didn’t vote for him, the manager didn’t select him, and now Commissioner Selig doesn’t want anyone to make an exception for him. Possibly all that stuff about not showing up for the Hall of Fame induction backfired, huh?

Naughty Texas

July 13, 2003
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Supporters of the Texas redistricting effort were eager to claim that the Texas Democrats were acting illegally. Proof? Well, the Texas House rules allowed the Texas Department of Safety to hunt missing legislators down, and that must mean that the legislators were breaking the law. The difference between police acting as a favor to the legislature and police acting to enforce actual laws was apparently beyond some.

Not, however, beyond a Texas judge. Judge Charles Campbell pointed out that Texas law “limits the role of D.P.S. to enforcing the laws protecting the public safety and providing for the prevention and detection of crime.”

Charles Kuffner has the good coverage of this whole issue; hit his Killer D’s category for in-depth information.

WISH 55: Name a little

July 11, 2003
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WISH 55 asks about names:

How do you choose character names? What makes a good or bad name for a character? What are three examples of really good (or really bad) character names, and why are they so good or bad?

I just kick names around until they feel right. I tend to use baby name books and sources often, thanks to Gretchen’s pernicious influence. I have an archived copy of the Onomastikon which has been very useful for culturally appropriate names. I don’t think my names are ever particularly stellar, but they work.

Examples. Um. I’m still fond of Paul/Emoticon. Paul made the fatal mistake of allowing American reporters to coin a superhero name for him, and as he’s French he didn’t realize how lame a name Emoticon was. (His power was projective empathy, which manifested as glyphs in the air in front of him.) He was always a little annoyed about that, although he refused to show it.

Daevros was a great character with a lousy name. What can I say? I’m not a Dr. Who fan, so I didn’t realize.

Oh, I guess I can admit to the source for Reese Beulay’s last name as my third example. I like David Bowie a lot, and I found the contrast between the song and the concept of backwoods redneck mystics to be amusing.

It's a game, right?

July 11, 2003
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Sports Illustrated recently launched a new fantasy baseball game. It complements their existing fantasy baseball game, I suppose. It’s called Baseball Challenge: Salary Cap Challenge.

Yep. It’s a fantasy baseball game that sells itself with the salary cap. As a Celtics fan laboring under the emotional weight of the Vin Baker trade, I find this painfully depressing. It doesn’t look like it’s really that different than any other fantasy baseball game — salary caps are nothing new in that world — but did they have to sell it as the “Cripple Your Team For Years With One Stupid Guaranteed Contract Challenge”? (Rephrasing mine.)

Savate, maybe

July 9, 2003
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Rick Jones wrote up some rules for Wushu Falkenstein over on RPGnet, which should interest at least a few of my readers. His magic rules are excellent. Also on the topic of Wushu, the author turns out to be a regular poster on RPGnet. And here’s a post on running Exalted with Wushu rules.

I’m still trying to figure out the over the top problem. Here’s another take on it: Embellishments don’t have to be flashy. “I slip through the night, varying the rhythm of my footsteps irregularly, my black suit blending with the shadows, avoiding leaves and other noisy footing.” As a GM, nothing is forcing me to present the players with obstacles which invite flashy solutions — what if the fight takes place next to a sleeping giant?

The liberal side

July 8, 2003
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CNN’s headline for this story reads, quote, “Bush: crime of slavery ultimately ‘set America free’”. Which has, to my eye, somewhat questionable implications.

In fact, what he really said was “The stolen sons and daughters of Africa helped to awaken the conscience of America. The very people traded into slavery helped to set America free.” The crime itself didn’t set people free; rather, the people we wronged helped set us free. Very different meaning, there.

The mainstream press is pretty much gonna dogpile on whoever looks vulnerable, whether they’re liberal or conservative. The Republicans have just done a better job convincing the press they aren’t vulnerable. That’s why it’s important to have a big whacking mass of think tanks pumping out stuff that supports your point of view — it lends the weight of authority.

Bad intelligence

July 7, 2003
4 Comments

Oh, for heaven’s sake.

Remember that Iraqi children’s prison? It was a big deal. It was proof that we were right to go into Iraq. It was a noble, shining moment.

It was an orphanage. A really bad one, but not a prison, and not someplace kids were sent for refusing to join the Ba’ath Party.

And hey — if we’re in the business of liberating facilities which treat children horribly, maybe we should start here. It’s run out of Utah. We can start at home.