I wonder if I’ve done one of those things where I’ve accidentally written too much. In an attempt to be thorough, I may have gone thoroughly nuts…
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With Mercury back in retrograde we’ve again five planets in said state and I think we’re feeling the crunch. Still, with new opportunities cropping up all the time, I gratefully performed the monthly Abundance ritual as today’s the full moon. Additionally with today’s eclipse of the moon turns out we’ve got a blood moon on our hands.
Bring it on… I guess..!
Anyways… Jenny and I are once again throwing one of our big old famous BBQs for all our friends this weekend. She’s swinging by Mueller’s Deli for some real-deal hotdogs for the grill… plus I’m doing burgers. I can’t wait, it should be epic. But we’ve got friends coming in from out of town and lots of stuff to do, so let me try to knock this out.
Episode 6 of Adventure Hook went live this week, and it was definitely a good one. I still have to finish the final edits on Episode 8 still, but that’s gonna have to wait a few days at least…
Adventure Hook: Episode 6 – The Assassination Target
My Twitter presence continues to grow, and hopefully seeding a bunch of #newadventurehook ideas out there will get stuff moving for the show. Aaron reported some great feedback from the show, and we have some cool listeners out there, and so long as we keep on keepin’ on, we’ve nowhere to go but up.
As for me, I’ve been stupidly deep in prep work for the upcoming guest GM gig for Red Moon Roleplaying. I’ve really been trying to write this one shot so the pieces of a story are baked right in, and so long as the players inhabit the characters and their motivations the story will just naturally take shape in any number of possible variables.
As they are character-driven gamers, I’ve written four fairly complex backstories for the three Red Moon guys and Aaron, I wanted to give them a LOT to work with, so (perhaps this is where I did too much) wrote it in such a way that hopefully they’ll each feel like htey come from the same place and have a shared history… but also flavored according to each person.
Not sure what all we’ll do with this, if nothing else it’ll be how they get into character. I also sent them old skool AD&D stated character sheets (the rules for which I’ve basically had to go back and relearn) but hopefully we’ll also get some dramatic readings from the guys we can use. Depending how we edit everything together, as we’ll want a raw cut with all the meta-game stuff included, and another that’s super tight, and super edited with music and sound effects and the whole nine.
It’ll be epic.
But, all told after completing four characters’ intricate interwoven backstories, seeded with secrets and clues about each other all throughout, it clocked in at well over 15,000 words… again, did I do too much? The proof will be in the pudding, but this feels like its got the making of success written all over it…
Sigil of Infinite Fraternal Success
I am really tempted to just post all the backstory stuff on this blog, but it occurred to me that it could make good Pateron-only material for Adventure Hook. I’d written each character in such a way that their desires and motivations throughout were as vague as possible, leaving it up to the players to decide what kind of person they were (and how that shaped who they are). I think you could package this all together as the springboard of any manner of one shot, arc, or even campaign, and while I specifically crafted it to both highlight Blackspire campaign world stuff as well and make for an interesting play through the (basically straightforward) original module “To Baator and Back” in truth, you could just play “Mad Libs” with most of the proper names and slot these character into a different campaign world.
I will however share the intro I’d written (in each charater’s voice) to open each of the character’s backstory. Hopefully this will give some idea of what sorts of characters I’ve been playing with.
Red Moon Roleplaying in association with the Adventure Hook podcast proudly present a Blackspire Studios rendition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition classic Planescape adventure “To Baator & Back”… which we’ve playfully/humbly/tastelessly/lovingly subtitled “Hell is Other People”.
Finott Pickett: The Occultist
“Fools! They mocked my theories about the Secret Math… but one day I’ll prove to them who the true fools are! They’ll rue the day they humiliated me! The City of Doors is more than mere myth, it is in fact the very place where I shall finally obtain the knowledge that has so long eluded me… and I shall make my way there if I have to cross Hell itself to find it!”
Sir Milton Vespers: The Atoner
“My secret shame is that I am but a shadow of what I once was… and the lies that have followed with that now run so deep I have almost begun to believe them myself. But now… at long last redemption is finally within my reach. And I will risk everything I have left to grasp it… my very soul depends on it.”
Virgil St. Frostkiss: The Inquisitor
“The truth of a thing ultimately pales in comparison to the particulars of how that thing is later remembered. On this topic and this topic alone did my father and the Church share a total agreement.”
Magi Dante Harkadies: The Army of One
“Magic is both an art and a science… and I have mastered each approach in turn! Time and again I have proven how I am a paragon example of my bloodline’s famous talent for wielding arcane power. Top of my class at the Academy of War-Magic; received special appointment via dispensation from the Grand Arbiter himself to a post within the Royal Wizards of Navulon. One of the finest Summoners in King Damon’s court, the other war-mages have come to call me “The Swarmer” because of my reputation for “bringing my own army” to every battle that I wage. A reputation that no doubt precedes me!
Gods above and below us… if only it were deserved.”
Friday 7/2718-
Sun: Leo–
Moon: Aquarius (FULL)
If you’d like to start from the “beginning” of all this… you can read from my first blog post.
For my disclosure on this or any of my posts or pages… please visit my Disclosure page.