End of an Era

It's a bit of a sad day for me. I finished university on Thursday; ending three years of good times with great friends. I was genuinely sad when I had to leave - even when I spotted the closed cafe and realised I would never again be overcharged for a bag of doritos...

... But that's not what I'm writing about. As most of you are well aware, Games Workshop just published the 7th Edition of Warhammer 40,000; thus signalling the end of my patronage of the wargaming giant... officially anyway. I know myself too well to say honestly that I'm done with the game - I love the setting, I have great fun with the game, and I love the models and conversions. What I do not love is the company.

I'm not gonna go off on a rant about them - everyone and their dog already has, and usually for much better reasons - but a month ago, my local GW changed their policy from 'one rulebook per group' to 'one rulebook each'. Now, this is fair enough, so at their behest we rushed out and bought an extra three books so everyone had their own, and then two weeks later they announced a new £50 rulebook. I'm sorry, but a group of students does not £200 to buy the same thing four times. We might have enough to buy it once to share, but... frankly, we don't have the room for a four person game, and we don't have the time for more than a game a month. So, really, what is the reason to even bother? Maybe in a year or so we might go out and eBay a copy of the mini-rulebook. Maybe. But, if we're only going to be gaming round our house, why update at all? None of us have changed our army make-up in two editions. None of us have bothered with the expansions, or noticed all the 'gamebreakers'... because we don't game like that. We like a quiet game on an evening, where our armies are fluffy and our characters have an ongoing story... Not a Baneblade in a 1000 point game.

Now, as I said, I'm not done with the setting. It's what got me into the hobby, and from there to most of the other things I write about here. I've just seen the new Flash Gitz, and they're egging me on to finishing my Death Skulls warband. I've got all the conversion parts I need for a squad of Roman Legionary Marines. I have a half-made Alpha Legion detachment that I plan on finishing. I'm not done with 40k by a longshot.

But, you'll not see me upstairs, laughing as my Deathwing mishap any more.

A Short Update

So, as the title likely tells you, this isn't going to be a particularly long post, cos I haven't done much this week.

Well, no, tell a lie - I've done a lot this week, but not stuff that I can quite convey. Yesterday, I had one of the closest games of Warmachine ever - seriously, it lasted 7 turns, and each turn the advantage seemed to swing massively. I won in the end, but a lot of it was luck - or rather, my opponent's lack of. Actually quite annoyed about this, because we'd considered taking pictures or videos of it, but decided not to bother - would have made a fantastic battle report.
What else have I done? The day before, I did my final performance of my degree. I mean, I have to do it again in a month because of reasons, but that's the last time I get marked on it. The day before, I handed in my film project (which, incidentally, I intend to put on Youtube when I get the chance). Both of these are a bit sad really, but, well, not quite relevant to this blog.
Oh, and last Sunday, I finally finished my D&D campaign I've been running since 2011. That's a bit more grandiose an impression than it really is - it's probably only about as long as a regular campaign, but we've been distracted quite a lot, and cos we've mostly had to play it at our homes there've been long periods where we've not had a game.

In case you're wondering why I haven't really mentioned this campaign before, it's because, well... when I started this blog up again earlier this year, I knew I was at the tail-end of the campaign, and it seemed a bit pointless to bring you in on something that only had 2-3 sessions left. I thought, instead, I'd finish off, and then chronicle the new campaign - or campaigns, more on that later - with a brief description of the events of the old one. I realise I could describe it now, but, well... it's kinda long, and I'd be lying to the title if I did... alright, maybes a quick run-down'll do.

So, it started in the human kingdom with a dungeon crawl/tutorial. A Dragonborn warrior called Erken, a Tiefling wizard called Drakhov, a Human ranger called Katarn, and a Half-elf rogue called Kyln cleared out a semi-ancient ruin near a minor city. In doing so, they discover a magic metallic orb that can form into various weapons.
Because of this, the local Count calls them to his castle, in order to offer them a job - deliver an artefact to the capital. Pretty simple job, pay is good, and they are given a cart of goods boxes to disguise their purpose. Drakov promptly gets drunk, and bandits steal the artefact.
They decide to proceed to the capital, to explain what happened, and ask for aid. On the way, they pass through a small town with a bandit problem, and agree to help fight them off. During the night, the bandits attack, and they are forced to defend the settlement. Drakov goes missing, and Erubak is gravely injured.

(The reason for this, incidentally, is that the players got a bit, well, bored with their characters. Since this was literally the first campaign they'd ever been in, I told them they were allowed to swap them once.)

So, after the battle, Katarn and Kyln set off south, and happen upon a small village where children are going missing. When another is kidnapped while they sleep, they agree to investigate. Following the tracks Katarn finds, they arrive at a cave hidden behind a waterfall. Proceeding inside, they discover it is actually the base of a order of necromancers, and while clearing it out, run into Drakov's replacement - another Tiefling, this one a warlord named Zhukov. After freeing him, he helps them finish off the cult, and joins their party. The children are returned, and they depart.
So, they arrive at the capital, and are immediately taken by the secret police to the castle, where they meet the Secretary of Arcane Affairs... and have to explain they lost the artefact. Quite obviously, he is rather unhappy about this, and tasks them to find it. They go searching, and eventually learn of a former guard who may know something about the bandits. (The man, named Aelin, was an NPC I controlled, because Erubak's player couldn't make sessions any more, and a party of three seemed a bit lacking.) He told them the bandits had a camp in the forest by the capital, hidden a day or so away. So, they disguised themselves, crept in, found records of an exchange, and then raced off to interrupt it.
On the way, they encountered an Elven ranger named Galdor - yeah, soon as I make a NPC to help out, we get a new player... - and rescue him from some highwaymen. He offers to help to repay them, and leads them on a shortcut to the meeting point. They do battle with a bandit leader, and the people he stole the artefact for... The Cultist! Dum-dum-duuuum! Anyway, they deck 'em, grab the artefact, and set off to return it.
So, they return it, and are then told that a complex had been discovered beneath the castle. the teams they sent in didn't return, so they were asked to investigate. Descending, they discovered the ruins of an ancient palace, filled with goblins. Combing through the tunnels, they eventually found a memorial to the first Emperor of Jugisium, who lived somewhere between one and three millennia ago (there was a very dark ages after it fell). Whilst there, they discovered a scroll that seemed linked to the artefact - as, indeed, it was. The Secretary is a crafty bastard...
So, they had the artefact back, and a scroll none of them could read. The only problem? The cult was still after it, and they had no clue as to why. The Secretary had heard rumours of an archive on the east coast, and may include knowledge of the cult's roots. Sounds like a job for 5 psychopaths - or, Player Characters if you're being polite.
Anyway, they went there, and found the hidden archives. They underwent a series of challenges to prove themselves worthy of the knowledge within, and succeeding at the puzzles and riddles, made their way into the library. Here, they discovered a wealth of lost knowledge, but upon leaving, discovered only the book relating to the cult had stayed in their possession. They tried a few more times, but it seemed the archives didn't want to be emptied.
So, they returned it to the capital, and after a bit of reading, the Secretary, now joined by an officer of the secret police, noticed a link to rumours of a conspiracy in another city. Something about 'harnessing the Maelstrom', which they'd previously ignored, but now seemed important. The party went in to dig deeper, using all their cunning and subtlety... so, obviously, a woman was killed in the temple courtyard, and they ended up in a fight with cultists and traitorous guard,
After finishing them off, they found out that this was one half of a ritual, the other about to take place a few miles outside the city. Rushing to intercept they were confronted by... the Count from 3 friggin years ago! He explained that they were an organisation for freedom for mages, and discussed how their methods may be crude, but their goals were to stop the oppression of those who sought arcane power... which, admittedly, was true. He then, as all villains must after their speech, offer the heroes a place in their organisation, and declare "with you at our side, we can change the world!" so that the heroes can show just how noble they are.
So, obviously, Zhukov stabs Galdor, Kyln and Katarn fight almost to the death, and then everyone flees.

And that, my friends, is where the campaign ended - as a set-up to two parallel campaigns. I might well chronicle the events of that campaign as it comes, but, for now, this has long since ceased to be "A Short Update", so I'll leave it here.

Campaign Setting - The Isles Part 4

So, hopefully getting nearer the end of these updates... I say hopefully, I'm actually really quite enjoying them, but I reckon doing much more than five posts on my creation of a world would probably be just a little self-indulgent...

But, anyway, this time you're gonna learn about the Races of the Isles.

Elves

So, to start of, we'll start with the Elves, because, well, whilst not the most important, they are certainly the oldest... culturally that is. No one is quite sure of how the Isles came about - creation myths are a bit vague at best.

Anyway, around two-three thousands years ago, the Elves created an empire which covered virtually all of the Eastern Isle, and had a few colonies on the Western Isle. For it's time, it was very advanced, but equally conservative, leading it to stagnate over the centuries. Sadly, this led to it's collapse some twelve or thirteen centuries prior, though the inertia of the bloated bureaucracy  meant that the so called 'Cradle of Civilisation' did not realise this for almost two full decades. When they eventually noticed, orders were sent to armies  to reclaim their lands, only to discover the armies long since lost - deserted, destroyed, or simply disbanded without the paperwork being processed. In an act of international churlishness, the Elves closed down their borders and blamed their shorter-lived neighbours for the collapse, an act which over a millennia later has blossomed into a full blown case of xenophobia towards anyone who is not a pureblooded elf.
Actual knowledge of this nation is sketchy at best - only a handful of non-elves have ever entered the kingdom, and once you're in, you need permission to leave. They're known to have a much simpler administration than before, and some form of combined theocracy and monarchy, wherein the ruler is some form of Avatar of the Gods, though how precisely this works is unknown. Their Gods are thought to be based around natural cycles; life and death, day and night, summer and winter, but not much else is known for them.
So, they're basically Ancient Egyptians. Moving on.

The other ethnic group are the western or 'Wild Elves' - individuals who regressed culturally to match their barbaric neighbours. They have a faint Plains Nation theme, and favour throwing axes as their weapons. In recent years, they've grown to be something of a thorn in the side of the Pelotrusci, as many tribes resent the annexation of their lands, and near half have rose up in revolt; operating as small, guerilla forces to weaken the Republic. This has, sadly, made life harder for those Elves who desire simply to integrate into Pelotrusci society.

And, finally, we have the 'City Elves'; those who adapted to human society, and are now a thriving element of these lands, but have admittedly lost their cultural identity.
Physically, they tend to be tall, and somewhat pale - Wild Elves less so, whilst the Imperial Elves are virtually albinos. Otherwise, they're the Elves you know and arguably love.
-Pureborn Elves make up somewhere in the region of 15% of the Civilised races of the Isles, although no one is quite sure how many Wild Elves there are.

Humans

So, here we hit the main people in the setting - and the main people in most settings, which is strange when you realise just how terrible they usually are...

Anyway, I already covered their societies, so on this occasion, we'll just have to give a brief description to their physical characteristics... Which, may sound just a little dumb (given that you're a human), but you'll get what I mean as we go.

Anyway, starting in the east, we have the Tyrosians. They tend to be about normal height, and perhaps a mite thinner than others. Their skin is dark, with a slight reddish tinge, and their hair tends towards the darker shades, with the occasional burgundy, often worn to shoulder length on both sexes. Beards tend to be kept short on the men, and women often apply thick Kohl to their eyes. Light robes tend to be most common clothing; short cotton in the south, and wool garments that extend well past the knees in cooler climes. Often, this is fur trimmed if it can be afforded, or silk for the most wealthy individuals - given that it must be imported across an ocean.

The people of the Alekion kingdom tend to be lighter than their neighbours; olive skinned with light brown hair. Many possess green or hazel eyes, though they also tend to be a little shorter than average. Hair is typically worn long, and beards are allowed to grow well below the collar. Chiton are favoured for their clothing, often coupled with a wide brimmed hat. In cooler climes, a shawl wrapped about the shoulders is favoured over a cloak, and tall, footless socks are worn to keep the legs warm.

Finally - of the civilised peoples - we have the Pelotrusci. Citizens are usually somewhat broad, but stand average in height. They have tanned skin, somewhat closer to the Alekions than Tyrosians, and most have grey eyes, though brown and blue are also common. Hair is dark, and tends to be close-cropped. Among Citizens, their is a tradition to shave a stripe about the left ear for each term of service, leading to the eldest members of the navy to possess several concentric rings. Most wear cotton or woolen tunics, coupled with cloaks and braccae during the winter. Interestingly, despite their militaristic leanings, it is considered bad manners to wear armour or carry any weapon longer than a forearm inside a city.

Of course, then, their are the Barbarians. As a rule, they tend to be taller than the more civilised folk; the northerners being thick-set, pale, and favouring thick, fur-lined clothing similar to the Pelotrusci, while those from the Archipelago are lean, dark, and typically wear only a short skirt unless the weather is noticeably cool. Those of the north favour long hair and thick beards, whilst the Archipelago has an unusual fashion for shaving shaving the hair along the parting, which the civilised peoples often find quite hilarious.

-Humans account for approximately 40% of the Civilised peoples, but generally amount to almost half of the Pelotrusci and Alekion Kingdom.

Half-Elves

Unlike in other settings, Half-Elves are pretty well accepted, and quite prolific. Given the mass integration between Humans and Elves since the collapse of the first empire, it was only natural that marriage and reproduction between the two became common. Indeed, some predict that there will come a day when purebloods die out, leaving only Half-Elves to call the Isles home.
The vast majority of Half-Elves live in Eastern Isle, as there were comparatively few Elven colonies on the Western Isle. A not insignificant number resides within the Alekion kingdoms, which would surprise most people - what with Tyros sharing a border with the Empire's remnants. However, the strict racial purity of the Empire has discouraged many from getting too close to their borders.
-Half Elves amount to somewhere in the region of 30% of the civilised populations, and are mostly housed in the Eastern Isle, though they are still the second largest racial group in the Western Isle.

Dwarves

Dwarves reside in the mountains above Tyros, and rarely do they depart from their homeland. Not a terrific amount is known of their culture or practices, except that is is virtually alien to even the Imperial Elves. They build great ziggurats of stone upon the mountaintops, where they sacrifice each other to their outlandish gods. How they have managed this is unknown, because they seem to lack any form of metallurgy more complicated than that required to make copper. That is, of course, when they are not required to smelt gold or silver, which they seem oddly proficient at. Indeed, a Dwarven warrior will often enter battle wearing wooden armour, a stone-headed club, and a helm of copper highly embellished with gold or silver.
Dwarves tend towards a darker skin tone; from their proximity to the sun, rather than the heat, which is cooler upon the mountaintops. Men typically wear a half-robe that hooks over a single shoulder, coupled with a cloak that passes beneath the other arm. Women  wear a similar outfit, though theirs generally replaces the cloak with a poncho to preserve modesty. All individuals carry a satchel with them at all times, which holds their purse, and any items they require to draw to hand quickly.
For both men and women, the sides of the head are generally shaved, with the fringe kept short, but the back is allowed to grow unhindered; cut only as a sign of mourning. Typically, A man grows his beard long, and will interweave it with a variety of charms and medallions of copper, silver or gold, depending upon his wealth.
-Dwarves are thought to region somewhere between 10-20% of the Civilised population, but with the scant access to Dwarven records, this figure is an educated guess at best. Additionally, few official records are released from Pachakutiq and  Dwarven records are memorised or stored as stone hoops rather than written down, further complicating the matter.

Bel-Yahm

The Bel-Yahm are actually closer to two sub-races than a single, distinct species. They cannot breed with elves, dwarves or orcs - or any half-bloods - and even their children with humans are either one or the other.
They are both mostly human in appearance, with a few notable differences; the skin about their wrists, shoulders, and calves is scaled; greyish blue for winterborn, a dull, orange for those born in summer. Short, draconic horns grow from their temples, and their eyes are universally golden with vertical pupils.
With a few, rare, exceptions, they follow the culture of their homeland Tyros, including the caste system. They generally form into tight-knit communities within any settlements they settle, and struggle to understand the 'irreligious' neighbours.
-Bel-Yahm are primarily focussed in Tyros, where they account to near fifty percent of the population - by far, the largest group. However, in the Isles as a whole, they barely meet 10% of the population

Orcish Peoples

Orcs are native to the Archipelago south of the Western Isle, and are largely ignored as brutish barbarians. Few in the Isles will even consider the idea that they are not simply hulking lumps of muscle that will fly into a frenzy at the drop of a hat, and this view is often un-amended with regards to half-orcs.
That being said, there is some element of culture to these peoples. They share much of it with the men and half-elves of the Archipelago, including their talent as pirates feared by all but the Pelotrusci navy - and even then, it is mostly because they are too hubristic to admit the possibility of losing to barbarians.
-Half-Orcs are never classed as 'Civilised', even those who have lived as mercenaries in Tyros or for the Pelotrusci for their whole life. As such, their numbers are virtually unknown. It is thought that they (if combined with their pure-blooded kin) represent the third largest population, following closely behind the Half-Elves.

... And that's me done for this week. Of course, there are other races with some level of civilisation, but these are the major players... or, the PCs anyway. Hope you don't mind the arbitrary swaps between in-universe and GM descriptions... I'll be better next week, honest.

Campaign Setting - The Isles Part 3

So, last time, we've come quite a ways into this new world - the geography is down, as is the 'civilised' religion... so, that takes us onto the nations doesn't it? There are three 'civilised' nations, two 'exotic' nations, and a variety of other 'barbaric' peoples.

You know what'd really help here? A map.

So, we can see 8 colours on there, can't we? I'll start with the (admittedly brief) description of the barbaric nations... or, alliances, cultures, confederacies, whatever you so desire to name a loose collection of culturally relation petty kingdoms, tribes, and villages.

So, starting at the top left, we have a collection of minor tribes who share a vaguely Germanic culture. There's not much organisation beyond the level of 'small town', and the vast majority are simple fishermen living along the rivers of the outer isle. Occasionally, they'll war with each other, unite to launch a raid against their neighbours, but since the rise of the Pelotrusci, they've mostly been forced into isolationism; the thick mountains and lack of resources limiting interest in their lands.
Next, we have the brown isles in the south. Known as the Untamed Archipelago they are a haven for pirates, criminals and the less law-abiding of mercenaries. The natives draw upon the Iberian Peninsula for inspiration - a mix of barbaric clans and some limited civilised influences to set them apart from most. Dozens of attempts have been made by every nation to clear them out, but most fail to find anything other than port cities aping the great settlements of their neighbours.
Finally, in the far north, we have a bronze-age civilisation that is all but unaware of it's neighbours. Few would chose to go there, and even were they to they likely would not recognise the settlements for what they are. You see, their homes are excavated from the faces of cliffs; narrow rock walkways connecting one 'building' to the next, so that from the sea it appears as little more than a collection of oddly spaced formations. Not much else is known of them, as they share a border with no nation, and few people find reason to travel above the mountains.

Now, on to the other nations. The Civilised Peoples are divided into three groups; the Pelotrusci (red), the Alekion Kingdom (green) and Tyros (purple).

Starting in the West, we have the Pelotrusci - a young, militaristic republic. They are a mix of Spartan and Roman influences; they place a high importance upon service in the navy, to the point that you must serve for twenty four years before even applying to their senate; the Centurionate. They rose to prominence less than a century ago, by conquering many of their neighbours, and absorbing what few remained. This, in turn, created a new social class; the Helopoli. They are the descendants of conquered peoples who failed to impress with the military might, and serve a role similar to serfs; although, they may gain citizenship through a variety of ways; from military service, adoption, ritual combat, or through purchasing it if they are lucky in their yields.
Moving across, the Alekion Kingdom is a agricultural nation ruled by a dictator king, though most of the international governing is conducted by a council of twelve prominent individuals, and the day to day running of the nation is conducted by a startlingly adept administration. They're something of a middle-child in the Isles - lacking either the wealth of Tyros, or the might of the Pelotrusci, they are often prone to bouts of jealousy, which typically ends poorly for them, even if they are the quickest to recover afterwards. This is due to the massive population - several times that of their neighbours, even if it is primarily made up of serfs who farm huge latifundia, or mining the salt of which they hold a virtual monopoly.
And, finally, the eldest nation is Tyros; a theocratic merchant kingdom. It boasts near exclusive trade with both the mountain dwarves, and the Far Lands, along with huge deposits of clay, and produce the best ceramics in the Isles. The largest event in their history was the religious pilgrimage led by a prophet known only as the Child of Season, which resulted in a new sect of the civilised religion and the birth of a new race, known as the Bel-Yahm. Additionally, it led to the creation of a caste system - summer-born grow to be merchants, administrators and diplomats, whilst storm-born become sailors, labourers, and soldiers. This, incidentally, led to the semi-civilised state of the Archipelago - those who worship the Mistress of Storms cannot take 'mental' jobs, but Tyros relies almost exclusively on mercenaries for it's navy - so unless they want to dig in a mine, or become a guard, the Archipelago is the best choice. Or, of course, anyone can become a priest, and through that a member of the ruling council... though, this system has created a rather inept and corrupt administration.

I think I'll leave it here. I know I haven't spoken of the 'exotic' nations, but that's because they'll be covered next week when I discuss the races of these lands. So, catch you all next time.

Edit

Something I should have mentioned earlier, since it's caused some confusion. In this setting, the terms 'army' and 'navy' are interchangeable. Simply because there is no such thing as a ground-based army - the concept is virtually alien to the civilised nations. They vaguely understand that other nations don't really use boats as much as footsloggers, but they kinda vary between presuming it's because they are cowards, or they've not figured out home to make warships yet. So, just for future reference, army is a catch-all term which means 'ships and sailors' for the civilised nations, 'footmen' for the exotic nations, and 'cavalry' for the Far Lands... although, that last one is unlikely to ever come up except in the occasional background text.

Just to clear this issue up.

Campaign Setting - The Isles Part 2

So, people apparently quite liked last week's rambling - or, rather one person did anyway - so I'm gonna continue down this road.

Originally, I'd planned on spending this post bemoaning Warhammer 40,000 6.5th Edition - or whatever they're calling it - but the rumours surrounding it are at once virtually non-existent, and highly contradictory, so I'll leave it be. You may wonder why I chose to mention this, when it is unrelated to anything happening below this line? Mostly as filler...

Anyway, last time I introduced you to the geography of the land, and a (very) brief history. This week, I'm gonna talk more about the mythology, maybe plus some politics and something about the races.

So, without further ado, the Tempornaeum.

The Tempornaeum is the name given over to both the pantheon of deities, and the temples where they are worshipped. For anyone interested, it's a bastardisation of the Latin 'temporum'. The temple is a single building, divided into a shared altar, and private ones for devotees of a single God. The Pantheon meanwhile is composed of two siblings; the Sunlord who's domains include travel, trade, and diplomacy, and the Mistress of Storms, who is goddess of war, adversity and nobility (as in, being dignified and noble, not aristocrats). They coincide with the typical seasons of the Isles - they're quite firmly split between a warm, calm season of scattered showers wherein the majority of trade takes place, and a stormy season wherein great tempests can form in hours, wrecking any ship too far from the coast, and lashing coastal settlements. Each lasts roughly five months, and generally the change-over is quite rapid, lasting just a few weeks to change from Sicily-in-July to That-wave-is-taller-than-my-house.

I'd originally intended for a definitive split between worshippers - i.e. if you were born in summer you worshipped the Sunlord, if you were born in winter you worshipped Mistress of Storms, but looking back that just seems a bit... I don't know. It'd also come from the OotS article, where it was much better implimented (being a day-night cycle), but it just doesn't seem to work as well now. For one thing, it quite heavily implies that when you're born affects your job - after all, who'd hire a Summer as a bodyguard when there're Winters around? And who'd take a worshipper of the war god seriously as a merchant? I think it may be best to scrap that here.

Except, for two examples; Priests, and Tieflings. Priests hardly need an explanation - if you're not born in your deity's season, you can't lead their services. So, the Illumina are all born in summer, and the Procella in winter.

Now, Tieflings - they're a bit harder to explain. You see, one of the friends who was going to help me with this really likes Tieflings, but they didn't quite fit in with the setting, so we made a few changes to them, so they better fit. Rather than the descendants of those who made pacts with devils, they are the chosen of the Mistress of Storms. This extends quite heavily - rather than resistance to flames, they are less conductive to electricity. Their appearance is also changed somewhat - though, for the life of me, I cannot remember why. Additionally, they can only be born during the stormy season; were the child to be born during the Summer, nothing will happen.

... This, incidentally, is something I need to discuss with him. Because most of them live in the trading nation, which doesn't make quite so much sense...

Anyway, the Temporaeum is the pantheon of the Civilised lands, but it is, obviously, not worshipped everywhere. The Dwarves have their own pantheon - note to self, research Incan religion - whilst the High Elves are largely agnostic. Finally, the less civilised nations tend to be Druidic in nature - whether they worship nature gods, or simply revere nature spirits.

I could probably continue on at this point, but I think it'd be best to leave it there for now. Theology is a big thing, and I don't wanna tack a few paragraphs about politics and the like onto a pretty self-contained post... Plus, I need to take a bit of time to reconsider the setting... Anyway, I'll catch you all next week, enjoy yourselves.