Languages and More...

Hello there kiddies, and welcome to a very special post. You see, quite recently, we passed, uncelebrated, the one year anniversary of me restarting this blog!
... so why didn't I mention it at the time? Busy with work, so I decided to mix it up with my birthday blog... And then I caught the lurgy and spent last weekend in bed. Or at work, which I'm sure didn't help.
But anyway, yes - a solid year of weekly posts - most actually containing something of worth! And all bar one on time. Needlessly proud of myself, given that this is the only project I've kept going longer than a couple weeks. And, I'd like to say it's taught me the importance of forward planning, but we both know that's bull. Frankly, I'm as workshy as ever, but... I think that's part of what I like here - that I can just let thoughts out, and not have to edit everything to perfection. It's a nice change from the essays I used to do for university.

... but, what have I learnt? Well, first off, that y'all love battle reports. I think around a tenth of my views come from the two I've posted so far. So, I'll take this chance to try to post one at least every other month. No promises - it takes a decent amount of effort to organise one, especially cos everyone wants to have most of their army painted during them, and then you spend your opponent's turn scrawling notes on a sheet of paper... but I'll promise to try.
Secondly... That I love settings. Making them up, exploring them, considering whether a utilitarian society would allow deathgames as a form of entertainment... every part of it. Which, I'm sorry to say means that I will likely be posting many more in future.
And thirdly... That I truly do owe you. I think part of the reason that I've kept this going so long - besides stoking my ego - is because I know people actually read it. And I know you do - I can see him many people visit my page. So props to my Ukrainian readers here, and thanks to everyone reading this sentence. Seriously, I do appreciate it.

... And because I promised months ago... the languages of Jugisium.
This won't be long, I hope... or delaying it so long will be quite embarrassing... anyway, there's... 6 languages and a dialect spoken in Jugisium, plus  a variety of "lesser" tongues, such as orcish or draconic. We'll only be considering the human here though... cos I left my notes at home. So, in no particular order...
-South Common: the native language of Senhekanto, and the original human tongue. It is a sometimes harsh language, and highly archaic - as befits a region wherein several nations claim to be heirs to an ancient empire. I see it as vaguely Turkish, with a Phoenician alphabet.
--East Common: a dialect of the former, spoken in the deserts, it is more evolved than South Common - less formal in many ways, with a greater range of relevant words. Maybe Arabic?
-Aranian: the language of the north humans, it has been brought with them, a simple tongue with surprising depth for the fluent... roughly speaking, it's Finnish with Cyrillic text.
-North Common: a melting pot between South Common, Aranian, Elvish and Dwarven, it is often seen as the most expressive of the tongues, though the rules can be contradictory on occasion,making it difficult for an outsider to learn. I imagine it as vaguely Ukrainian... due to that nation being settled by norsemen, but then spending centuries butted up against the Ottomans.
... see, I do research.

Anyway, that I'm afraid is where I'll have to end it. Once again - thank you so much for reading this, and here's to another great year. Volodanti out.

Amidst the Silent Starts

... Actually, really cool name for what I'm about to discuss...

It's new setting time! Well, less a setting than an atmosphere... this isn't like The Isles, or even that GoAG idea I batted about. This is a vague feeling for a potential... It's not horror, or adventure, per-se, but... it sorta involves it... It's... Mild, existential-horror, low-adventure hard-ish sci-fi... thing.

Right, so, here's the setting: It's several million - or possibly billion - years from now. Humanity has spread across the Galaxy, and finding it still too small, it has colonised the next galaxy. And the next. And the next. We have spread across the stars in great generation-ships, and one thing has greeted every expedition:

Silence.

There are no extra-terrestrials. Aliens are no more than a myth - a hopeful one, as humanity becomes ever more concerned by their isolation. No ruins pervade worlds, hinting at long-gone civilisations, not even single-celled organisms have been found predating colonists. The Universe appears barren beyond the inhabitants of one little blue speck in the inky darkness. Terra was lost so long ago it remains but a dim memory; pollution and ecological disaster making it unlivable. Nova Terra fell to nuclear fire. Terra Nova was left unlivable as technology surpassed safety. And a dozen more have fallen in the interim.

So, the players will taken the role of prospectors/traders/explorers in the Milky Way; a galaxy gasping in it's last breaths, either age or human mistakes having left few systems still habitable. The next Generation ship will not leave for millennia, if it ever does at all, fired out to an uncertain future.

Because FTL technology exists... but it is so slow. In a universe as large as ours, even the ability to travel a thousand times the speed of light would take several thousand years to reach the nearest galaxy. Either innumerable generations would pass without ever breathing fresh air, or else they retire to Cryo-chambers and trust their systems not to fail. Slip-Space can allow a small ship to cross the Galaxy in but a few years, or between neighbouring systems in only a day or two. But to travel between Galaxies requires not only a massive investment of time, resources and population, but also the knowledge that a Galaxy can only be settled once. Because in the time required to travel a pathogen will evolve beyond the immune systems of those left behind, and so cross contamination would likely reduce both populations to but a fraction of their former size. Only a single such meeting has occurred, and a population numbering in their billions was reduced to but a few million individuals, and this has served as a cautionary tale to all others.

There is, however, one exception to this rule; Warp Drive. Such a thing wrenches open a gap in reality, similar to a wormhole, and launches a small vessel through the tear, allowing near instantaneous travel between any point in the universe - though the variance increases with range. Originally only capable of hitting the right galaxy, and then required to travel through Slip-Space to a inhabited system, the advent of Warp Gates has allowed perfect accuracy so long as both points posses such a device, and allows distant Galaxies to communicate with each other as would have never previously been possible, allowing them to co-ordinate expansion and share technology.

There are, of course, two problems with Warp Drive; firstly, that the energy requirements are immense. Sending a single ship the size of a HGV to any point - regardless of proximity - requires a a week or more between activation, despite being powered by near-limitless solar energy. And secondly, that it is fatal - the competing fields will short out any electronics, up to and including the synapses in a human brain, leaving them dead before they have even passed through the gap. Ships have been programmed to turn off before passing through, and are re-activated by the pulse a gate emits as it closes. So, for the moment, inter-galactic travel exists only as a means to communicate, but there remains some hope that, eventually, some form of shielding will allow living being to pass through, finally re-uniting the disparate colonies, though some question how the resulting culture-shock will end...

... Anyway, that's the basic idea for it. I have more thoughts but... well, I like this. I wanna save it for an occasion when I want to do it, rather than churning it out because I left the Blog til the last moment again... By Morrow, I'm actually writing this weeks in advance for a change, just because it hits a chord with me... Well, anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this slightly grim setting. Thanks for reading.

Volodanti out.

Where everybody knows your name

Heads up here - I never really watched Cheers that much. Always preferred Becker to be honest.

Not sure why I thought to mention that... in fact, it slowed me down for half an hour as I looked up Becker to relive memories... good times...

Sorry, I am terrible at focusing today. Not a clue why. Alright, so, to the crux of the matter:

PC Homes.

... Or safe-houses, bases, chapter-house - whatever. The place they can rest between adventures, store their gear, or defend as when their enemies figure out where they live.

In essence this started out from two sources - firstly, Minecraft. Because, whilst I'm not to bothered about the adventuring part of it... I love building fancy buildings. I created a pretty decent Pharos of Alexandria a while back just because. The second, of course, was Iron Kingdoms, where we decided to buy and fortify a barn for the hell of it... well, it had some facilities that we could put to good use, and was cheaper than renting rooms long term. But between the two of them, it got me thinking...

Now, obviously, if you're playing a sci-fi game, or a sailing-themed game, you can ignore a lot of this, because you'll have a ship - which, admittedly, functions very similarly, but not identically...

But, if you're doing a fantasy RPG, this is something you ought to give some thought to - GM and Players both. If, for example, you're doing a grand quest that results in you crossing the nation a dozen times before it's over, don't bother - after all, you'll not be in a single settlement long enough to rationalise investing in property. But, on the other hand, if you're sticking to a single city for the duration of the campaign, you should probably put at least a little thought your dwelling. In a campaign limited to a single county (earldom, district, region, etc.) you might want to consider at least adding a safe-house or meeting place.
Now, obviously, the form this takes is heavily dependent on the campaign you're running. A thieves guild will obviously have a hideaway somewhere in the slums, whilst a prominent party of mercenaries will likely have a fortified manor somewhere between a market and Keep. Even a group of first level adventurers will likely have a room in a preferred Inn. When you start a campaign you know is going to be of limited scope, consider discussing with them whether they way to put any thought into it, or are just fine with 'a room with a bed'.
Personally, I'd come up with a couple options for them to claim as their own; each favouring a different aspect.
An attic in the slums would be cheap, and provide a large amount of secrecy to the party, at the expense of security - both from thieves, and retribution should they annoy the wrong organisation.
A room above a bakers next to the market would provide significant anonymity, and if they invested in the bakers a bit of extra cash, but it offers no protection, would be easy to track you to, and of course the baker could probably be coerced into aiding your enemies.
A sturdy compound near the barracks would be very easily defensible, but would also be a flashing neon sign to any foes, along with costing quite a bit.

Really, it depends upon the needs of the party. Of course, these won't be the options you give to your party - there is no chance in Oblivion that the first and last options are equally viable in any situation. But, give them a few variations on any of them - the bakers in the market, next to smiths near the docks, the cellars of a tailor in one of better areas. Each provides varying levels of stability, cost and resources to party. If your party is especially into the idea, consider making up a simple floor plan for them, and allow them to furnish the house (anything from 'this room is a study' to 'an eggshell wingback against this wall, with a nice view of the temple through the third window' depending). Even consider letting them investing their loot in renovations if they get into the idea. Anyone who has seen a party spend twenty minutes debating which order they enter a friendly tavern know how invested in the minutiae they can get.

... Anyway, this is all just a thought. Some people won't care where they stay because it's just filler between the interesting bits - combat, puzzles, whatever - and some might spend hours of their free time deciding exactly how to organise a room for a dozen unlikely scenarios. Either way is fine, of course, so long as they enjoy themselves.

... And yes, I know that I'm three weeks behind on the 'Languages of the Three Lands' thing. There's a good reason for that - it's too short. Even by my standards. I'll keep trying to make something of it, but if not I'll slot it in with something else, or post it midweek as a treat...

But, anyway, if nothing else, this has entertained you for five minutes. Thanks, once again, for reading. Volodanti out.

Blue is the New Black.

... or grey. well, bluish-grey anyway.

... Wow, I'm already lost cos of a terrible pun I put in. The fact I'm allowed to continue posting on here is probably not a good sign for a benevolent deity... Or, perhaps he's just too polite to tell me to stop.

Anyway,

So, I'm gonna brag horrendously about my awful painting skills. That's right - I have a new model. And on this occasion, for something of a change... it's Kyln. Kyln Karga now, because his old name - as I noted - was stupid.

Yeah, so, this is the most expensive model I've ever bought... for a wide variety of reasons. I purchased it from Dark Sword Miniatures (who, incidentally, I advise you to check out if you're ever after a model for a fantasy rpg), which is based in America... so, the P&P was not cheap, but my GM bought Lolette at the same time, so... it wasn't too bad. After that, I had to buy a lot of new paints... well, I say had to - I chose to. Because, for me, this was a painting project. I could have reused old paints, but... well, I'm never actually going to use the model (we tend to play the game Fantasy Flight style), so... it was just there for as a mascot. And, if I'm just gonna have him sitting around, I want him to look good. All in all, I think I spent upwards of £15 on paint alone - one of which I only ended up using as a low-light... but, that was more cos I bought the wrong one by accident...

... Oh, yeah - I did a lowlight! Needlessly proud of that.

So, yes, the model itself... meant to have a longer sword, but the metal is particularly thin, so it bends a lot... and after a fixing it a couple times it had started to weaken. In the end, I decided that it'd make more sense to just cut the end off and reshape the blade - and I think it's come out alright. Certainly, it looks shorter than I am used to, but in Warhammer and Warmachine weapons tend to be a bit oversized, so it might just be a matter of perspective... Otherwise, he's damn near perfect.

For the colour scheme, I tried to keep to a relatively limited palette - whilst simultaneously painting every area a different colour... In any case, I aimed to use only blue, grey, and brown for him - grey as the main colour, with blue and brown as spot colours. The reason for this being that grey is the best colour for blending in with an urban environment, but... it's just dull. Head-to-toe greys are exactly what a real thief/assassin would wear, but this is a fantastical realm, and I'm willing to make a couple breaks from reality.

The cloak, incidentally, was a reference to that last bit of fluff I posted (and the one beforehand, actually...). You see, when we originally picked out our models, the one chosen for Lolette was near perfect... except it had no cape. Kyln, meanwhile, never was meant to wear a cape, but good luck finding a thief without one... So, I put in that little joke at the end about Kyln stealing her cloak as an explanation for the models... then Vavalrus bought another model without telling me.

Bastard stole my cape...

... But, yeah - here's Kyln. Hope you like him, and thanks for reading. You'll be happy to hear that I did, indeed, write this in advance, so... perhaps I'm getting better...

Ha, yeah right.