Blackmoor Vituperative

Some neat links Susan sent me.

The Top 15 Skylines In The World
These are just awesome, particularly Hong Kong. I wish I’d been able to visit Hong Kong before the Chinese took it over. I don’t seriously think I’d be in any danger if I went there now (not any more than I would have been before, anyway), but it’s just the principle of the thing. Still, it’s an amazing looking city. Who knows, maybe I will visit it someday.

The Movie Timeline
The premise of this site is brilliant: a timeline that includes any event that happens on any date in any movie. It’s a little Alien vs. Predator heavy, but still very cool. Susan and I were about halfway through it when Susan got the idea of going through the Highlander movies and adding dates from those, but they beat us to it! In the process, they reminded me what a terrible, terrible movie Highlander:Endgame was. Whoo-wee, what a stinker.

SheVaCon was great, as always. Here are some high spots:

Friday

Registration was a breeze. There was no line at all at 17:00 or so, when we got there. We got our badges and then checked into the hotel. The Holiday Inn Roanoke Tanglewood is a terrific hotel. The room was large, and included frills like a refrigerator, microwave, and Wi-Fi. I wish I’d brought the 802.11g card for the laptop: I assumed I would have no use for it on our trip.

We didn’t do much Friday night but roam around and go to a few panels. I attended a sparsely-attended workshop on miniature painting by Bob Snare (one of the MarsCon organizers — he’ll be running the Dealer’s Room for MarsCon 2006). I learned quite a bit, to my surprise. Turns out I have been doing washes and dry-brushing wrong all this time. Well, maybe not wrong, but his figures definitely look better than most of mine. I’m going to try his technique on the next few I paint.

Saturday

Lots going on Saturday. In the morning to early afternoon, I ran a Champions game, The Testament Of Dr. Destroyer. Five people played: only one had ever played Hero System before, and that was a long while ago. To say the game was lively would be an understatement. I am sure the other people in the room would have liked us to be quieter. Fortunately, I don’t think any of them were actually gaming. SheVaCon isn’t really a gaming convention, alas. Maybe they’d attract more gamers if the game listing on the web site was kept up to date. The SheVaCon web site is under new management this year, so hopefully, it will be better for 2006. Another thing they could do better is post the game schedule on-site in a legible format. What was posted near the game room was like a tenth-generation Xerox copy of a Gantt chart. It also did not help that the RPGA games were in the convention area, and anything else (including my game) was hidden away on the fifth floor somewhere, without any indication of its being there. All in all, the con could do much better in the gaming arena.

After the game, I visited the con suite, which was terrific at SheVaCon, as always. I do wish people would let the hotdogs finish cooking before grabbing them, though.

Some other highlights of Saturday were the panels, the costume show, and the never-to-be-missed Nth Degree party. SheVaCon seems to atrract a literary crowd, at least in terms of guests. Most of the panels that I attended were concerned with the art and science of science fiction writing and publishing. Interesting stuff. I did not get into the costume show itself, because it was standing-room-only by the time I got there. Still, they all had to walk by me in the hallway to leave, so I got a good long gawk at the costumes. The ones which stand out in my memory were Cruella De Vil from 101 Dalmations, the evil fairy Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, and the character Rayne from the Bloodrayne computer game. These were all good, but the one that realy impressed me was Rayne. She pegged the costume exactly, and she matched it physically, right down to the hair.

I spent a lot of time playing Bloodrayne.

There was an unusual event on Saturday: the world premiere of a movie called Apocalypse. Wow, was it bad: real Mystery Science Theater material. But the people who put on the show, which included the director and a few of the actors, were all good sports, and treated us to a terrific catered dinner. They looked like they had a good time making the movie, and for what it’s worth, it was still better than What The Bleep Do We Know?.

The high point of Saturday, of course, was the Nth Degree party, which is a blast at every convention. SheVaCon’s schedule for Saturday night didn’t amount to much more than various people reading their own stories out loud, which has never thrilled me. I’d much rather talk to them one on one at the Nth Degree party. Various folks associated with Meisha Merlin Publishing were in attendance, and were a pleasure to chat with, as always. There were other authors scattered here and there, as well: unfortunately, I do not remember most of their names, as I was pretty drunk at the time. However, I did have the opportunity to pick up a book for a friend: A Million Shades of Gray, by John C. Hertel. How many parties have you gone to where you can get a book signed by the author right in front of you? Nth Degree’s parties are simply fabulous. I hear they publish a damned fine magazine, too. You should check it out.

Sunday

Sunday is the day to browse the Dealer’s Room and spend any leftover cash that somehow hid in the bottom of your pockets all weekend. I came really close to buying some Reaper miniatures, but didn’t, since I’ve been spending way too much on stupid, ugly, plastic HeroClix to use as figures in our Champions games, and I need to take a break from spending money on gaming crap for a while. Susan picked up a book on writing fantasy, The Complete Guide To Writing Fantasy. I hope she writes something. I plan on reading the book as well, if I can ever find the time.

After that was saying good-bye and feeling bummed because the convention was over: that post-convention malaise. It was only the start of our Virginia Vacation, so I didn’t stay bummed long. After all, we had places to go and friends to see.

I was sorting my email and happened across an email from the company who handled our Kutna Hora tour. The name of the company is Jomys. I highly recommend them if you are going anywhere near Prague. We had a great time, and hope to visit Prague (and other cities in the Czech Republic) again some day. I can’t say enough good things about Prague and Jomys.

The game went pretty well. They were a rambuncious lot. Of the five players, only one had ever played a Hero System game before, and that had been years ago. The only problem I had in explaining the game system was the “to hit” roll. That is the single most-used mechanic in the system, and it’s too complicated. I am going to start using the alternate which I first saw (if I recall correctly) in Champions: The New Millenium.

OCV + 3d6 must meet or exceed DCV +10

I have resisted using this mechanic up to now because I am, in general, extremely reluctant to change anything. There must be a compelling case for a house rule. I think this is a compelling case. The standard way of resolving combat is a huge hurdle for new players. The above mechanic is functionally equivalent, and much easier for new players to grasp.

Anyway, the game went pretty well. Everyone seemed to have fun. I’ll write up a full con report in a day or so. I am technically still on vacation, even if the snow did screw up our plans for the rest of the week.

Susan and I will be attending SheVaCon 2005 in Roanoke, VA, 2005-02-25 through 2005-02-27. Come look for us. In the evenings, we’ll probably be at the Nth Degree party. On Saturday, I’ll be running a couple of Champions (Hero System) games:

The Testament Of Dr. Destroyer (a game in two parts)

Part 1:
“When mankind becomes ruled by terror, then is the hour for the mastery of crime.” –Dr. Destroyer

Unknown to the rest of the world, the criminal mastermind known as Dr. Destroyer has been locked in an asylum for the past 10 years, straddling the line between life and death. One of his last projects involves a mysterious manifesto that sets in place a crime-filled future. When a doctor from the asylum tells the heroes that these exact crimes are coming true, he is mysteriously assassinated. It is up to the heroes to put together the pieces of this mind-bending case.

Characters will be “standard superheroes”, per the H5 or H5R rules. Characters will be provided.

Part 2:
“Only when the world of Man is wiped clean may the world of the Destroyer be created.” –Dr. Destroyer

Unknown to the rest of the world, the criminal mastermind known as Dr. Destroyer has been locked in an asylum for the past 10 years, straddling the line between life and death. And yet, the heroes have tracked a string of bizarre robberies to a source claiming to be the Destroyer himself! Will the heroes solve this bizarre puzzle and foil the plot of the would-be Destroyer before it is unleashed on an unsuspecting world?

Characters will be “standard superheroes”, per the standard H5 or H5R rules. Characters will be provided. Characters submitted to bblackmoor@blackgate.net at least 14 days prior to the convention will also be considered.

Number of players: 4-6

Time Slots:

Saturday 10:00 (10AM): The Testament Of Dr. Destroyer, Part 1
Saturday 14:00 (2PM): The Testament Of Dr. Destroyer, Part 2

Yes, this is the same game I ran at MarsCon. It went really well the first time, so I figured I’d try it again. If it goes well again, I may write it up for Nth Degree (although I have a ton other things I am supposed to have written for Nth Degree, and have not yet done so… so little time, so many pet projects).

You won’t be able to find these in the online schedule, by the way. The SheVaCon web site could be run a bit better, honestly. I have offered to help. You can tell a lot about someone by how they respond to an offer of assistance.

I am in the market for a new cell phone. My only real requirements are that it have Bluetooth, GSM, and GPRS: I travel from timeto time, and I use the cell phone to connect my Palm to the Internet. This has virtually saved my life on several occasions, such as when I was on a military compound in an industrial area of Prague, needed to find a hotel, couldn’t figure out how to use the telephone, and couldn’t find anyone who spoke English (it’s all I can do to say “please” and “thank you” in Czech). Using my Palm and my cell phone, I was able to find a hotel, make reservations, and even arrange for a day trip to Kutna Hora. The tour guide we booked was excellent, but unfortunately I can’t seem to find any information about them online. I believe the name of the company was “Jopi”. [Correction: the name of the company is Jomys.]

So anyway, I need a cell phone with Bluetooth, GSM, and GPRS. Not too much to ask. Unfortunately, like hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people, I work in a facility where cameras are forbidden. For reasons which elude me, I have not been able to find any cell phones meeting my requirements which are not encumbered by a damnable camera. I even called T-Mobile and asked them, and they said they didn’t have anything meeting my three other requirements but which did not also have a camera.

This is insane. Who the hell thought putting cameras in cell phones was a good idea, anyway? It has to be one of the dumbest examples of “convergence” that I have ever seen. “Hey, here’s an idea: let’s just get rid of privacy altogether, and put a camera on every thrice-damned cell phone! Just think of the voyeuristic posssibilities! Cameras in every public restroom! Cameras in every movie theatre! Cameras in every doctor’s office!” Whatever moron put this idiocy in motion should be slapped senseless and then dropped into the ocean. They aren’t even good cameras: they’re the crappiest quality cameras in existence, useless for any real photography. The only consequence of having a crappy camera in a cell phone is to prevent people from being able to carry them anywhere cameras are forbidden. This is infuriatingly stupid. I am probably going to have to buy a phone with a camera, and then take a soldering iron to the damned camera lens.