Call of the Horn Business: some of the old links and bookmarks may be dead. I finally pulled the plug on everything from the old site. I still keep a section of the forums dedicated to all the cool stuff that was created. I still own the domain name and that is currently pointing towards the forum repository. So, hopefully my long lost friends can find their way here as needed. I know the road has grown dim over the years. Still, I gotta hope Brandon Sanderson can inject some fore into the setting and maybe inspire another RPG.

Pencil Pushers Business: I am working on several projects but right now I’d like to invite you to go check out the forums. Specifically, you should oogle all the goodness that is coming into the “Real Locations that Should be Fantasy.” We have the usual Bone Cathedrals, Massive Maelstorm Whirlpools, and who could forget Poland’s Salt Mine (with its own salt church). There are over a dozen locations that are real but certainly seem like they should be in your favorite fantasy novel or game.

Legends is getting its own game system. Hmmm… Who’d ever thought. A good fried does a fair amount of design as a hobby and he was inspired by the setting. I read most of the design tonight. It is a good start.

The Last Dominion is also getting an overhaul in the form of some re-thinking and a formal players guide. I am trying to keep the guide evocative but concise. Don’t forget all of The Last Dominion Resources huddled on the forums - dozens of Hero System fantasy characters, a system free setting book, the town of Northrun, Concordance, and the collected story hour of the table top game.
See ya in a week (or on the forums if you are the sort)

I am working on a new setting design and exploring along the way. Part tutorial, part exploration of how my mind thinks. Legends is a new setting inspired by a desire to find a classic non-traditional fantasy setting. Inspired by the real world, the Trojan War, and mediations on the force. I have high hopes for Legends. I’ve also done some graphics and preliminary mapping for the setting.

Also in the kettle is the Warlords of Winter play-by-post campaign on these forums.

I am seriously contemplating adding “Meditation on Mortality.” This is a collection of essays on my experiences as a nurse in the Emergency Room. Actually, I started a blog for the express purpose of delving into the morbid.

Until next time.

Just a random update. I got Warlords of Winter, a play by post game, off the ground this last weekend. I have this amazing talent to fall in love with fantasy every time I put together a game. It is an odd blessing. I am not through yet but I have almost got all of Olynvale down on paper. Once it is all pounded out, I will PDF it and post it in the downloads section [there is a more complete downloads on the forums if you want the most complete collection].

I also got the Stargate Table Top game going. Our group has expanded over the years to the degree that we needed a modular game. Stargate isn’t my #1 choice but it is a good fit for our needs. I think it’ll work fine.

The website and forums are up and functioning again. We are at about 80% of the prior functionality but with only 30% of the content. Speaking of content, I am going to work on some of the links and such over the next week. I got some real gems.

Someday I may learn to actually use this thing as a blog. Ya Think?

There you have it. Go look — www.pencil-pushers.net/forum — it almost works but when I try to enter or view posts they cannot call from the database. It is gone. Still, I am in a much better mood. I think I can keep this kind of thing from ever happening again. I am going to rebuild the forums over the weekend. Everything should be operational by Tuesday.

Randy ~ that which does not kill me may whack my website.

The last year and a half I have tried to maintain the forums and various “extras” myself. Everyone knows how that has went. Once again I have essentially nuked several months worth of work.  I see no way to retrieve the forums ~ they are backed up but I need to get at the forum control panel to change a pathway and I can’t get there until I reload the database which is why I need to change the pathway… I am a child playing with automatic weapons. I am done. It was a fun but frustrating ride.

The website will remain and I’ll even see what I can do to fix things up this way. Call of the Horn & The Mabinogin started as simple websites - pencil pushers should follow their example instead of trying to be more than I can technologically command. Besides, this gives me some motivation to work on site content instead of plinking at the forums.

I am fixing my boneheaded forum upgrade right now. Hold still for a minute.

[EDIT] Things just keep getting better. This was a simple update but now it has gone nightmarishly wrong. I am working on a restore but I cannot copy the files into the correct directory and the database is having “issues.” I will try to resolve the problems but for now I gotta sleep.

The old database had an under_score in the name but that is verboten now and the stupid machine won’t let me recreate. Without the under_score the forum can’t connect in the right places.

Frak. Frak. Frak.

0130 in the AM… Wow. Frustration can’t even touch it.

So, I am in the process of designing a region of Northern Middea to use in a play-by-post game. You can read it as the project unfolds over in the design forums. I am pleased with the sections done so far - especially the Standing Stones, Dolmens, and Menhirs.

The campaign uses a huge dose of inspiration from WotC’s The Red Hand of Doom but since I don’t use many dragons and The Last Dominion is significantly lower on the fantasy scale than most D&D, it is going to be unrecognizable by the time I am through. Still, it’s a good adventure.

The design of the module shows a good rounding of a basic war campaign.  The first chapter introduces the war to the players and sets the tone. The second chapter is a defeat the enemy and gain an ally arc. The third chapter focuses on denying the enemy an asset. The whole thing climaxes in a save the town battle royale…. but wait, there is more. Now the players must drive into the dark heart of evil behind the suffering and destroy it at the core.

It’s an all inclusive campaign with a coherent theme and consistent monsters but the focus on different missions keeps the thing from turning into a meat grinder.

First, I finally got back to gaming after a year off. One might suppose that this is linked to my renewed creative urge. Who knows?

Gaming Projects

• The Last Dominion Players Guide.
• A PBP Game ~ Rules are to be determined.
• Compile campaign notes based off the PBP for a rough draft of a TLD adventure.
• Toy with a new fantasy setting that has yet to be named. The initial idea was Star Wars meets the Greek city states with some wicked visuals. Ships, swords, volcanoes, and an evil emperor ~ what could be more fun?
• Read up on some Cyberpunk.

Personal Projects

• Currently, my big push is trying to drop my bodyfat to 8% before summer.
• I got a broken down fence that needs to be replaced and I hate yard/housework.
• Playing with the kids (a long term project)  

I am aiming for weekly updates for the next few months until summer hits in full and my kids demand computer time for webkinz.

Randy

I guess I’ll swing with good news first.

Ex Librius is posted and ready for consumption. I’d like feedback if you have the time.

Call of the Horn and Pencil-Pushers have a New Forum. You can find tons of gaming stuff for the Wheel of Time as well as a space to hit me up about updating stuff. Expect some porting of the old COTH this week and then I’ll see if I can’t find a new project to mash into the site (I have an idea or two for new projects). The new forums look to be stable and I’ll invest some time and effort towards re-recruiting some of our lost members.

The Wiki has been stabbed in the heart. We didn’t use it and I got tired of looking at it.

Finally, E. Gary Gygax has died. Pencil Pushers and Call of the Horn are at their roots sites about gaming and fantasy - Gary was a grandfather to both. I have read dozens (hundreds) of poingent missives describing how D&D has affected people over the last two days. Most importantly, many close to him have said that the Grand Pubah knew and understood how much joy and friendships he brought into this world. I obviously get a tremendous amount of satisfaction sharing my creative efforts with you else this site would not be here but I owe that vivid imagination to the early years of D&D. I discovered a passion for reading, history, and fantasy through the game that altered my life forever. I choke up when I think of friendships and moments shared with people scattered across the globe. My wife was introduced to me by one of my lifelong gaming buddies. My kids… The string of things that make up who I am as a person mainly originate around a gaming table.

I must also admit that I discovered the capacity to master fear through D&D. I spent many lonely nights in my teens (as true geeks know) where there was little incentive to thrive save for the idea of the Friday night game. It was my plank in the turbulent ocean that is adolescence. Gary taught me to fight monsters in the game and in my life. I am glad that he knows that even if I didn’t tell him. I wish that I had.

Ex Librius translates to “Out of the Book(s)” a fitting description for the next wave of goods coming for The Last Dominion. I am big on word play for those who never noticed. I like hidden meanings and double entendres in my titles; The  Last Dominion is another fine example of dual use words.

So, what’s going on? First, I am trying to infuse some spark into the site in general. If it looks sharp then people might stay and see what’s buried under the glitz. Second, I am putting together some new PDFs that will expand on the Western States. A few people may already have the Word DOCs covering these areas. They have been done for 10-12 months.  Finally, I am working more concisely with the concepts of magic and divine/demonic blood among the general population. That has taken me down the path of the Greek Heroes and Gods. I think an Arthurian type setting is just screaming to be infused with Ajax, Hector, Hercules, and Jason - not to mention Achilles.  For right now, I am toying with the West where I run my home game but even that is proving to be a large area (roughly the size of Western Europe with the Islands included).

What does that mean for the setting? Not much really. There was already an option to make the characters Mordha (descended from the angels or fallen angels). I am just turning that dial up a little bit to get the right blend. Magic will change some but for the better if you ask me. The published version has a “Force” or “One Power” feel to it and this is very different. Mage’s seeking to unlock the mysteries surrounding the language of creation. Demons searching for that same power to serve their own unholy ends. The Celestine searching for a way to stop the genie once it is out of the bottle. I can see religious orders bent on destroying those who would profane gods own tongue and other orders who feel divinely inspired to work his miracles. It makes me giddy.

You’ll have to let me know what you think of the cover for the “virtual non-book, book.”