Another Week, Part 1

Returned from Conclave today, hopefully will have a productive week, and get stuff (school and non-school) done.
No details here, need to know basis only. Yeah.
Gaming this Sunday, hopefully working on rate of plot exposition, and slowing it down. Have a good plan for that.
In the meanwhile, here comes March.

The Weekend

This weekend, I'm going to be at the Alpha Epsilon Pi Mid-Atlantic Conclave in Maryland. Thusly, no gaming will be occuring. *tear*

On a completely other note, I've looked into getting an M endorsement on my driver's license (for all you non-Massholes, a motorcycle license), taking an MSF course in order to do so, and maybe later down the line, purchasing a small bike like a Kawasaki EX250. Nothing set in stone, but I am very enticed by this idea. Anyone with comments or ideas, don't hesitate to drop me a line.
After my session next weekend, I'll update with a brief plot synopsis, and write something interesting for once.

A quick summary of Concord, Massachusetts

"At 1:44 p.m., a Bedford Street caller reported a sick squirrel that was bloated and unable to move. Police ended the animal's nut gathering days."

'Nuff said.

Music to shoot people in the face to: RP and background music

Dead Guy - Ministry
Another day, another knife in the back
It's happened so many times, I stopped tryin to keep track
You're stuck stickin' it in, you're stuck stickin' it in
Take it up to the hilt to cover up your own fuckin' guilt
And when the shit goes down you're out of places to hide
No time to ask could the motherfucker really survive
Get a load of this fuck, he's the dead guy

It's just a natural? you never fuckin' possessed
You lost control of my life you want control of the rest
You're always stickin' it in, you're always stickin' it in
You stuck it so many times you...
But when the shit comes down you're out of places to hide
Time to ask if you're alive or just pretend that you died
Just remember this fuck, I'm the dead guy

I'm the dead guy
Dead guy


I've always used music to either inspire me to write, or to use as background for sessions. My choices for D&D were Blind Guardian, and some softer prog. Ministry is definitely my band of choice for a Cyberpunk campaign. If you've had any experiences with music and roleplaying, don't hesitate to comment.

AAGH

So, at one point in time, I thought my name was fairly unique. I THOUGHT WRONG.

Doom, the Movie: A Very, very, very, very short review

Doom was the most hilarious movie I've seen in a while. Complete swill, but fans will love the injokes.
Not to miss: The first-person segment. The actor (not The Rock, btw) IS the Doom Guy. Dude.

On an extremely more random note

GIRL!
I wanna take you to a gay bar,
I wanna take you to a gay bar,
I wanna take you to a gay bar, gay bar, gay bar.

Let's start a war, start a nuclear war,
At the gay bar, gay bar, gay bar.
Wow!
At the gay bar.
Now Tell me do ya?, but do ya have any money?
I wanna spend all your money,
at the gay bar, gay bar, gay bar.

(Pause)

I've got something to put in you,
I've got something to put in you,
I've got something to put in you,
At the gay bar, gay bar, gay bar.
Wow!

You're a superstar, at the gay bar.
You're a superstar, at the gay bar.
Yeah! you're a superstar, yeah at the gay bar.
You're a superstar, at the gay bar.
Superstar.
Super, super, superstar

GURPS: First Session

After a lengthy character creation session, and an hour where I needed to step out for other responsibilities, I was finally able to run my first session of GURPS. We had six players there, with one missing, so my group is getting a tad large now. I'm not sure how running seven people will go, but I'm willing to try it, even if I know this is an absolute maximum for me.
The six characters present were a young hacker, Samuel, and his elderly companion, Ishmael. In addition, there was Tomas, an eleven year old street urchin, Max, a paranoid zombie novelist, Serjan, an anarchist Serb with a penchant for guns and alcohol, and Mel, a girl who seems to be hiding something, though no one is quite sure what.
The six of them all ended up in a facebank, making deposits, or stealing the candy from the complementary bowls. Three suited men ended up having and argument with a teller, which degenerated into a firefight. After an initial panic and a briefcase of corporate schematics spilled, the bank emptied, leaving only them inside. With instructions on how to leave the bank unnoticed, all six were given instructions to meet up at a corporate office, after splitting up. The man they met with, one Mr. Henderson, got the documents back (though not after parting with a few new 50s in the case of Tomas), and told them to leave town, and never try to contact his corporation, Synergics, again. They headed out to Max's zombie-proof enclave in a slightly nicer suburb, where the plot thickened. Government agents showed up, headed off by two gang members trying to kill them, and Samuel was contacted by a man named Mark Fenton. It became clear that Fenton had a role to play in this when it was determined his company, Global Security Limited, hired the gang members, and was interested in what Synergics had in the blueprints. Serjan proposed heading Fenton off, and a plan was assembled.
Due to Sam calling Fenton in the middle of the night, accusing him of paying men to kill him, Fenton knew soemthing was up, and was escorted in his drive to work by a van with six armed guards trailing behind his car. After a hack into his ECU done by Sam, he was forced to pull over, and Serjan, Mel, and Ishmael headed to his car to find out what was going on. The guards headed them off, making for a tense situation in traffic. Mel "asked the guards nicely" to put their guns down, and when a few guards did, Fenton relented, and talked with Ishmael. The contents of the conversation went largely unheard, but after, Fenton and his men drove away. No one's quite sure of what's going on, but Ishmael seems to have an idea, and also seems to have a bit of a history with the two groups. What it is no one can really tell...
I loved running this session, and look forward to running more.

Overtly Sexual Dance Moves: Onward!!!

The above title describes my night. In brief, my life is being consumed by buggy, class, and Greeksing, and due to abovementioned thing, I'm not minding the dancing so much. This did have a reason, though...GURPS.
I may get characters for my campaign finalized this weekend, in which case I will be running in a week or so. Conclave is the weekend of the 25th, so I may wait until after that to start the campaign. I've talked with some people, and getting an idea of where they want to go, I have a better idea of how the first session will run, and where I'm planning on taking this story. I have a nice little "out" written, so I can easily slide from one of the main foci to the other and still have it make sense. These little things help greatly when you're writing a story that someone else determines the ending to. I still say to anyone at all, if you have any suggestions or advice for me, don't hesitate to comment. Hell, I may even respond!

A little bit of random

Well, like the title says. First...
Matisyahu's new Video
Matisyahu has a new album, Youth, which will be out March 7. I'm going to get it, and you should too.
Second...
Last night, as many of you probably know, the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl. So, like any self-respecting Pittsburghers, we ran into the streets and celebrated for about two hours or so before cars started getting flipped over and fires being set. It was one of the most sublimely amazing experiences in my short life, to be in a crowd of several thousand people who are all celebrating for the same reason you are.
This past week has been filled with sublimely amazing experiences, maybe not all firsts, maybe not all breaking into the top ten, but I've been able to reset my social gauge, and this means good things for the rest of the semester. That's good, because at the rate I'm going, I'll need all the good things I can get to push me through the workload. Much higher than I expected, but everything should be fine. I'll definitely hit the ground running at the end, no question. It's merely a matter of finding time for everything.
In other news that people may actually care about, GURPS may start within two weeks or so.
My less random gaming related entries should start being consistent then as well.

Progress Quest

Gamers know it: Levelling up is very addictive. Progress Quest is perfect for satiating that addiction. It's an RPG, with nothing but levelling up. Try it. You'll be instantly addicted.

Progress Quest

Character Ideas for Modern Campaigns

In preparing for a GURPS campaign, I have heard a lot of complaints that it is difficult to come up with a character concept. Without classes to guide you, you're kind of on your own. Allow me to present you with Aaron's guide to the roleplaying underworld: character ideas for low to mid level modern campaigns.

Wheelman: Don't really want to be combatant, but still love action? Sink some points into a driving skill, and be the main man for high-speed chases and running people over.
Merc: The classic, a character that likes shooting and blowing stuff up.
Career Criminal: Both a degree of skill (forgery, lockpicking, etc.) and a broad number of connections help you in this position. You help at doing illegal things, but can also call in favors when you need it.
Investor: You can sink your points into wealth, and help the group buy a lot more toys, and maybe even a secret base somewhere.
Corporate: Not only do you have a lot of friends in high places, you also have access to capital. The social benefits of both the Investor and the Career Criminal.
Fixer: Unlike the Career Criminal or the Corporate, your only claim to fame is your ability to call in favors. However, in addition to the sheer number of contacts you have, you have the social skills to make your friends count in a pinch.
Politician: Your interpersonal skills are your main asset, and with your leadership, you can make your influence count in a big way.
Techie: You like tinkering, and can repair anything you need to. This repair skill mixed with your inquisitive nature helps you develop beneficial tweaks to your equipment, and even come up with something completely new.
Scout: You are very perceptive, and notice things that allow you to avoid ambushes and traps. Mixed with a competent amount of intelligence, you can be a prime troubleshooter, and defuse stressful situations.
Specialist: Either you do one thing extremely well, or you have some ability in a huge number of things. The depth of your knowledge, in either direction, can have some pretty extraordinary implications.

There you go. Ten ideas to help you think of a character. Each has a different skill set, and each can be made into an interesting and dynamic character in many different ways. Having these keywords allow you to think more in-depth about a certain broad concept, and making your character unique and interesting will be easier. Happy brainstorming!

King o' the blogosphere

Not quite game related, but here goes.
I recently deleted my livejournal account, redirecting as much blog traffic as I could here. This blog will remain my creative repository, with the majority of the posts being game or fiction related. Every once in a while, a la Something Positive (the cyberpunk storyline I posted from the comic), I will post something tangential. Tangential is good, so this isn't bad. My self-reflective posts will be transfered to my little black book, so no one will see them, unless I have an emotional connection with you so deep that I end up having sex with you. Hopefully this will happen more often. But until then, expect only more gaming goodness, fictional follies, and tangential tripe.

On the gaming frontier...
I have written my opening scene for GURPS. With that, the cannons are loaded. As soon as I get the word, I can run a campaign.