Sunday, May 27, 2007

Ahoy, lubbers!

Eleven years ago, six friends came across a treasure map. They followed the map all the way to the mouth of a cave. Being young and impressionable, they turned chicken and called it a day. In time, each take a piece of the map as a souvenir and memory.

Now, two of those friends have turned up dead and those left alive are not exactly the best of friends.

One has signed a charter with the crown to head a Privateer ship. He sails the seas pirating ships of other kingdoms, taking a percentage and turning the rest in to the local governor. Little does he know, but someone has been making the rounds looking for him in all the usual places of scum and villainy.

Another sits in a brig of the capital. He stands accused of theft, impersonating a naval officer of the crown, extorting the wives of good men, and claiming the virtue of more than one lady. The guards claim he’ll be swinging by the neck before dawn. He figures it’s either that or what happened to his two dead mates.

The third sails upon HMS Relentless. He lives for hunting pirates, buccaneers, and privateers. He’s lost many a man to the raiders and slavers, but still sails on. Scars, swords, and pistols make up his life these days – as more and more pirates are seen on the waters and in ports.

The fourth is now a captain of the guard, protecting the governor’s lands and people for the crown. They were unlucky enough to come across their friend while enjoying the virtues of a lady while said lady’s husband was meeting with the governor to discuss banking options for the island. Little does he know, but he’s about to be the nexus of a crises that could have been averted many years ago by six childhood friends.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Running, and GPSing

It looks like Kaiju and I may get the South Bend Run Club up and, well, running. He took the idea from here. I'm really hoping this gets going, because right now I have no rpg game and I'm starting to go crazy from the lack of rp. Kaiju described the run club this way at The Village.


The premise of Run Club is simple. Everyone in the group agrees to take turns running a self-contained game in one session. The GM gets to choose the game. There can be many variations – I suppose a two- or even three-session game isn’t out of the question – if everyone agrees to it.


Because of the time factor involved in planning for each session, the break between is longer – every six weeks, every two months, three months, etc. Again, whatever is agreed upon.


What are the advantages of doing this? I can think of many:


A chance to play in something new and different


A ready-made place for playtesting new material


An easy time commitment. There is the structure of a regularly-scheduled game, but it isn’t frequent enough to interfere with other commitments


And, my favorite, a chance to run something completely wacky and out there. If you have an idea (or several) for something that may not work out well in a traditional campaign, or you have a game you've been itching to play, this is the place to give it a try.









In June, I'm hoping to get a chance to visit the following down in Muncie. Not sure if I will or not. We shall see...


Groundspeak, in partnership with Trimble and Minotaur Maze Exhibits, is pleased to announce the creation of a new exhibit designed to teach people of all ages about navigation, GPS technology and geocaching.


GPS Adventures is a hands-on traveling exhibit that features GPS technology-its history, current uses and future possibilities; and simulates geocaching by leading visitors through a 2,500 square foot maze rich with interactive experiences.


In honor of the exhibit's national premiere on June 2nd at Minnetrista, a museum and cultural center located in Muncie, IN, a geocaching event will be held from 2 - 4 p.m. Join visitors from Groundspeak, exhibit creator Minotaur Maze Exhibits, development sponsor Trimble and technology contributor Magellan for an opening ceremony and meet-and-greet, and enter a drawing to win a free GPS receiver. Then be among the first to experience the GPS Adventures Maze Exhibit!


For those who can't make it we'll be uploading pictures of the event. In the next week we'll also be launching a new web site that describes the traveling maze in more detail.


For more information about this event, exhibit and related activities, please visit Minnetrista's web site below.
http://www.minnetrista.net/

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Congrats and images

Congrats to Wojo, as Soozen said, "Yes!" or something to that effect when he popped the question. See their blogs for more details!!!

Now, on to photos. I spent a few days this week in Chicago. I went out one evening walking. I stopped by the Chicago Tribune building and took a few pics of the various things in the walls. Then I moved on to the plaza and took a photo of a bull. This is followed by two pics of buildings across the street. A skywalk connects the two buildings. I oversaturated one of the pics to make it a little easier to see of what I was taking pictures. Next I wandered down to the MilleniuM Park and took a photo of me in the Cloud Gate. And I ended the evening with a pic of R2D2 helping the postal service.

Enjoy~

from a Japanese Shinto Shrine
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from the Great Pyramid of Giza
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from a bridge in the Forbidden City
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from the Edinburgh Castle

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