Apr19
Cutest Star Trek spoof ever.
Comment
Y Ceffyl Du
Tales of a Mischievious Horse
Apr06
What if the alien in the movie Alien was actually a chocolate egg…
Apr04
Listening to Reckless Dice podcast episode 29, and they mentioned a few new resources:
- Explaining The Old World blog, which describes Warhammer FRP in terms of someone new to the game.
- You There What Day Is This, a blog about gaming and role playing
Fantasy Flight Games has also announced an updated / revised version of The Enemy Within campaign for Warhammer. The Enemy Within first came out for Warhammer first edition in 1987 and was one of the most critically acclaimed campaigns. FFG’s revision is being written in part by the original author of the first version, Graeme Davis. Mr Davis has an eye-opening blog post about his experience writing this updated campaign.
One of the questions my Warhammer group has had is how to deal with missing players. Currently, if more than one player is missing, we will do a random encounter that one of our GMs makes up on the fly. Reckless Dice makes the suggestion to do a flashback or dream sequence with the players who are present. That way the players can use current characters without rolling new characters or interfering with the current storyline that involves the missing player(s).
The podcast also discusses whether or not players should be given a base of operations or should they just be made to wander around, organizing components and whether to use all components, and more.
In my group, we’re all learning about the mechanics. We’ve only placed a few sessions (once per month). We are trying to use all of the components right now and then will probably select which mechanics we want to use. It’s an interesting exploration.
The last part of the podcast discussed how to design an ambush. Questions to answer about critters who are ambushing: plan of attack / retreat, what is the ambush trying to accomplish, motivation, how they will use the terrain, etc. Add fortune dice based upon the planning that went into the planning and misfortune dice for the number of PCs and their training. Or maybe the player with the best observation skill with help from other players. (How do other players help with skill checks?) If the observation checks are successful, then maybe they aren’t caught by surprise. You can also minimize the number of checks being rolled by setting the difficulty level of the check.
Is there a formula for setting up creatures vs PCs? Are things like encounter balance or party balance used in Warhammer FRP? Encounter balance is the process of modifying monsters in an encounter so players are challenged but (usually) not overwhelmed. Party balance is when players create or modify characters based upon the skills or classes other players have. For example, a stereotypical D&D party might have a fighter, magic-user, thief, and cleric. The idea is that each of these classes have specific roles in a party.
Some of the GMs in the podcast are against encounter balance. They think that they should happen as they happen (organic). They happen according to the needs of the story. They happen as they happen when they happen. You’ll fight the creatures who happen to be there. It’s part of the risk of taking on the risk. Tension needs to exist: it’s a way of saying you have to recognize the risk of each decision. Is the risk worth what you want to achieve? Early players tend to be reckless with their characters because they don’t know the limits of their characters.
What about party balance? Part of the fun of Warhammer is letting the players figure out how to work together based upon the characters in the party (as opposed to creating characters based upon who is in the party or what the party will be facing). When it comes to the players and the group, the GMs want to act in the best interest of a good time. They try to make sure that everyone is treated fairly. Should a new player start at Rank 2 if another character is Rank 2? Idea that characters have to be balanced with each other doesn’t work for some of the GMs. The characters specialize in what they are good at — without worrying about the skills present in the party overall. The players have to figure out how to make things work together. (I like this point.)
Also this statement for Gathering Storm: Three nice episodes with horrible interludes and a bad ending. The adventure needs a lot of work out of the box to make it good. Edge of Night is bulky and not fun for the players. Good source book for Ubsereik. All of the other adventures were nice to play out of the box. Any game master should take a pre-made adventure and tailor it to fit the party and play style.
Apr02
Awesome new music video from The Guild (Felicia Day) and Knights of Good. “Now I’m the one that’s cool….” Yup, I was one of those geeky kids in school who preferred books over hanging out with other kids.
Lyrics:
1ST VERSE:
Oh, no. Don’t pretend I didn’t see
You roll your eyes at my gaming tee
Don’t know if you can read or if you’ve seen
The sweet piece in this week’s Wired magazine
The latest trend has hit its peak
They say that geek’s becomin’ chic
So now you’re out of style as you can be
And I’m in vogue, so you can bite me
To all the ass-hat jocks who beat me up in school
Now I’m the one that’s cool
I’m the one that’s cool
To all the prom queen bitches thinking they still rule
Now I’m the one that’s cool
I’m the one that’s cool
2ND VERSE:
Try to cop my style but I’m the real thing
While you played sports, I played Magic the Gathering
See you pose a part of nerd society
My Aquaman pajamas prove my pedigree
Star Trek: Next Gen every night
Wore a headgear to fix my overbite
Your black-rimmed glasses are prescription free, where as me
I literally can’t see my hand in front of my face
To all the asshat jocks who beat me up in school
Now I’m the one that’s cool
I’m the one that’s cool
To all the prom queen bitches thinking they still rule
Now I’m the one that’s cool
I’m the one that’s cool
And to my eighth-grade crush who pushed me in the pool
Now I’m the one that’s cool
I’m the one that’s cool
You may be tan and fit and rich but you’re a tool
And I’m the one that’s cool
I’m the one that’s cool
3RD VERSE:
Role reversal must be a total drag
But there’s no point, no point for me to humblebrag
I appreciate you for being cruel
I’m burning bright thanks to your rejection fuel
Got my in-jokes you won’t get
Like Honey Badger, Troll Face and Nyan Cat
So now your ballin’ parties seem so dumb
You can Evite me, and I’ll say yes, but I won’t really come
Got my comics
Got my games
All the things you thought were lame
Got my cosplay
Fanfic too
Got you pegged
STFU You
CHORUS
“I’m the One That’s Cool” is brought to you by Knights of Good Productions, the same company that brought you the hit song & video “Do You Wanna Date My Avatar” by Felicia Day and Jed Whedon.
Mar30
A good friend of mine died today at 3:45 PM. She lost her fight with cancer and is at peace.
She will be missed.
Mar26
I never expected to be having great schooling rides bareback. We’re walking and trotting bareback and I’m not losing my seat any more. The differences in how Kasane responds to my aids are subtle but amazing.
For a while, we had trouble free lunging. She’d race from one corner to the next and not pay attention to me. We’ve had several weeks of primarily lunge line work using larger spaces. We’re still working on rehabilitation from the stifle injury, so we aren’t doing any small, tight circles. I walk in large circles with her when we lunge, so it’s more like a huge oval than a circle.
Monday she was better free lunging: instead of galloping around me, she (mostly) paid attention. She kept ignoring me when I’d ask her to walk on. Instead, she would stop and eat grass and be like “Oh you want me to do something?” She’d wait until I was next to her and then mosey a few steps and keep eating. I had to get after her. I don’t normally do that, and I always feel bad when I do, but better to have one sharp reminder and then be gentle again instead of nagging at her. She at least didn’t stop in the corners and then gallop to the next corner and stop and then gallop to the next corner. We only lunged for a little while, long enough to refresh her memory on what it meant and then reaffirm that she would free lunge well.
And then we rode. Bareback again, since I’m currently saddle-less. Kasane and I are getting used to being bareback now. I feel like my seat is back: that I’m secure on her and can (mostly) handle things. I would probably be okay even if she did a 180. The coolest thing? We’re getting to where Isis and I were when we rode: where I can think something and she does it. I thought “Let’s trot a figure 8, nice and gentle trot, nice wide circles for the figure…” She did it, too. We trotted the circle and did transitions to a walk and whoa (mostly) without touching the reins. All of the turns were just by gently turning my hips and thinking where I wanted to go. So awesome to feel that connection and be able to ride like that.
When we rode with the saddle, she would drop her back and ride with her nose out. At first we thought it was just because she was a youngster and I hadn’t asked her to come down onto the bit much. I think she was poking her little nose out because the saddle hurt her. (I am glad that I’m a good rider. It would have been so much more uncomfortable for her.) And now, she comes down onto the bit so much easier when I ask. She’s so light for queues. Just delightful. When I gave her a longer rein, she stretched her head down and really started using her back and legs. She was so relaxed.
Awesome ride. We’re really getting there. Having to ride bareback for a few weeks has been a real boon.
Mar24
Saturday it poured and poured and poured. We had several inches of rain over the weekend. In between rain showers, I went to the barn to play with Kasane. I walked out to the field and found her laying down. She was so cute and tired. She let me walk up to her and kneel next to her. So happy to have fingers scratch the long hair under her chin. So very cute. She was given the day off.
Mar22
Apassionata: The Beginning is coming to North America
on March 22nd, 2012 at 21:14Posted In: Horses
Oh my. This looks like a show geared for horse people. According to the Apassionata site:
APASSIONATA has been Europe’s most popular live arena show for nearly a decade, thrilling more than five million fans across 15 countries with a breathtaking display of the beauty and the bond between horse and rider.
Now APASSIONATA comes to North America to take audiences through a magical adventure featuring more than 40 horses, with exhilarating equine stunts by the world’s best performers. Breeds from Friesians to Bretons – some rarely seen in North America – and their riders were brought from Europe to create this evocative theatrical event. From trick riding to liberty dressage, these teams have honed their craft on a single breed for generations. With graceful horsemanship and enchanting music, this equestrian sensation captivates families and horse lovers alike.
Directed by Scott Faris (“Walking with Dinosaurs”) and featuring an award-winning Broadway creative team, APASSIONATA “THE BEGINNING” is sure to give audiences of all ages an unforgettable experience.
Apassionata is going to tour the U.S. starting in April 2012 (tour dates and locations). Tickets seem reasonable for a show like this. Prices start at about $25 (plus fees) and go up to as much as you want to pay.
I want to go — if the dates don’t conflict with horse camp.
Mar18
Today was the second day of the test ride in the Prestige Venus K monoflap. Yesterday when I rode, it was in the small square ring behind the barn. That ring is on a slight incline and not quite large enough to have a straight line for any distance. Kasane did very well in the small ring yesterday, but I didn’t have a chance to ride in the larger ring because of a lesson going on.
This afternoon was a good opportunity to try riding in the saddle in the larger ring. I lunged Kasane on the line and then put the saddle on her. Chris fro the barn kept me company and watched Kasane while I road. This was the interesting part: I hadn’t had someone watch me ride Kasane to report how she moved in the Venus K saddle versus my Courbette Magic dressage.
Since I first started riding Kasane, she took a while to start to track properly (for her front feet and back feet to track the same hoof prints). I had thought it was because she was adjusting to having a rider, etc. I never thought it might be the saddle fit. Chris said that from the time I asked Kasane to walk on after I got on her, she tracked straight. That’s a HUGE difference. Kasane was also more forward at the trot. She felt freer with her movement.
Chris corrected my position a few times, which was very helpful. She pointed out that I was holding my hands at an angle instead of thumbs up. (I was taught to hold my hands at the same angle as the horse’s withers.) Once I corrected where my hand position, Kasane responded better to the reins. At one point, Chris had me stop and drop my stirrups. She checked the position of where the saddle puts my legs and where my legs fall naturally (great match). We decided that my regular stirrup leathers were set too short, but we weren’t able to fix them at the time.
Towards the end, I asked Kasane to trot again. This time I sat and rode like I was riding Isis (sitting back, riding by visualizing lifting up the front end and freeing her shoulders). We trotted around the end of the ring and then turned to trot across the middle and changed direction. When I did that, I heard Chris say, “Oh my.” 
Chris said that was the first time she had ever seen Kasane trot with suspension (in other words, Kasane had lift and hang time in her trot.).
BIG improvements. Chris, who has watched me ride Kasane since the first ride, said it was the best she had ever seen Kasane — and it was the best she had ever seen me ride.
Wow. Huge endorsement for this saddle.
Mar16
For comparison purposes, here is a picture of Kasane in the Courbette Magic Dressage. I took these pictures to show off the new saddle pad, but they turn out to be pretty good at showing the saddle fit. See how long the saddle panels are? You can tell by where the saddle comes over her back — it comes over her lumbar. When you look at the front of the saddle, see how the middle of the seat doesn’t look balanced? It looks tilted a little forward? That’s another problem. (These pictures were taken after riding.) The saddle would shift forward a little. I always felt tilted forward on her, but I thought it was just because she was in a growth spurt and had been butt-high for a while.
For comparison, here is the Courbette Magic on Isis. I purchased this saddle for her, and it fit her very well. Notice where the saddle length ends and how the center of the seat is balanced.
Here is the Prestige Venus K monoflap on Kasane. See how much shorter the panels are? The seat ends before her rib cage, so I’m not riding on her lumbar. The seat is also balanced and not tipping forward.
Gallery
