Low Information Diet

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Nenad

I found this article in my notes, i wrote it originally about two months ago, and never posted it, so here it is:

Inspired by the Four Hour Work week, I have tried the low information diet for five days. The results were very interesting and surprising, so much so that I wrote another article about it. I can recommend it for anyone.

In case you do not want to read the book for some strange reason (you really should, there is a ton of useful information/ideas/inspiration in it, it is one of the very few books I ever read more than once), or you just want to know my take on the process, here it is: (I am including my own personal deviations from Tim’s recommendations.

No consumption of social media
No websurfing, except as it is necessary to do my work, in which case it will be just enough to get the task done.
No reading RSS feeds
No non-fiction reading except for the Four Hour Work Week
Fiction reading limited to 1h, just before bedtime (I used this to catch up on Hellboy, but you can choose something else)
No TV News or newspapers (I never did any of those to begin, so not really an issue for me)
Watching Entertainment TV limited to 1h a day
Tim includes a five minute check for news at lunch by asking someone if anything happened during the day. I did not use it, as I found that people tended to discuss things with me, anyway.

Here are some of my own refinements:

I limited email checking to once per day after 12 O’clock. In the case of my personal gmail account, I just quickly scanned through the important items (I find that the automated importance determination in gmail works really well).
I kept writing updates to Google Plus about my low information diet (I posted from the Google homepage, so that I would not get tempted to actually read my stream). This had several benefits:
It meant that I had publicly committed, so that, when I was tempted to quit, I felt bad thinking that I would disapoint my readers (rationally, I doubt that any of them would have really cared, but on an emotional level it feels different than if it was only me that knew about it)
It gave me a place to vent my frustrations
It provided entertainment for my followers

CircleSpread Sign Ups Open

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Nenad

CircleSpread is now open for beta sign-ups, although I am planning to start beta testing only at the end of March. I will probably invite about 50 or so beta testers then.

Please go and sign up!

Announcing CircleSpread

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Nenad

As some of you might know, I have decided to pretty much abandon my other social media for Google Plus.

Alas, there are still some benighted souls that remain on those inferior social networks, and they have been deprived of my nuggets of wisdom. In order to rectify this regrettable state of affairs, I have started work on a webapp that will allow my wisdom to be autoposted to those hives of scum and villany when I post on Google Plus.

Realising that I am not the only one that has left people behind in those other networks, I am going to make the webapp available to others.

I am not going to be doing it out of the pure goodness of my heart, and I will monetise it. I am still deciding on how to gouge you for the most that I can get, but there will be a free version of some sort., to lure you in deeper.

At this stage, I ahve just started working on the project, and it is not ready for public viewing. I am hoping to have something out by the end of March.

Be warned, sometime soon I will be seeking out Beta testers, so please let me know if you are interested.

RPG Review – Kuro

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Nenad

Kuro is a very interesting game, with a very original setting. In my mind, it feels like Ghost in the Shell meets The Ring. The game is set in Japan in 2046. After the Kuro Incident, an event in which Japan is protected from a thermonuclear strike by an unknown force, the country is blockaded by the rest of the world, since they believe that Japan has access to top secret missile shield technology. In the meantime, reports of strange events are on the rise, and while most remain ignorant, some are starting to realise that there is something else in Japan trapped with the people.

The first half of the book is devoted to explaining the setting. It presents a Japan isolated from the rest of the world,and after six months of the blockade, the strain on the country is slowly starting to show through. In the wake of the Kuro incident, there are a number of groups emerging in society, as the people try to deal with what has happened.

The book presents a very cyberpunk feel of the future, with ubiquitous computing, where even the poorest person owns a device, and augmented reality and holograms are everywhere.

The supernatural is making its presence felt, slowly and gradually, with most people dismissing the reports as superstition, or a lone maniac.

The book does an excellent job of presenting the setting, and while I am probably not getting it across in this review, the setting does feel truly unique, while being recognisable and interesting enough to play in.

The system itself is only explained later in the book. To resolve an action, the player rolls a number of D6, equal to his stat, and adds a skill, trying to beat the target number, or the roll of another character.

The system is very simple, straightforward, and easy to learn. I do find that it does not really tie into the setting, and does nothing to evoke the flavor and themes of the game. If I were to run the game, I would probably use something like Fate. The system here is serviceable but a bit bland.

The book closes with an introductory adventure, Origami, in which the characters start of as normal Japanese citizens, and get drawn into some of the events of the world of Kuro. It provides a good introduction to this fascinating setting.

Just for the setting alone, this game is worth the price! Cubicle Seven is planning to release another two books in this setting, and I am really looking forward to them.

Kuro is available from RPGNow.

RPG Review: Left Hand Path

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Nenad

I have recently been re-finding my taste for all things White Wolf, possibly due to the Aberrant campaign I am currently in. So, I decided to review Left Hand Path .

Left Hand Path deals with the rebels and outcasts of mage society, those that are isolated from the Pentacle and Seers, often with very good reason. The book is divided into four, dealing with the Heretics, Mad, Scelesti and Reapers.

It starts off by explaining how the pentacle and seers deal with the Apostates, and how to become one, before looking at the individual factions.

The Heretics and Apostates are those that have rejected the teachings of the Pentacle or Seers, but still remain “normal” mages. As such, they seem to be most likely to be used as player characters. There are some good ideas about how to use them as protagonists and antagonists in your stories, as well as several story seeds focusing on them.

The Mad remind me of the Marauders in the old world of darkness, although they do get a very new world of darkness spin on them. They are based on the gothic idea of madness that stems from moral decay, and some of the details about them manage to be disturbing. Ideas are given how to use them in a chronicle, as well as some suggested Mad. I think that they have a lot of potential, but I found the section on them a bit sparse and lacking.

The Scelesti are a bit of a stereotypical villain group, in the fact that they want to end the world as we know it, possibly to replace it with the Abyss. The information in here expands on the Mage rulebook, and presents other factions of the Scelesti, as well as some ideas about their structure, organisation, and practices.

Finally, the Repers are discussed, with a long section on the Tremere, although I find the two new factions intorduced in that section far more interesting, especially the (Legion), which have the right mix of interesting and creepy to be used in most games.

Overall, The Left Hand Path is an excellent resource for any Mage Storyteller, and a very good mine for ideas. It is available for sale from RPGNow.

Guest Post

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Nenad

This is the first guest post on my blog! This one comes to you courtesy of Paul Anthony Shortt, and here is a little bit more about him:

A child at heart who turned to writing and roleplaying games when there simply weren’t enough action figures to play out the stories he wanted, Paul Anthony Shortt has been writing all his life. Growing up surrounded by music, film and theatre gave him a deep love of all forms of storytelling, each teaching him something new he could use. When not playing with the people in his head, he enjoys cooking and regular meet-ups with his gaming group. He lives in Ireland with his wife Jen and their dogs, Pepper and Jasper. Their first child, Conor William Henry Shortt, was born on July 11th, 2011. He passed away three days later, but brought love and joy into their lives and those of their friends. Jen is pregnant again and is expecting twins.

Recently, Paul has released a new book, Locked Within, which is available from Amazon.

Writing Fight Scenes

I’m a huge fan of fight scenes. Whether between single combatants, multiple fighters, or even massive battleships, fight scenes are a vicious dance, a ballet between opposing forces, the ultimate portrayal of a story’s conflict. They can be difficult to get right, however. Many stories finish with an unsatisfying climax, the villain defeated without any real sense of threat or drama. This is the danger in having a fight scene end too quickly or without enough detail. The opposite is just as problematic. Too much detail will bore the reader. So while you can’t simply gloss over the action, you can’t resort to a blow by blow account, either. The perfect fight scene needs to flow, almost like a river, naturally twisting and surprising the reader. Of course, pure action isn’t enough. You need emotion. You need high stakes. The biggest and best fight scenes must be kept for the climax, so the reader has had time to develop a connection to the hero. Blend your hero’s feelings, his fears and drive, with his kicks and punches, and you’ll hook the reader. In Locked Within, I have several action scenes in which Nathan Shepherd is kept on the ropes. This is an important point. It can be all too tempting to have your hero dominate physical challenges, defeating his enemies with ease. But this is a dangerous gamble. A reader can’t sympathise with a hero who never fails. If the hero is never in danger, there’s no opportunity to build sympathy. Of course, if you push too far, too soon, and expose the hero to life or death situations too early in your story, the reader will know you don’t really intend to kill or maim them so early. Having a character gradually learn how to fight his opponents can be effective. Nathan Shepherd must re-learn the things he once knew, from how to fight, to what can harm a vampire. As the story progresses, his knowledge, skill, and drive increase, but so do the stakes. His ability to fight improves, but the scope of what he fights for increases as well. It’s a tricky balancing act. My advice is to study different fight scenes, both in books and in film or television. Pay attention to how a fight works, what style you want to emulate, whether you want it gritty or cinematic, and watch the techniques used to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Above all, practice!

Book Review: Play Unsafe

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Nenad

I have heard of Play Unsafe by Graham Welmsley when it first came out, but I only got around to reading it in the last couple of days. I really wish I have read this earlier, since I think it would have improved my gaming no end. While the book is very short, it is packed to the brim with information, suggestions and ideas. In the book, Graham draws on some lessons from improv, about how to make the game more enjoyable for everyone at the table. The central ideas are one of trust, doing the obvious and taking risks.

Trust

A gaming group always needs trust around the table, and Playing Unsafe emphasises that fact. Trust enables the players to relax, and to go with the flow of ideas around the table. I have experienced a flowing game, where the whole table gets on the same wavelength, and we just push forward, riffing off each other. Every time that happened, I played with people I trusted.

Doing the Obvious

I found the idea of doing the obvious mindblowing. Something may seem completely obvious to you, but to the other players it will seem like a breath of fresh air. I have spent too much time and effort in the past trying to come up with an elaborate scheme, just to see it fall flat.

Taking Risks

The idea of taking risks is linked with the idea of trust at the table. It means that you are free to do interesting things with your character, and to take the story in unexpected and different directions, while knowing that you will have the support of the rest of the table.

Overall, Play Unsafe is a book that I wish I had gotten when I started roleplaying, It is packed full of ideas and new ways of looking at things that would help in any game.

Play Unsafe is available from RPGNow.

Book Review: Cold Iron

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Nenad

Cold Iron, by Josh Loomis, has an interesting take on the Vampire Mythos. In this novel, the vampires have gone public, and are protected by law.

While the undead are now a part of society, somebody who dies 35 years ago is a new thing, as Detective Seth Fasil finds out when he is found stumbling around a cementary, long after his burial.

He then meets Morgan Everson, another Detective, who is now working at the same police department that Seth used to work at. While the two main characters work well together, the part where Morgan updates Seth about the events of the past 35 years rings very false, especially since she decides not to tell him about the vampires, for no reason that is ever revealed.

From there, the story of Seth trying to uncover what happened to him interweaves with Morgan’s investigations into a series of Vampire murders in the city.

The cast of characters grows from there, and all of the supporting cast add to the story. There are some good twists and reveals in the story, and the vampire politics are hinted at, without being fully explained.

The book feel like a first part of a series, with hints about Seth’s story that I hope will be resolved in the future.

Overall, the novel is a light and easy read, with just enough depth to keep it interesting.

Michtim: Fluffy Adventures Review

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Nenad

At first, I thought that Michtim: Fluffy Adventures was a simple cutesy game, aimed at children, but on reading it, I realised that it has unexpected depths and complexities.

In the game, the players play a Bande of Michtim, intelligent hamster-like creatures (although not rodents, which is explained in an overview of their biology).

There is a firm emphasis on the culture of the Michtim, who seem to live in a very idealised, egalitarian society, and rely on the Veil to keep humans from noticing them.

The game feels a bit like a European Saturday Morning cartoon, complete with an emphasis on conservation. The characters have ratings from 1 to 4 in the various emotions: Joy, Love, Grief, Fear and Anger.

A Michtim normally belongs to one of the three hauses, each one of which places emphasis on a different Michtim virtue (although all are virtues are respected by all hauses)

In addition to that, every Michtim has at least one calling, which can be considered a bit similar to a character class, except that a Michtim can have up to three active at the same time, and can easily switch between them.
When determining the result of an action, the Michtim rolls a number of dice equal to the relevant emotion, and adds the numbers together. If she scores above 7, she gets one success. If she wants more successes, she needs to remove dice from her pool, and gets an additional success for each die she does not roll.

For each die that rolls a 6, the Michtim gets a mood token of the emotion she rolled. The token can either give a +1 to the relevant roll, or can be traded in to provide an extra die on the roll. Each emotion also has opposing ones, so a mood in a particular emotion will act as a penalty on the opposing ones. Also, a Michtim can have a maximum of three mood tokens at a time. The only way to get rid of a mood is by trading it in for a die.
I really like the mood system. It provides good roleplaying opportunities, as the Michtim find themselves in situations where they have to act according to mood, in order to get rid of the mood tokens, either because the penalty is too steep, or simply to start acquiring new ones.

The Michtim can also gain Karma, by following the Michtim virtues. If they sin against the virtues, they will find themselves unable to gain Karma, as well as the punishment from the Michtim society at large.

The Michtim society is very detailed, and the characters are made to feel to be a real part of it. Technology is not detailed at all, and in the beginning I had the impression of a pseudo-medevial level of tech, until I got to the descriptions of the cyberised Michtim. Although not detailed, the Michtim seem to have advanced technology, although with more emphasis on individual workmanship, rather than mass production.

The sample adventure at the end of the book is a bit of a letdown. It is a very good example of the genre that the game is trying to evoke, but feels very linear.

Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised by Michtim: Fluffy Adventures, and the game has a very simple and straightforward system, while providing enough depth and complexity for a very interesting game.

Michtim is available from DrivethruRPG.

Diaspora Review

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Nenad

I have finally had a chance to read through my review copy of Diaspora for the Kindle, and I have to say that I am really impressed.

I have always been a fan of hard science fiction, and Diaspora fits the bill. There is a very light setting, with no faster-than-light travel, although there are slip-points connecting the various system in a cluster.

A big part of the game allows the players to define their own cluster, giving a nicely built structure to do so, allowing them to define the setting for the game.

The system itself is fairly standard FATE, as found in Spirit of the Century and Dresden Files, with some minor variations. The characters are designed to be created cooperatively, and the character design process ensures that they are all well-connected to each other.

There are four detailed combat systems (or mini-games, since each one is actually playable as a wargame on its own). They include personal, platoon, starship and social combat.

The first three are fairly standard, and well executed. I was really surprised by the quality of the social combat chapter, and I honestly feel it is the best implementation of social combat that I have seen in any system, since it uses zones not to model the physical space, but rather levels of intimacy and points of view. Even if you use nothing else in the book, the social combat is worth the price of admission.

The book is then rounded out with an equipment generation chapter, allowing the players to create the various technologies to round out the setting.

Overall, Diaspora is a brilliant game, and perfect for lovers of science fiction and FATE. Diaspora is an excellent hard-science space opera game.

The Kindle edition itself suffers from some problems, and the tables in the book are a bit hard to read on a Kindle, so I would recommend getting the PDF version if you really want the game. Diaspora is available from RPGNow.

Just Nenad

My contemplations and Meanderings