Justin Howe's Blog, page 54
February 15, 2012
February 12, 2012
World Building
I actually can't stand hyper-real, "vivid" world-building. Leiber names maybe at most a dozen streets in Lankhmar and describes less than half a dozen neighborhoods — I'd be surprised if he mentions more than four neighborhoods.
However I realize I am in the minority with this opinion and wonder if the clotheshorse swordporn I hate so much might stem from audience overlap with the SCA that values that level of immersion.
Remember Lucas's Law: The Clone Wars were so much better imagined than...
From Morality Play by Barry Unsworth
"Afterward I remembered these things very clearly, with that longing we feel sometimes to recover a state of life that we have lost for ever, though perhaps that we have lost it is all its value."
February 10, 2012
For the Record
I still make an ass-kicking omelet.
Also…
Sesame leaves.
You can never go wrong with sesame leaves.
That is all.
February 9, 2012
Some Lem
I'm doing a stretch of deskwarming at the moment. I know. Boohoo. Poor me. As long as I stay away from social media websites, I'm happy
(Though if my coworkers knew what books I was reading… I just reread Edogawa Rampo's The Caterpillar. OMG. First time I read it was on a crowded NYC subway. I had to step off before my stop and sit down because that story unsettled me so much. Even now I needed to pace about in the hallway.)
One thing I found is that Google keeps a gallery of all their...
February 8, 2012
The Vaults of Ur
Ruincrawl and get rich amid the post-apocalyptic remains of an ancient metropolis!
Rules: Reskinned B/X (with Basic Labyrinth Lord and some house rules) – No dwarfs, elves, and halflings. It's humans, orcs, orc magi, and beastmen.
Setting Inspiration: Early Iron Age Sword & Sorcery Science Fantasy.
Game Time: Every other Monday at 8PM Korean Standard Time (GMT +9, so Seoul: 8PM / New York: 6AM / London: 11AM) – First game Feb. 20
I'm Justin Howe on Google+. My avatar is Godzilla. If you'd like...
February 7, 2012
Game Changer
It's entirely likely that some more RPG related posts will start cropping up here. Entirely likely as in at least one or two will in the near future.
I'm trying to put together a B/X Dungeons & Dragons game to be played via G+ hangouts. Since I prefer maintaining one blog as opposed to more than one don't be surprised when the talk here shifts to orcs roll 4d6 six times, drop lowest, and place in order. Of course if you want to play feel free to let me know.
One Book Four Covers: The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk
A young Italian scholar captured by pirates finds himself the slave of a Turkish scholar. The two share more than a passing resemblance to each other, and this makes their relationship complex as each adapts and alters their own and the other's identity. A short Borgesian novel ripe with potential allegory, which is great by me, my only wish is that for once someone would write a pomo novel with a reliable narrator.
Now on to the covers…
I love that they're all so different. I read number one o...
February 5, 2012
Eating Noodles Like…
… Harrison Ford in Bladerunner.
… an overweight bookie in Chinatown.
Your turn.
