Earlier this year I lost a heap of stuff. About two years worth of unpublished writing and all my original files for my books. Absolutely gutting. Essentially, my backup was destroyed and my “personal life” contributed to the oversight so I didn’t find out until much too late. Gutting. Still. I’ve been piecing it all…
Author: matt
Gamer. Writer. Dad. Serial Ex-husband. Creator of The 23rd Letter, SpaceNinjaCyberCrisis XDO, ZOMBI, Testament, Creed. Slightly megalomaniac
Passive/Aggressive
Wow. Am I passive/aggressive? I don’t think so. Sure, I use sarcasm a lot, often in a humourous and self-deprecating way, but am I passive/aggressive? Passive/Aggressive is defined as being reluctant compliance with passive disruption. Such as if you’re forced to cook the dinner, you burn it so that no-one will ask you again. How…
WotW: Earth – A Martian Legacy
“A couple of hundred yards out of Baker Street I heard a yelping chorus, and saw, first a dog with a piece of putrescent red meat in his jaws coming headlong towards me, and then a pack of starving mongrels in pursuit of him. He made a wide curve to avoid me, as though he…
Viride: The Mercantile Tsaz
A thousand leagues to the south lies the Tsaz Citadel. The Tsaz live by a merchant code – they trade freely with anyone who wall accept their currency or barter terms. There is no such thing as an average Tsaz – the wide but roughly hewn tunnels and caverns are home to citadel and desert…
Superhero game: The WatchTower
I used to run a game that some people thought was fun which was set in San Francisco where the players were new recruits for a Avengers-style franchise. They were enlisted, introduced to the household staff in the complex and immediately were sent out to fight “the big bad” which ended in a middling-level disaster…
Heroes, a non-spoiler review.
I watched episode 1 of Heroes last night and I was very pleasantly surprised. There’s some discontinuity here and there but you can tell it’s of the “Lost” vein in that it leaves you with more questions than answers. The characters are interesting enough but it leaves me with a kind of a sour taste…
Mutants and Masterminds: I just don’t get it…
I’ve been called a curmudgeon before….no, really… What is the deal with Mutants and Materminds. It reads like a completely average d20 system. It’s not special in any way and yet we find rabid M&Mers on RPG.net and elsewhere flaming anyone who might doubt that M&M can handle this, that or t’other. It’s just like…
Games Shops in Paris
I went to two games shops in Paris and spent a little too much on books. I got some English language RPGs and could hve bought more – there’s heaps of dead-tree books that I’ve never heard of and I know there must be hundreds of electronic versions that I’ve just not the time to…
Apple Expo
I’m at Apple Expo in Paris this week and taking the opportunity to pop down to Jeux Descartes and other games shops. I hear great things about the French gaming scene but this will be the first time I experience it for real.
Viride: The Shifting Sands
The sands are fine and greyish in colour. Fine enough to seep between the fibres of all but the finest threats. A human who stands still enough will slowly begin to sink and almost anything laid on the surface of the sands will disappear within the hour. There are some of the other Desert Tribes…
WotW: Earth – When?
This was the question that struck me last night as I tried to process the jalapéno peppers in my pizza. When is WotW: Earth set? (and for that matter, when am I going to get a better name for it?) The way I see it, there are several options 1898 – this was when the…
WotW: Earth – New Hope
As humanity climbs out of the ruins of their devastated society, we must now look at our future. We have seen the terrible destruction wrought by the Martian fighting machines and flying machines and the awful power of the Heat Ray as it turned all it touched to fire. We hurry along the roads, as…
WotW: Earth – Premise
“No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space. No one could have dreamed that we were being scrutinized as someone with a microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Few men even considered…
WotW: Earth
I was reading a posting on RPG.NET about how War of the Worlds was a typical game-master railroad, total player kill and then GM fiat to save the day. I disagree. I reckon it was just background flavour. The game starts now. Invasion over….ish. Some Martian war machines will alive on iron rations as they…
Powder Rods and Bayonets
Powder Rod The Powder Rod is the long range weapon of choice for the Arbiter. They are commonly made to order, personalised for the Arbiter and are usually the same height as the owner. The rod is hollow, usually black with a matte sheen, and cool to the touch. The top of the rod has…
More about the Reeve
Some of the Reeve are administrators, involved in the movement and recording of infomation. Others sit in cloisters and debate the merits of the appeals presented to them. The majority of the Reeve are involved directly in the enforcement of our laws and the judgements required. The application of Reeve law in the Citadel is…
Viride: Outsider Castes
There are some who do not suit the untroubled life of the Artisan, the austere contemplation of the Reeve or the enduring clemency of the Consors. There are outsider castes but they are neither respectful nor respectable. They have their role in our society but we do not consider them. When they are needed, they…
Viride: Old words…
The old ones talk The sun once set When the world turned dark When the wind brought wet Once was sand that held Once was trees that grew Now like beetles shelled Now do not grow new Just an old ones dream Just an old ones song And wet turns to steam And the dark…
Consors: blessed with caring
The darkness echoes with the delivery of another young life. This is my favorote time. We are not supposed to have an opinion but I can see who is special. I am able to see into their eyes from a few hours old and tell their future – this one will be a great healer,…
Reeves: lawgivers and officers
When I wake and until I again sleep, I am a Reeve. It is a burden but not without it’s pleasures. My days are spent in deep debate with other Reeves, with Artisans in conflict and with Consors who need the permissions they cannot take. Because of my youth I am known as a Mediator…