Ghouls

Several postings I read today hit me like a blast from the past. I used to write more often and post stories to my blog. Before that, way back in 2010, I launched my blog about a game called Myst. Oh, so long ago.

Larry Hamilton's post about a short story, named "Call to March", and Reverend Fox shared a link about Myst. Clicking those links will get you MeWe, Larry's Blog, and Youtube. 

Tonight, I realized that all of my stories fell off the blog and are hanging around in draft mode. I figured I'd bring one back. This one doesn't have a title. It's a little Advanced Dungeons and Dragons with a smidgen of horror. I suppose I should do more, but I am short on time. I could spend somewhat little time I have restricting these old posts and stories. 

Even if you don't like the story, I hope you enjoy the embedded document from Google Drive. It was a fancy trick I accidentally learned from Mike and Shell "Presto" from their superhero website. 

Boastful History - Julius Caesar

History is loaded with entertaining and surprising stories. Some of them are just as interesting as movies are now-a-days. 

Today, I like to share the story by Plutarch of Chaeronea about Young Julius Caesar and the Pirates. 

The Romans were never the greatest sailors so piracy was rampant in the Mediterranean. It didn't help that the pirates would take prisoners and sell them to the Romans, so they very people who should have put a stop to the practice were instead benefiting from the pirate's activities. At least in the short run. 

The Cilicians were a group of pirates allied to Mithradates of Pontus, an enemy nation. The Cilicians would ransom the rich prisoners and sell the poor as slaves, which is evidence of the often short sightedness of the Romans. They were filling the coffers of Mithradates and damaging their own citizens when purchasing slaves or buying freedom. 

Enter a 25 year old Julius. He was taken captive in 75 BC. The pirate captain demanded a ransom of 20 talents for the return of Julius. Julius laughed. He demanded that they ask for no less that 50. The captain, of course, agreed. 

So began 38 days of wackiness. Julius joined the crew in their duties, cleaning and maintaining the ship. He organized games and physical contests with the pirates. He wrote poems and presented them to the crew. If crew didn't recognise his great work, he'd call them illiterate and threaten to hang* them. The same threat was issued if the pirates were too loud while he was sleeping. 

After 38 days, the ransom was paid and Julius was set free. 

Julius raised a fleet of ships and captured the Cilician pirates as they sat anchored at the city of Miletus. The pirates were all taken captive and marched before the Governor of Asia, a man named Marcus Junius for punishment. Junius hemmed and hawed about punishing the pirates as they were a source of revenue. 

Annoyed, Julius marched the pirates out to the coast and had them all hung*.

It sounds like the bit in the Princess Bride about Dread Pirate Roberts and Wesley, from a different perspective. If you assume they are the same story, Wesley becomes a different sort of character. Very often, historical stories like this make their way into my campaigns. 

*Hanging as a Roman punishment meant crucifiction. Romans wouldn't bother with rope if they meant to strangle someone. They'd use their hands. Strangulation fell between crucifixion and defenestration, throwing a person off a building or cliff. The Romans codified everything. 

Inspiration

When I was 10 or 12, Dungeons and Dragons was a big thing but the content was fairly limited. Not just the sheer number of modules, but the tone and such were limited by the player's personal preferences. Out of dozens choices only a handful leave an impression. Face it, it's really a chocolate, vanilla or strawberry choice. We like what we like for no other reason. 

This creates a cycle were the player was introduced to the module, then they presented the module as a DM to replay. The story gains additional replayability through this introducing it to others. I can repeat by placing a twist on the source material so that it is disguised. By the time you have your own kids, you see the cycle start again. It is very much like some beloved concept such as drawing, woodworking, camping, Disney, etc. to be passed down.  

The activity is the same, but different depending on where you are in the cycle. This naturally leads to the idea of maps, guides, handbooks, t-shirts. I find it amusing that there could or would be some sort of insignia, brochure or mission patch for an old module because the are simply loved and repeated. 

That is the source of inspiration for these images and my love of the OSR. 

The difference between 6 and 10 is not very great in terms of time, so I recall my bedroom decorated with classic Disney posters, 60's and 70's baseball pennants and other object de art which were done in these odd colors and styles. It's no wonder that I have associate these images with those conjured by D&D. 

A walk down memory lane... thru a Motte and Bailey Castle.

The Shell Keep
Overview of the keep Ah, memories. My dad has been a gamer since he was a child. His collection of books, resources and material is unsurpassed. When I was in high school, I needed to write a report on the Middle Ages. Obviously, he wanted to help. What I didn't expect was, he told me to bring my whole class. A horde of kids came in to our house for a lesson on the Middle Ages. Hand on, armor, swords, models, books, and history. On whim.
Gate and decking work. He was always like that. When I was a toddler, I recall a massive Motte and Bailey castle in our living room. And some times part of the dining room and kitchen. It was a huge undertaking. I have no idea where that castle went, perhaps it was broken in our many moves from the projects in Lockport to the Eastside of Buffalo and finally to Tonawanda. It wasn't the only castle he had, it was one of dozens.
Side view These pictures are of a castle in the classic motte and bailey design that I loved so much. I'm not sure when dad started building this, perhaps Dad doesn't know when he started building this, but here it is. Sometime in 2018 or 2019, perhaps. This one is 4 by 3 feet. It's tiny compared to some of the work he has done.
Inner gate detail.  This is my favorite view of the Keep. Dad always painted details on his gates, in classic blue, yellow and red. I am not sure of the historical details of those colors, but these remind me of Dad.
Inner ward This shell keep has 3 inner buildings, with multiple floors. Since this is used for a wargame, the rooves, floors and ceilings come off.
Opposite side view. This is a work in progress, so the exterior details are missing. There will be trees, stones, grass and perhaps water features in the finished work.
Rooves Again, the windows and doors have those colors.
Rooves and floors removed. The interior is incredible.
Second floor in place.  In this view, you can see the doorways leading to the interior spaces. When he builds these things, he scales them 15 or 25 mm. I suspect this one is 25 mm.
Other buildings, rooves removed.  The scale is important because wargamers use a particular basing for the figures. He needs to be able to fit those bases inside the structures.
Possibly a kitchen area. Not every part of the keep is for military purposes. This is a cooking area.
Main gate, roof removed.  I love the way he plans areas to be removed for the game action. This is the main gate.
Walkway of the parapet removed. Latrine area.  And bathrooms in the walls. Waste would fall into the moat, for an extra deterrent.
The Bailey.  The exterior area has a couple of buildings, with thatched and wooden rooves.
Interior with rooves.  The Keep has stone or tile rooves, not show in this image. The smaller building have blue slate. That is my favorite color.
The Keep I love the circular pattern of the keep's ward.
Bailey gate.  And finally, our journey ends at the outer gate.
If you want to see more like this be sure to check out my dad on Facebook and on the web. Classical Hack on Facebook Classical Hack on the web

Inspiration for Writing: History of Rome by Mike Duncan

Oh, how I miss classes. This summer, I have been inspired by Mike Duncan's History of Rome podcast. The original show ran from 2007 to 2012. How did I miss that?

In any event, Mr. Duncan's excellent show has been very inspirational for me. I've been listening to two shows a day, once while writing and once before bed. I can't wait to catch up and start listening to his new podcast, Revolutions.

You can also check out Mr. Duncan's great book, The Storm before the Storm at your favorite book store.

Add your inspirational podcasts down in the comments. Lord knows, I don't want to miss any more great shows.

Map Inspiration at the Burchfield Penney

I found the greatest art installation at the Burchfield Penney. It is a giant iron book, engraved with images and maps.

Click the images to enlarge.

The Heart of the City, A Hearth

The heart of any city is the first home, a place around the hearth. I wish I could call this idea a five minute map, but it took me far longer.

This is a neolithic like structure. Starting in the approximate center is the hearth, edged by two ironwood tripods for cooking and swinging spit. Just to the north is the ladder that provides access and egress for smoke from the hearth. Unshown is the roof, which is a flat square platform mounted on 4 posts. From the crossbeams out, the roof is tilted down to provide a channel for the smoke and heat. Sometimes a woven reed curtain is hung from the ceiling to direct the path of smoke.

On the southern and eastern walls are two large tunnels in which the inhabitants use bone tools to mine flint, very much like the builders of Stonehenge. The Pueblo homes that this structure is also based on had special vents to allow the fire to allow air in. In this case, the tunnels are connected to other natural spaces to provide draw for the fire. In front of each tunnel is a low wing wall, colored with black, indigo and red patterns typical to this tribe.

Along the western wall is a large deck for sleeping. It is about 12 inches from the floor and is sloped into the center of the room like the beds at Fort Niagara. This allows people awoken by threats to stand up quickly without the effects of syncope. Although four bedrolls are shown, perhaps as many as a 8-10 people could sleep comfortably, family style.

On the north wall is a nook for cooking supplies and the niche doubles as an altar for the tribe's parton gods and goddesses. Due to the nature of the structure, all valuables in the niche are in plain sight.

The walls are coated in a concoction of chalk and mud to make a brighter living space.

Scale: One Square equals 2.5 feet. The total structure is 40 feet across and 60 feet below ground.

The Research Game - Stave Churches

In my prior post, I began work on a building I could not identify. It turns out that this structure is a stave church from 11-1200 A.D.

I wasn't able to identify it specifically, nor was I able to place it the category of stave church. For some reason, I picture stave churches as having gracefully sloping walls and roofs, like so:

So, I am off to do some research. I have to say my dad, Philip J. Viverito, instilled a quest for knowledge in me. Using the internet, I was able to found some remarkable resources for this project in rather short order. I cannot image how my dad did it back in the 1970's and 80's with only books to work from.

One of the more impressive items I found was a short video filmed in 2000 at Uvdal Stave Church, Nore and Uvdal, Norway.

Not only is the church beautiful, the video itself is excellent. The film was put together by Erik Meyn, and the music was composed and performed by Ulf Meyn. The original publisher was Numedalsnett AS.

Although there is no speaking, this is a wonderful educational resource.

Feelies

When I was seriously into gaming, I made feelies.

This document was made in 1988 or so. It references the Castle Amber module, The Order of Light from Gemstone III, and Louise Cooper’s Time Master Series, plus the city of Charn from my home-brewed campaign.

(2024 update - Back in 2015, I didn't mention Charn is from the Chronicles of Naria. I have no idea why, that is my favorite book in the series.) 

The punchline to many of these references was that the characters AND players were aware of all of these references as works of fiction. The characters had copies of the Time Master Series and Averoigne stories. Each character has ring of wishes to enter the stories themselves.

When I was in high school, this seemed like a great hook.

For future reference – US Census Microdata

The other day, took the kids to the Niagara Aquarium.

On our way home, desperate for bathroom, we stopped at the Tuscarora Reservation. Inside, there is a tiny museum with awesome maps. 

Snapping pictures of them does no justice. They are gorgeous prints. I found out that they are from the 1892 Census.

Looking around online, I found this website with the actual images. The Integrated Public Use Microdata Series website is not just information on the US Census, it is data on individuals. What an excellent historical document.

I am pretty sure they didn’t think of someone pulling maps from the public documents, but what a wonderful resource for history and art.

Half Baked Idea - The Demon Core

In my last post, I mentioned a device called the demon core. I know what it looks like, I know that it seethes with power. It is wildly dangerous. 

Aside from that, I know nothing. There was a real device called the demon core. It was 3.5 inch, subcritical mass of plutonium used for testing. In this capacity, it killed two scientists.

Nasty stuff. I may have to revisit this item and flesh it out for use in my campaign.

Serpent Bay – Five Minute Vignette

A user request from Google Plus – post-apocalyptic maps. I am horrible with colored pencils and I've never tried a post-apocalyptic map. What I ended up with was a sketched vignette.

“They brought the demon core, blood hexes, and shells. They pushed us to the sea. In the woods, we moved like eidolons hunting, as the skies sizzled with hot brass and steel rain. The sea frothed blue and white; the gnashing of frustrated and frenzied selkies. 

“Desperation rose within us, fanned by orisons, curses, and automatic fire. 

“You tell ’em, we held those bastards at Serpent Bay.”

The Random Wizard

Anyone who has DM’ed a campaign has partnered the characters with a random wizard to save their bacon if things go south.

I had no idea that Random Wizards existed in real life, but here’s one. His latest post brings back classic D&D modules with news on the latest offerings from RPGnow. 

(2024 Update - This website is long gone, but thanks to the Wayback Machine, you can still access some of the content.)