There comes a time in a nerd's life when they have to take a good, long look at what they've done with their time on earth and think to themselves... FUCK! I HAVEN'T EVEN HAD A PROPER STAB AT A CONLANG!
Here is my first contribution to July's RPG BLOG CARNIVAL, hosted by the inestimable Rook. For this post I'm going to draft a syllabary and in doing so lay the foundations for a constructed language (conlang).
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| Cuneiform tablet |
More than two years ago I made a post called "demi-humans and alignment: dwarfs" which originally included a bit about elves, later replaced with a bit that promised: "elves update to follow!"...
If you've been reading this for any length of time, you'll be aware of the standard gamut of excuses so let's just crack on.
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| Our current position in the solar cycle is determined by whether the discourse is about Rankin's elves |
A number of weeks ago I posted regarding my intention to run Stygian Library solo. There's a link right here but for some reason they aren't showing up as such, so please scroll to the end to read the comprehensive list of pages linked in this post. I've since already run a party of adventurers through a delve in the Stygian library, and had some thoughts about what the survivors (spoiler alert! some of them survive!) do next. However, before writing that up I wanted to go into a little more detail about how I'm using BLUEHOLME as the "operating system" (OS, Really) for Stygian.
The 1977 Dungeons and Dragons "basic set" by Eric Holmes, aka. the Holmes Basic can be thought of as the "missing link" between OD&D and B/X (or perhaps even B/X and AD&D 1e), and it is not without its fans (particularly popular blog The Zenopus Archives). Blueholme is a retroclone of that ruleset by Michael Thomas, and seems to have emerged following conversations on the Dragonsfoot forum.
So... the inevitable has happened: I have postponed the City of Ghosts Friday Lunchtime Sandbox... indefinitely. It became too disheartening waiting each week only for it never to happen. I'm going to blame the format for this: thanks Luke Gearing!
Anyway, I DO hope to get the same sandbox (basically a PARIAH version of a dungeoncrawl) up and running again soon, maybe over longer sessions and at more sociable hours? Let's see... anyway, in the meantime I've made use of my long Friday lunch break by test-driving Soul Muppet's Gangs of Titan City, and so far have found it to be ideal for solo play. You can read all my reports (as well as other posts related to the game) at this link, which may not be visible on your screen (so scroll to the end).
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| Some of Ben Brown's very fun art found in GoTC |
Read on for more!
Last year I returned to the untied loose end of the Dawn Realm (crudely, Pariah's equivalent of the feywilde) with this slightly long, sketchy post. It's been fermenting since then with a great deal of reagents added following conversations on this blog and elsewhere, of which many were with Max Cantor of Weird and Wonderful Worlds. It took watching Scavengers Reign for me to take this pot of potent brew off the flames and let it cool, let the residue crystallise, and then snort a big hefty old line of the stuff.
This is not a post that includes a Scavengers Reign hexcrawl... but I've robbed a few of the details, because the big breakthrough that show provided was to really show how the world interacts with not just the explorers, but the elements within it.
I've recently been playing Gangs of Titan City as a solo game, but you may have noticed various other RPG luminaries engaged in this dark practice. Indeed, it was friend-of the blog JFUR who first inspired my return to the labyrinth alone with her Into the Odd solo campaign. While ludic onanism has long been a staple of the frustrated forever GM, seeing Skullboy aka Better Legends transform his own game into an entire comic book, Delvers felt like something of a shift in the sands. Why, even friend-of-my-idealised-higher-self Semiurge has been at it—as this write-up of Grant Howitt's Big Gay Orcs (CW: butts touching one another) can testify.
Where's this suspiciously professional introduction headed? Into the Stygian Library, that's where: because when I'm not already writing about playing RPGs by myself or reading RPG books (all by myself) I like to play RPGs about books. By myself. And then write about it.
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| A crop of just about the first illustration in the book, by Alec Sorenson |
At time of writing it is still uncertain as to whether tomorrow (14th June) will witness a return to the City of Ghosts sandbox, and while I'll definitely be running ANOTHER session of GoTC if it doesn't happen, I feel like I want to run through the fallout element while I have some spare time just to get the wheels turning ahead of the next operation.... so: it's time to spark up an imaginary plasma-cig, chuck some Cryochamber in the headphones and see what's going down in Plutogia!
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| Not actually Plutogian, but Necromundan.. still, an obvious touchstone! |
This post envisions how spirit houses could work in PARIAH (or your animist RPG of choice). Before I get into it I want to say a quick word about its provenance. I've previously written 3 posts on the topic of shrines but they crossed over into real life recently when I started to consider the act of building a birdhouse through an animist lens in this post.
I've also begun watching SCAVENGERS REIGN (only a few episodes in so no spoilers, please): without giving too much away I am completely in love with it. So much resonates with the psychedelic animism I have made my life's mission to evoke (and there's a post percolating as we speak on this very topic) but it was a much more subtle moment that crept into the ultimate genesis of this post, which I will mention towards the end.
But for now, spirit houses...
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| Spirits of the Here & Now, visiting the shrine I built to house them |
I set aside 31st May for a session in the City of Ghosts but was unable to attract the required number of players. A few weeks ago I decided such occasions presented me with a great opportunity to test out Gangs of Titan City as a solo game, but as it transpired it would not be until yesterday (7th June) that I'd be returning to Plutogia.
 Alternative cloth-bound cover to the book available from Soul Muppet |
This was the first "operations phase", the segment of the game I predicted would be the most challenging to resolve satisfactorily as a solo player. In the event
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| Anthropomorph (Earth) copyright 2000 Luke Brown https://www.lukebrownart.com/ |
When there aren't enough players available for a Friday lunchtime one hour sandbox game I try and get my RPG fix elsewhere. Recently I realised that I could probably make Gangs of Titan City work as a solo game, and went through session zero with myself to set up the character and world.
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| Titan City aka Plutogia, picture from the original GoTC Primer |
( * m o n t a g e * )
The fugitive Tark, performing on stage in the guise of Madame Villette, subjects the audience to a baroque combination of biting stand-up, delicate chanson and surreal-yet-thought provoking performance art. Their old friend and colleague Bug manages a wry smile as he scans the faces of the enraptured audience in the cabaret room. He's confident no one noticed: since moving to this part of town, he's become well known for his grim countenance, and is secretly proud of the ironic moniker Smiler that he's been awarded. He checks for signs of trouble and/or possible marks, while ostensibly clearing empty glasses.
A rowdy gang of toughs muscle their way in, though the minor commotion they cause is not sufficient to break the spell of Madame Villette's performance. The bar manager Blind Willy Latif doesn't need enhanced optical implants to know these boys are part of the Lead Legion, and he'd managed to keep them out of his bar for a number of years now. His hand reaches beneath the counter for a terrifying looking cudgel, when something catches his wrist.
"If they're paying, their staying," says Carmen, whispering in Latif's ear.
"I ain't havin' no bullet boys in my bar-"
"Whose bar, Willy?"
Willy grunts, releases the cudgel, and slopes off to the cellar. The three hoodlums approach the counter:
"What can I get you three fine gentlemen?" Carmen's face is trying its best to look charming.
"What're ya sellin', beautiful?" asks the group's leader
Carmen's face immediately sours, she shoots the man a murderous look... before remembering she's in the customer service game now, and does her best to smile:
"I can offer you three mugs of beet ale... I think anything else would be beyond your budget."
This retort lands surprisingly well, and Carmen serves the thugs their drinks to the sound of their throaty guffaws.
Down in the beer cellar, Ezra is attempting to find some peace and quiet. It's been tough living life on the lamb, first evading PSI-Squad and now his erstwhile employer, Wavelength. He wasn't sure what living in the Green Sector would entail before getting there, but the name New Eden definitely conjured up an environment more pastoral than a roadhouse bar and cabaret called Blind Willy's.
The thick concrete of the cool beer cellar was Ezra's temple, his meditation chamber. Above him, the noise of the bar was reduced to a droning thrum, an almost hypnotic mantra enabling him to attune his mind to the deeper whispers within the Titan City. Perfectly still, perfectly at peace, Ezra let the soul of the city wash over him like gentle waves on a beach...
...until the cellar door swings open and the full torrent of noise washes over Ezra like a tidal wave, followed by a grumbling Willy staggering noisily down to change a barrel of beet ale. The old man grumbles to himself at the place going to "rack and ruin" since "Smiler's people took over"... Ezra watches in silence, aware that Blind Willy can't see him.
After he changes the barrel, Willy walks back up the wooden steps, pausing before opening the hatch. He sniffs the air:
"You comin' up to lend a hand, boy? We got mugs an' glasses that'll need collectin' an' washin'"
Ezra stayed silent.
"Whelp, I'll let Carmen know you're on hand if you're needed."
Ezra watched the old man leave. He tried to get back into the "zone", but the moment had passed. He sighs before ascending the stairs himself, before suddenly his attention is seized by a vision of a face he'd not seen in a long time: embittered and determined, an ugly face from his past...
...Agent Colm of PSI-SQUAD!
I rolled "2: A Rival adds a Hazard to the Danger Table". given that I mentioned Agent Colm, it's a good idea to use him as the rival.
I also need to add a lead or a job to the danger table, courtesy the gang's contact, Rennia Ren. I'm guessing her ultimate goal is to use the gang's skills for her own social justice mission in her Arcology (i.e. against the Hypercorp, Empyreals and other authorities) but not sure how just yet. I rolled on the "jobs" table for Heartwards and got "The Enforcers have set up a hidden listening station somewhere on our turf. Destroy it!" This works as there's already a listening station in Arcology 23. Maybe the gang could repurpose it?
The Danger Table now looks like this:
Probably a good idea to take a look at the gang's objectives and dynamic before deciding their first moves.
There's a bit of a few conflicts within the gang at the moment, though they have not yet bubbled up to the surface. Tark and Carmen are (mostly) keen for the quiet life, whereas Smiler (and Ezra, on the quiet) wants to destroy Wavelength for good. This dynamic is complicated by the fact Tark and Smiler are both slightly resentful towards Carmen and Ezra for "forcing their hand", and causing them to leave Wavelength before they were fully ready. despite their differences, Tark and Ezra find common ground in their outsider status (Ezra as a psion, Tark for their gender fluidity). Conversely, Smiler and Carmen are former lovers currently on an extended break.
In any case, the gang need cash money to live: despite the roaring trade, running the bar isn't helping out too much as they're paying exorbitant rates to the the local brewer. The brewer is in the pocket of The Lead Legion, whom all gutters are keen to stay on good terms with until they're better established.
Immediately a job springs to mind: rob the dray after it's stocked up the bottle shops and bars of the neighbouring hab unit ward... and make it look like it was the work of the Misshapers, known to be hiding out somewhere in New Eden!
Smiler, came up with the idea for this job. He's had a few minor run-ins with local Lead Legion capo Scorgio and loves the idea of pulling one over him... but they need to gather intel first so that'll be down to Tark.
After Ezra tells Carmen about his dream, she's keen to find out if PSI-Squad is active in the area, so also decides to gather intel around the vice den in the centre of the sector, operated by Lead Legion. She's going to see if she can exploit the rapport she established with some of the Lead Legion's gutters during the previous night's service.
Meanwhile, Smiler has decided to head down to the the Misshapers territory (they are a minor faction in this sector) and see if he can get some of their disenchanted mutant street gutters to help him out. In the short term, the idea is that they're going to take half of the hijacked cargo, including the vehicle, ensuring its not traced back to Smiler. Ideally they'll also provide some stolen motorcycles so the gang can make off with their share of the cargo back to base. In the long run Smiler's plan is to take this claim (Eager Hopefuls) from the Misshapers and recruit the mutant gutters as a squad,.
Tark is going to use their spend a few days in disguise as an old drunk, getting an idea of the routes and times the draymen take. They also plan to spy on the draymen to establish how heavily armed and armoured they are, whether they have additional security and, as a bonus, how likely they are to accept bribes.
If Tarquin had a player, it's likely they'd argue that they can use Tarquin's specialism in stealth and approach this intel gathering move using exploit. However, Tark doesn't have a player so I'm ruling that they're to use appeal (as they need to use charisma to create a convincing disguise) and it will be a flat 2d6 test.
I roll 2 and 6 = 8, partial success
In the context of an intel roll partial success means:
The Gutter makes a specific and useful discovery about one of the Operation’s obstacles awaiting the Gang, but the local security forces detect their intrusion. The Narrator describes an avenue of approach that is either cut off or heavily reinforced.
At this early stage it is absolutely imperative for Tark that he goes undetected: this is a minor disaster! We can imagine that a local enforcer has clocked Tark going from bar to bar and bottle-shop to bottle-shop- maybe even recognise them from their performances as Madame Villette at Blind Willy's (might be pushing it?)- time to use some desperation.
Gutters also have access to Desperation, which can be used to push beyond their normal limits (for more about Desperation, see page 104). Once a Player rolls a Test, they can take 1 point of Desperation to reroll one Die from that Test before determining its outcome.
If a player in a conventional game asked to use desperation, I'd ask them to tell me what that looks like. In this instance, we can imagine Tark realises they're being followed at attempts to do something crazy, to ham up their roleplay to throw the enforcer of the scent.
I re-rolled the two, achieving four: Tark is has now achieved a full success. For gather intel, that looks like this:
the Gutter makes a specific and useful discovery about one of the Operation’s obstacles and learns a critical piece of information about the obstacle, such as a weakness, particular quirk, or useful opportunity.
Tark has worked out the following:
Carmen is going to go to the Vice Den operated by Lead Legion, The Serpent in the Garden. She's going to hang out in the bar for an evening, keeping an eye out for any Lead Legion gutters she's met at Blind Willy's, and try to get some info using the rapport she's established with them before. She wears her trademark broad-brimmed hat and poncho, but with her auburn hair down.
Carmen is using an appeal-led approach, not her best stat (0), but I think she can get a +1 as she'll be dealing only with those she's familiar with. She rolls 9 which is a partial success, but this is boosted to a full success thanks to the circumstantial bonus I applied: ordinarily the Bullet Boys would think there was something off about their favourite bar maid materialising out of nowhere and asking them lots of questions about psi-squad, but they genuinely think she might be into them on some level.
They at least discover that she can handle her drink, and Carmen extracts the following from them over the course of the night:
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| Page 158 Gangs of Titan City, alt-text provided |
PARIAH lunchtime sandbox play reports:
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/search/label/1%20hour%20game
Gangs of Titan City session 0:
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.blogspot.com/2024/05/gangs-of-titan-city-solo-experiment.html
I had a draft of the post D12 Anomalous Orbs sat unpublished for long enough to justify its "retroactive dating", so it sits neatly in the April posts... but this is genuinely hot-off-the-press, unadulterated May 2024 content just for you.
When I first used the phrase STAR METAL in PARIAH volume 1 I imagined the reader would assume this to be meteoric iron, though I made no explicit statement regarding its nature... though a while back I washed my hands of a monster created by cryptomnesia known as an Ancient One Now fully immersed in UFO lore and the existence of supposed “exotic materials”, I thought it would be fun to come up with a list of alternative material properties for “star metal”. In addition to the usual fantasy sources, this table was inspired by anecdotal accounts from ufology and the preindustrial metallurgists and alchemists. There used to be a spiritual element (pun intended) to material science which is sadly lacking today!
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| Cubic of polished meteoric iron illustrating the Widmanstaetten structure |
As part of my continuing effort to squeeze in some tabletop action wherever I can, I've been hosting a weekly, open-table, no strings drop-in sandbox every Friday lunchtime (whenever life permits). Occasionally the stars align, and we get a short but sweet hour of exploratory roleplay: you can read all the play reports at this link right here.
Sometimes, things don't go to plan: to show my commitment (and scratch that RPG itch), I've decided to start a solo-game of GANGS OF TITAN CITY. I backed the Kickstarter nearly 2 years ago (have a look at my review of the quickstart here), yet the odds of me getting it to the table any time soon remain relatively slim. For this and other reasons, it was an obvious choice.
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| The alternative cover to GotC, by Rollin Kunz |
I'm back out the other side of one of my bi-annual delves into the rabbit-hole of UFOlogy, and my takeaways are two in number:
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| Album cover to Metallic Spheres by The Orb and David Gilmour, AI generated |
You can find more information about this is series of games in this series of posts, but in a nutshell I was inspired by Luke Gearing's and Pat Eyler's respective one-hour megadungeon sessions to run a weekly PARIAH sandbox during my Friday lunch break.
Just wanted to add a small note to say:
This is the fifth play report, with the game taking place on 29th March. Next game is scheduled for 3rd May, though we haven't been able to make quorum in the last few sessions.
Following an extended break the City of Ghosts campaign is once again up and running. You can find more information about it in this series of posts, but in a nutshell I was inspired by Luke Gearing's and Pat Eyler's respective one-hour megadungeon sessions to run a weekly PARIAH sandbox during my Friday lunch break. This is the fourth play report.
Since reviving this blog in 2019 my output has not been as consistent in both quality and quantity as I would like. Setting the issue of quality aside for a moment, there have been occasions where carving out time to post has been challenging. Sometimes these occasions stretch from weeks and into months.
Instead of reactively acknowledging that this has occurred with a tedious "sorry for falling out of the universe" introductory line to whatever post springs up next, I thought it would be a good idea to prepare you (the reader) for a 19 week/ 4-and-a-bit month interruption to your regular broadcast... with some exceptions, described below.
I'm still planning to keep up the weekly Pariah 1-hour sandbox games, when sessions actually occur. No sessions have taken place yet this year, though I am hopeful we can get a game in this week. However, I won't be able to run a session at all during February, so following a post concerning this Friday's game (if it takes place), please don't expect anything on this blog until March at the earliest.
Due to the fact that have paid subscribers I will continue to put out a monthly newsletter on substack—Latest from the Labyrinth— which you can subscribe to for free here:
https://aloneinthelabyrinth.substack.com/
I anticipate that until June, this will mostly consist of the following:
It's a New Year and (apparently) it's time for a new Universal Resolution Mechanic! At least that's the challenge set by Prismatic Wasteland. My favourite so far is over at friend-of-the-blog Semiurge's Archons March On who proposes a method definitely not suitable for serious practitioners of one of the world's largest religions.
Never one to let a bandwagon sail by without sneering uncharitably before making a half-arsed effort to hitch a ride, I too have come up with my own mechanic: I call this Copenhagen Positioning aka Schrödinger's resolution mechanic...
We have quantum ogres and quantum inventory: isn't it time for a quantum twist on everything?
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| Portrait of late (Finnish?) Mesolithic man by Tom Björklund, used as character art for Wren-in-the-Sedge |
Due to time constraints and inspired by Luke Gearing's one-hour megadungeon sessions, I'm running a weekly PARIAH sandbox during my Friday lunch break. This is the third play report.