Up the River - On the Wharf

A few people have asked about the current status of "Up the River," the upcoming campaign for Unhallowed Metropolis. I wanted to take a minute and let everyone know that we're on schedule to release it this summer. We're in the final editorial rounds and the illustrations are brilliant. I'm thrilled that Robert Tritthardt (www.writheandshine.com) is illustrating my campaign, he's done an amazing job of bringing my words and the sick things in my head to the light of day. Here's a brief excerpt from the campaign.


When the appointed day arrives, the crew has the ship in spotless condition and a large crowd gathers at Hay's Wharf to see them off. The morning is foggy and cold. The crowd seems quite excited but the ubiquitous gas masks make their cheering muffled and subdued. Stanhope addresses the crowd from the Cassandra's aft:

“Ladies and gentlemen of our great city of London, today we take a most important step in the rebirth of Empire! A great colony of ours has been without word from their mother country for almost two centuries.We shall find them and, like two candles in the dark, combine to become a mighty torch to Illuminate the rest of the world with the civilization of the English people! The Borneo expedition shall welcome them back to the arms of queen and country! God save the queen!”

The Army band at the wharf launches into a loud rendition of “God Save the Queen” followed by “Rule, Brittania!” The ship's crew lets slip the moorings, and the Cassandra slowly moves from the wharf. The thick mist quickly obscures the crowd and, shortly after, swallows up the sounds of the music. The Cassandra is enveloped in the dark fog and greasy waters of the Thames as she ventures out towards the North Sea.



The campaign is accompanied by pre-generated characters, new skills, new items, the Wonders of Botany and a new Calling for Unhallowed Metropolis: the Explorer.


“Up the River,” written by Simon Berman and illustrated by Robert Tritthardt, will be available as a downloadable PDF summer, 2009.

another version of the truth

http://iran.twazzup.com/

Riffs and Variations on a Single Note

As usual I haven't been updating my blog because I've been preoccupied writing other stuff. I've written a substantial amount of content for No Quarter in the last month as well as some rough drafts of items for the upcoming WM MkII books, completed a second draft of "Sanctuary," an introductory scenario for Unhallowed Metropolis, playtested that scenario, begun researching and outlining for my own RPG (co-authored with Ken Hurt) and completed the first round of editorial revisions for Up the River on friday night.

Then I took yesterday to do nothing productive at all.

Now I'm about to start my next Big Project which is related to Unhallowed but will be my first serious attempt at game design.

It will be exactly like this:

How I found The Knife

Because I know many of my friends live in caves deeper even than the one I dwell in, I will introduce you to The Knife.

http://www.theknife.net/

The Knife is a musical duo from Sweden formed in 1999. The band consists of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer.

Like fellow Swedish musicians Abba and Ace of Bass, The Knife make music.

It just happens to be really fucking good music.





They are also crazy Scandinavians who hate appearing live or in their own videos, often wearing masks when they do so. Or in this case, appearing only peripherally while letting a transvestite karaoke the song.



Believing that electronic music is difficult to experience in concert they perform extremely rarely but take dramatic measures to provide a compelling stage show. Only the vocals and parts of the instrumentation are not pre-recorded but their show is groundbreaking.





Recently, Karin recorded a solo album; Fever Ray. It's a departure in tone and song structure from The Knife but it is without a doubt the best album I have heard in years.



Unofficial video -


Tickets for US dates go on sale this Sunday. So, anyone want to come to San Francisco on October 5th?!??

An Exploration of Degradation

A few of us are actually managing to play Unhallowed Metropolis instead of just writing/photographing/drawing it. Jason has rolled a predictably lethal Undertaker, Chuckie's got himself a pretty entertaining Parapsychologist and I've rolled an Explorer.

I wrote the Explorer Calling to be included with my campaign Up the River coming this July. I envisioned the Calling to be equal parts Dr. David Livingstone, Allan Quartermain and Indiana Jones with a hint of Lovecraftian antiquarian. I wanted players to be able to portray a whole range of characters from bug collecting academics to men and women of action who brave the ghoul tribes of the Wastelands searching for ancient mysteries.

But the Explorer I made tonight is a touch different.

Harold Paget-Morrison was the sole survivor of a failed expedition to the Lower Nile in 2088. When the expedition ship sank, Harold found himself washed up on the shore of Tunisia. He spent over three months living in the shadowed ruins of Carthage before a Prussian merchant vessel saw his signal fire and rescued him.

Upon returning to London, Harold was granted the honorary title of Baron by the Queen in recognition of his expedition's sacrifice. Harold attempted to settle into the life of his industrialist family. But time in the wilds had left Harold changed. His diet was now strange and his appetite constant. He soon developed a nasty temper and alienated his family. Succumbing to strong drink he soon involved himself in a number of scandals that resulted in his family granting him a certain amount of money before cutting all ties.

In no time Harold descended into the alcoholic nightmare of London's gambling hells and taverns. Flush with money and liquor he indulged his appetites to the full becoming corpulent and vicious. In just a few years he found himself suffering seizing fits, occasional delirium and screaming night terrors. When he submitted himself to his first medical physical in a decade the doctor wasted no time in pronouncing a diagnosis of syphilis. Harold cursed savagely and muttered something about the "damned strange whores of Tunis" before shoving the doctor to the ground and stalking out.

Today, Harold finds himself in a desperate amount of debt as his expensive taste in liquor and strange dietary habits sap his wealth. Aside from his venereal disease, he is in shockingly good health. Still an excellent shot with a rifle, he can occasionally be found giving shooting lessons to the children of aristocrats and industrialists. The violent strings of vulgarity to which he is prone typically means that these opportunities for employment seldom last long. Indeed, Harold is better known and feared for his other weapon; an oversized silver-headed cane with which he terrorizes the serving girls and doormen of the few establishments still willing to suffer him for his dwindling reputation.

Baron Harold Paget-Morrison

Explorer (see Up the River, coming this July)

Vitality 5 (effectively 6)
Coordination 3
Wit 3
Intellect 2
Charm 2
Will 3

Prowess 6
Actions 2

Features
Cabinet of Curiosities
Man of the World (Explorer Natural Science stunts) -
Dietary Advances
Field Medic
Fixer
Previous Expedition

Skills
Artillery 1 (Machine Guns)
Anthropology 2 (Folklore, Tunisian Ghoul Tribes)
Concentration 1 (Dull Pain)
Ettiquette 1 (Diplomatic)
Gambling 2 (Cards, Bluffing)
History 2 (Military, Egyptian)
Language 2 (German)
Language 2 (Latin)
Medicine 2 (Emergency, Complications)
Melee 3 (Free Parry, Head Hunter, Preferred Weapon - Cane)
Natural Science 4
Rifle 4 (Fast Aim, Long Shot, Pistol Whip, Preferred Weapon - Bolt-Action Rifle,
Survival 2 (Desert, Scavenging)
Unarmed Combat 1 (Hardened Strike)

Wealth: 5

Desire Corruption 2 - Addiction (Alcohol)

Qualities
Upper Class

Impediments
Debt
Fits
Malignity
Night Terrors
Syphilis

Gear
A single good suit in relatively current fashion.
Gold plated respirator.
Silver headed cane.
Kramer 2086 Bolt-Action Rifle

I dunno what the hell's in there, but it's weird and pissed off.

Abutebaris modo subjunctivo denuo

So, anybody speak Latin? Better yet, is anybody a Classicist? If so, I've got quite a bit for you to do, it might even pay REAL CASH MONIES someday (in the distant future)!

Finally, in an attempt to provide some kind of content, Thom Yorke and DJ Shadow -

U.N.K.L.E. - New Music - More Music Videos

Fainting Ladies

I'm all moved into the much bigger and nice apartment now and have written an appalling amount of stuff for No Quarter in the last forty eight hours in an effort to make up for time lost during the move.

In less stressful news, I just found out that Ladytron and The Faint will be at the Showbox SoDo on Saturday, May 2nd. I'm gonna pick up tickets next paycheck. Pretty cheap too, $22.50, general admission. Anyone wanna come along?

You can go there even though it doesn't exist.

Long story short, I have to vacate my apartment due to the need to tear up the floor and replace a sewer line underneath it. The building was going to put me up in a vacant unit for the duration but I've somehow parlayed this into being allowed to move into the new unit permanently. It's still a studio but approximately 3x bigger than my current one, is on the 13th floor and has a bomb-ass view of Capitol Hill. All for only $165 more per month than I currently pay and my deposits all roll over.

The downside of course is that I'll be without internet for a few days but I'll be available by cell.

Find the Fish

http://www.innsmouthfreepress.com/

Interesting site, I'm thinking about submitting. Maybe some kind of fisherman's almanac as a Monster Byte or something. I should probably have my head examined thinking about taking on more freelance (that doesn't even pay) but what the hell.

Also considering getting a saltwater tank. 20 gallon nano-reef setup, couple of fish, some crabs and snails, maybe a coral or two. I've wanted to do that for a while and the cost of the hobby has dropped significantly in the last few years.

Finally, I'm on a Ladytron binge for no particular reason. Apparently everyone is calling Velocifero their weakest album but they are dumb babies. Black Cat fucking rules and has the sickest bass line I've heard in a long while.

i really think i should've gone to bed tonight but...

The Best of the Lovecraft Film Festival this past Saturday was a good time despite the fact that I did not actually view any films. Here are some pictures taken by the illimitable and inimitable Angel Ceballos, one of which will reassure any of you who may be concerned that I am not drinking enough.







Angel has done photo work for Unhallowed in addition to her non-gaming photo career as well, I recommend everyone check out her stuff http://www.robotangel.com/

A small objectivism

"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs. "

Anyone not already doing so should be reading Kung Fu Monkey blog if you're interested in screenwriting, politics and tabletop gaming.

http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/

Now I'm off to the film fest where I will try not to spill whiskey on my expensive new suit.

Oh fuck another blog

Due to the sad reality that I should probably take part in the Unhallowed livejournal community I've finally broken down after many years of occasionally violent resistance and made a god damn livejournal. In the unlikely event anyone here wants to read that blog instead of this one it can be found at http://godsawayonbsns.livejournal.com/
All my posts there will be cross posted here so don't feel like you need to read both. Ain't nothing to it, gangsta rap made me do it.

Unhallowed Metropolis & Hallows Eve Design

Hallows Eve Designs is proud to announce it is the future publisher of Unhallowed Metropolis™ , the gas mask-chic roleplaying game of Neo-Victorian horror. Written by veteran game developer Jason Soles (Privateer Press, Eos Press) and Nicole Vega, the book details a world set two hundred years after the advent of the zombie plague. Inspired by the works of Mary Shelley, Edgar Allen Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson and other Victorian-era visionaries, Unhallowed Metropolis™ details London as an apocalyptic Neo-Victorian dystopia.

The first publication will be Unhallowed Necrocopolis™, a supplement to Unhallowed Metropolis™, available in May 2009. Unhallowed Necropolis™ narrates the secret history of the Paranormal in the grim future of 22nd-century London. It will include complete rules for psychics and spectral entities, new sciences and technologies as well as providing five new character Callings. Unhallowed Necropolis™ is a painstakingly researched alternative historical setting designed to provide a rich role-playing experience.
Unhallowed Necropolis™ is a 260 page, black-and-white book that features an elaborate interior design with photographs and illustrations by Melissa Uran, Eliza Gauger, Robert Tritthardt, Aron Dittbrenner, Chris Walton, Angel Ceballos, Marc17, Bloodengel Photography, David Russell, and Colleen Mathis with cover art by the incomparable George Higham.

Hallows Eve Designs has a quarterly release schedule for 2009 that includes new scenarios, settings and backgrounds, Callings and Character options. ”We are excited about our partnership with Hallows Eve Designs and have all faith that they will provide the support necessary to take Unhallowed Metropolis™ in amazing new directions,” said Jason Soles.
Unhallowed Necropolis™ and Unhallowed Metropolis™ will be available in hardback and downloadable PDF from hallowsevedesigns.com beginning May 2009.

Free PDF downloads are currently available at hallowsevedesigns.com

Unhallowed Metropolis Index - A complete index for Unhallowed Metropolis. Helpful for Players and Narrators alike.

Unhallowed Metropolis Errata - Minor corrections and revisions for Unhallowed Metropolis.

Blood Legacy: The Dhampir Revisited - Refined and revisited, the Dhampir Calling gains new Stunts and other powers of the blood.

At last, the 1998 Show

Unhallowed Necropolis release party, April 24th.



Click for big.

Because not everyone is sick of Cthulhu yet...

Lovecraft comes to Seattle next month at the Grand Illusion Theater!

Gala Opening is Saturday, March 21st
Doors open at 6pm, show starts at 7pm - $10

Guest appearances from Andrew Migliore (founder of HPLFF) and David Prior (director of AM1200).


Should be fun, I was at the screening for a bunch of these back in November. Cool Air is an oldy but goodie and Late Bloomer is one of the funniest short films I've ever seen.

Radio Free Nerd

Just a quick plug for fellow RPG writer and podcast talker or whatever, Ross Payton:



Roleplaying Public Radio: http://slangdesign.com/rppr/

How to Dissapear Completely

Just stop posting anything but image files and youtube links.

I have not been posting anything of real note because I've been writing at least 500 words per night on weeknights followed by 2,000+ words per day on the weekends for the last six weeks. In the past three weeks I've written a new module for Unhallowed (details soon), all the fiction for the next Call to Arms league dispatches, and now I'm wading through a very large No Quarter article that I got handed at the last possible moment. Basically, I seem to have become Privateer's "Break Glass for Writer in Case of Emergency" auxiliary backup emergency writer.

This is a good thing but my free time is largely consumed by writing so it is difficult to summon the energy to write yet more words. Words for which you cheap bastards are not paying me.

Other than that Temple Con was very successful and I did not succumb to alcohol poisoning. I'll probably post a little more about that when I get some pics back from Grant and Ximon.

Also, I am totally obsessed with The Knife again, after finding Karin's solo album, "Fever Ray." That album deserves its own post and accolades, so in the meantime here is a live performance from The Knife.

Dead Snow

I will make a real post soon I promise

In the meantime here is a plug for the upcoming Unhallowed art show.

The show consists of work by several Unhallowed artists and photographers and will feature work from Unhallowed Necropolis as well as UnMet. Jason will also be hanging some of his own work.

The Heart's Filthy Lesson

Valentine


Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love.

Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a cute card or kissogram.

I give you an onion.
Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
possessive and faithful
as we are,
for as long as we are.

Take it.
Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring,
if you like.
Lethal.
Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.

-- Carol Ann Duffy

Bosnia

All women believe that some day something supremely agreeable will happen, and that afterwards the whole of life will be agreeable. All men believe that some day they will do something supremely disagreeable, and that afterwards life will move on so exalted a plane that all considerations of the agreeable and disagreeable will prove petty and superfluous. The female creed has the defect of passivity, but it is surely preferable. There is a certain logic behind it. If a supremely agreeable event occurs it is probable that the human beings within its scope will be sweetened, and that therefore life will be by that much more harmonious. But there is no reason to suppose that a supremely disagreeable event will do anything, except strain and exhaust those who take part in it.

-Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon

Ghostface Killahs

I've got a new (and for now, secret) project for Unhallowed Metropolis that makes me want to hear ghost stories that don't suck shit. If you believe you have one of these please email it to me so that I can co-opt your creativity for my own financial gain. Unsurprisingly, Victorian era ghost stories are most desirable.

I will now help inspire your morbid thoughts:

We know who our enemies are.

Over my (extended by snow) holiday break from work I had a great deal of time to sit around and listen to music under alternative circumstances. Consequentially I am rescinding my previous assertions that Neutral Milk Hotel's album "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" sucks. In fact it is kind of awesome but requires more attention than I gave it the first time around having dismissed it as derivative post-Jeff Buckley indie rock. In fact, it predates or was conterminous with the early parts of that scene and is basically awesome.

Oh Comely

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

Sophisticated Side Ponytail