In the (E-)Mail: The Things We Leave Behind.

Well, I’m getting the print copy, too; the PDF for The Things We Leave Behind comes free with the softcover.  This particular Call of Cthulhu supplement won gold at the ENnies for Best Electronic Supplement, so they knocked five bucks off of the purchase price as a thank-you.  Pretty good deal, so I grabbed a copy.

Leafing through it… well, it’s not exactly cheerful.  But you knew that from ‘Call of Cthulhu.’  The state of the tone for adventures in that RPG genre these days aspires to ‘grim.’  Which is fine by me, but you may want to keep that in mind when deciding whether to pick it up.

Creature seed: Bellerophon Para-monkeys.

Bellerophon Para-monkeys – Google Docs

Bellerophon Para-monkeys

 

These primate-like, mammal-equivalents inhabit Bellerophon, the second planet orbiting 51 Pegasi.  They mildly resemble humans, in much the same way that a dolphin resembles a fish; major differences include pupiless green eyes, short brown to red hair covering most of their bodies, and a vestigial tail.  Also, Bellerophon Para-monkeys are about as intelligent as a cow.  On their home planet they are scavengers and molluscivores (snails on 51 Pegasi can grow to impressive sizes, at least for snails).  Most Terran colonists of 51 Pegasi consider them to be mildly annoying critters, but the monkeys tend to be innocuous enough not to be pests.

Continue reading Creature seed: Bellerophon Para-monkeys.

Book of the Week: Golden Age and Other Stories.

Golden Age and Other Stories is Naomi Novik’s collection of stories from her Temeraire series. It’s an interesting collection of alternate takes, short vignettes, and “Dragons and Decorum,” which is absolutely worth the six bucks to any of my readers who enjoy both Napeolonic Wars stories involving dragons AND the works of Jane Austen.  …Yes, that story is exactly what you think that it is, and my only problem with it is that it is far too short*.

And so, adieu to The Man in the High Castle. Continue reading Book of the Week: Golden Age and Other Stories.

Pumpkin Spice season is almost upon us.

I’m eating a bowl of Pumpkin Spice Life cereal even as I write this.  Well, OK, I’m eating, then typing, and so on.  Because if I try to eat and type at the same time then the milk gets into the keyboard, and that’s bad.

The point is: it’s that time again! I know most of you hate the entire pumpkin spice thing, which is fine. Although I think that most people wouldn’t find the cereal objectionable, on its own merits.  It’s mostly the ruthless imposition of the flavor in the fall months that annoys folks. Well, folks who aren’t me, because I’m one of the horrible people who encourages them to put pumpkin spice in All The Things.  I’d apologize for that, except that I try not to lie. So:

The Spice Must Flow.

There’s going to be some changes in the Patreon.

Starting September 1st, the upcoming tiers will be revamped and I’m going to really push the Patreon itself for September.  And couple it with a pledge drive goal over here. Nothing really sp… actually, no: it is all going to be spectacular, and this is an incredible deal that all of your friends should sign up for.  Besides, the more people that do, the more everybody else gets.

So my kids still play Disney Infinity…

…ironically enough, given that they don’t even care a little about Lego Dimensions* (which is still selling toys).  I’ve been thinking about this a little, and I think that the real mistake there was in not having backwards compatibility.  I understand coming out with new versions of the hardware.  But Disney Infinity 3.0 absolutely should have been able to give full functionality to Disney Infinity 1.0 and 2.0 figurines and game worlds.  There was no way I was going to buy earlier versions, then go through the trouble of hooking up cables and then unhooking them every time I wanted to play with the Incredibles instead of Star Wars. Too much valuable living room space would have been taken up by that, honestly. Continue reading So my kids still play Disney Infinity…