Gaming and music Post - and Rogue update

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As (nearly) everyone knows, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, Gary Gygax, died this week. I cannot honestly say I was particularly a fan of any of the game systems he developed (Dungeons & Dragons, Cybog Commando, Mythus, Lejendary Adventures), nor most of the scenarios he developed, not to mention his ethical reasoning in rpgs. Nevertheless the contribution of D&D to the gaming world is underestimated; with hundreds of "copycat" games after D&D (many of them significant improvements) and almost the entire fantasy computer game industry, Gygax will certainly be remembered. The comic The Order of the Stick, provides its own excellent tribute.

Apropros to this I suppose I should announce that I've been asked to write for Polymancer, a rather good Canadian print RPG magazine. My initial article is on "Bad Game Design", which inspired me to conduct a couple of straw-polls on livejournal and RPG.net on what constitutes the worst roleplaying game of all time. RPG.net has put up my review of HeroQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and there's a more than outside chance that I'll be heavily involved in the next edition of Rolemaster's Campaign Law.

Every so often I go on a bit of splurge on music purchases. Most recent haul includes the following: Monty Python - Best Of, Public Image Ltd - Greatest Hits So Far, ELO - Time, Blancmange - Living on the Ceiling, Asia - Alpha, Orbital - Halcyon Best Of, Psychedelic Furs - Pretty In Pink - Best Of, Pop Will Eat Itself - Now For A Feast, Chapterhouse Very Best Of, China Crisis - Difficult Shapes and Passive Rhythms Some People Think It's Fun to Entertain, Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Welcome To Pleasure Dome CD, Jacques Brel - Here's Jacques Brel Best Of, Jean-Michel Jarre - Zoolook, Ultravox! - The Island Years, Ultravox! - Ha! Ha! Ha!, Ultravox! - Systems of Romance. The latter two I picked up purely by luck by visiting Dixons prior to going to Polly's for Brendan E's, birthday drinks. Whilst the list does read a little like "important but relatively unknown music from the eighties", a major exception to this is the late 70's LPs from Ultravox! (with exclamation mark) which, for music aficiandos, should be distinguished from Ultravox. Whilst I don't mind the Midge Ure led latter band or its string of commercial hits, the earlier incarnation with John Foxx was well ahead of its time, with some brilliant poetic lyrics (see in particular Hiroshima Mon Amour, Just for A Moment, I Want To Be A Machine, My Sex and The Wild, The Beautiful and the Damned).

Rogue Rat is not in the best state. Whilst clearly a content he's spending much of his time asleep with a sloppy grin on his rodent face, his movement these days is quite shaky and he's given up eating solids (although he's been coaxed into eating baby food, soy milk, cheesecake and the like). Over the past few weeks he's lost about 20% of his total body mass. Unfortunately I don't think they little guy's going to make it to 100 rat-years. Still, he's had an excellent life and is clearly appreciative of the attention he's getting in his twilight days.

Comments

[i-beloved.livejournal.com]

Nice! @ musical pick ups :) esp, PiL, Furs and Poppies!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the Poppies LP is the expanded version so it also has those classic covers of Shriekback's "Everything That Rises", Sigue Sigue Sputnik's "Love Missile F-111" and Hawkwind's "Orgone Accumulator".

Ahem. And "Beaver Patrol". Ahh, those lads.

[mia76.livejournal.com]

poor thing.
are you planning on bringing him to the vet?
*hugs Rogue*

[caseopaya.livejournal.com]

It's mainly old age unfortunately -no cue for that yet. We're keeping him as comfortable as possible. It's so sad to see him this way though :(

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

You're more upset about than he is! Take a lesson from Rogue's book!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I don't think so. Although our vet is very pro-rat and has looked after Rogue a couple of times in the past I think this one is just the effects of old age...

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Actually we had a rethink over dinner. It's possible that his teeth have gotten a little too long or the bottom pair separated. So we will take him to the vet tomorrow morn. It's just so hard to tell as he's so old!

[tempusfrangit.livejournal.com]

*skritches and yogies for Rogue*

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Sadly he's not eating Yogies any more. Yoghurt on the other hand he'll lick up with passion.

[splodgenoodles.livejournal.com]

I'm glad Rogue's having a comfortable dotage at least.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

He seems pretty glad about it as well :-)

PS: Long time no see kemosabe... We must catch up soon!

[splodgenoodles.livejournal.com]

That would be dandy! Give us a hoy when you feel so inclined.

[cluebyfour.livejournal.com]

That's quite a retro list. My best retro pickup of recent years is a CD of remixes from A Split-Second, who probably would have been more successful had it not been for that other Belgian EBM band, Front 242.

Sorry to hear about your critter. Hope his remaining days are peaceful.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Front 242 got in big quickly, I remember reading about them in NME in 1984. Thinking that they sounded cool, I snipped the article are stored it away. Imagine my surprise a few years later when 'Headhunter' became such an a huge hit!

Now, thanks to you, I have another EBM band to find. Merci beaucoup!

[cluebyfour.livejournal.com]

Happy shopping! Front's stuff should be easy to find, but I'm not so sure about A Split-Second--I got my CD second-hand from a friend.

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

Damnit, looks like I've been wrong about what 'Lawful Good' means and our series of psychotic paladins have been right all this time :-(

(Is it just me, or can the 'kill them while they're in a state of virtue' argument work just as well on humans?)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Gygax contradicted himself all the time. In addition to those comments on En World, in the DMG states that the AD&D definition of "good" is based on the principle that "each creature is entitled to life, relative freedom and the prospect of happiness".

That's certainly the rules that my Paladin, Sir duc Sean of the Innocent, is playing by.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Also...

(Is it just me, or can the 'kill them while they're in a state of virtue' argument work just as well on humans?)

Probably not. Humans, the ever-adaptable, have a variety of alignments where the orc is, apparently, intrinsically evil. :(

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but why take even a small chance that somebody might slip and go to hell when you can guarantee them a place in heaven?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

*nods* Kill 'em whilst their still good :-)

[madame-mage.livejournal.com]

oohhhh..*gently strokes the elderly Rogue's head with one finger*..

I've been feeling it, I've told my son I want two boy Ratties for my birthday next month..My next door neighbor got a hamster for her daughter and alto the furball is sooo cute even touched noses with me. My heart yearns for a rat!

keep us updated on Rogue?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

*nods* Will keep all updated on Rogue news. He appreciates the scritches, and gave a little lick in return.

He just went out to dinner at our local pizza/pasta bar and enjoyed some pasta sauce for a vegetarian lasagne followed by some choclate mousse and creme... He's not doing bad.. :-)

[maxxxie2.livejournal.com]

Very sorry to hear that Rogue's ailing, but it sounds like he's still loving life. There are worse ways to live life than licking up yoghurt and chocolate mousse :)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Sadly Rogue has now crossed the rainbow bridge... I'm just about to go bury the little guy.

He passed away incredibly peacefully :-)

[aurickandrien.livejournal.com]

I think as far as orc babies goes it might depend somewhat on whether we're talking about mockeries of humanoids created by evil gods, or talking about a bunch of Humans with green skins. I know it's not a tasteful concept but if they are actually born evil and pretty much incapable of good then what are you going to do? Besides pray to the GM...

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

It is a little difficult to reconcile even a semblance of free will will with innate evil. Are Orcs machines or moral agents?

[aurickandrien.livejournal.com]

I think that Orcs are probably innately evil, and that if you manage to uncorrupt them then they'll probably become something other than Orcs... Probably something that looks like an Elf that's been put through the ringer.

The main problem I have with Gygax's method is that it if you can convert an Orc to good then I think it pretty much stands to reason that if you put in enough effort you should be able to make it stay that way - we are talking about the land of D&D where there exist such things as the atonement spell and properly sanctified temples - which you would think is the sort of trial that some deeply religious temple out there would welcome.

[taavi.livejournal.com]

Talking of RPG design, did you see that China Mieville's New Crobuzon is getting a RPG? I'm hoping they make a serious attempt to model his Marxist social dynamics (did you read Iron Council?) though I fear they'll duck the issue.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I was completely unaware of that. Thanks for the head's up..

I wonder if I can organise an interview with him... Hmmmm...