A great reversal in fortune has come in the face to face gaming group thing!

As of last week I returned to Storm City with a small group of players. Under advisement from offical Storm City consultant Brian Carthey, I am giving it another go without doing a massive overhaul of the setting. One solo adventure just isn't enough to make putting it back up on the blocks an option yet. More testing is required. No sense in throwing away two years worth of work.

Reconnecting with old RPG friends has also been beneficial in making this happen. Having players on the same page as you can make these sort of things go more smoothly.

Not that this should all be done telepathically. I put to together a setting pack which included a setting overview along with basic mechanics and creation briefs. The setting specific will find its way here as will some sort of play log after a time. How long this game will go is anyone's guess. Obviously to avoid any copyright hassles, the system specific stuff will be abscent.

I got my fingers crossed.

Lastly we come to the Twelvepence update. When I have the time and inclination to do the system monkey thing, I have been working on it. Since I am by no means a die hard when it comes to system design, this has put the whole thing on the slow track. I've been tempted to set bits of it off to The Forge Forums to get feedback but really...I have plenty on the plate right now.

While I was greatly enthused with the online RPG community in the past, I am trying to focus on what I can do on a small scale.I think I have had my fill of armchair game theory for awhile. Actual play is far more important. What value does any of it have if you don't use it. Besides all the system bashing is pointless. The best way to fight against a maligned system is by action and not words. Show what you want the gaming experience to be and make it so.

Of course being flexible is good since RPG is a communal activity. But always keeping in mind what you want the hobby to do is important to. Too many gamers in my area don't play the way they want to in fear of having no players. But really...If you aren't getting the thing you want out of it is it worth it? Is bad gaming better than none at all? My answer is no.

One of the most exciting things about the new group is we are also getting an infusion of fresh blood. Some players have played very little if at all. This really opens things up in new and exciting ways. It is so easy to make the hobby a closed environment. Do yourself a favor - get some people who never played and show 'em how!

Okay okay end of sermon. More as it happens.

Thanks for stopping in - George

Annoyedly,I am still in limbo. With the group stalled out due to external forces, I have been less prolific with gaming stuff. Lots of setting ideas little application. As pointed out to me by my first, but hopefully not my last encounter with UA, you can't just armchair the stuff and expect it to work.

Since I am persistent if nothing else, I am looking to other options to continue gaming. This may mean putting together another group. Which sucks since everybody was cool with what we had cooking.

I have been reading quite a bit Hubris Games/Story Engine stuff these days. So chances are strong this will be the next game I'll run when I get a chance. In addition, I am thinking of running a Feng Shui demo at a local shop to sample "local" talent

What does this mean for this site?

A real big slowdown that's what. I have some things that I wanted to post for a while. I think the best course of action is to take some time and do some inventory. Get a backlog of stuff ready for post and then go from there.

The big thing I want to get posted now is a new game of my own I've begun work on. I told myself after a few unsatisfactory attempts, I was done fooling with game mechanics. Then just the other day, I came up with Twelvepence.

Twelvepence will be posted real soon since I am dying for feedback on it. Will this be in a week or another month is anyone's guess.

Thanks for stopping in - George

I know things have been slow on the gaming side of things but,life permitting, there are things to come. More than likely on the Feng side of things. Other projects still persist but the gaming group has hit a snag, that life thing again, but we should be back in business soon!

As for the long languishing will it ever get done Storm City Project, I am at an impasse. While I am still into it, I am not sure if it will fit the group I am in right now.

If there is anything I have learned from this gaming page is that if you can't demo the setting what is the sense of working on it? SO "SCP" is now trapped in limbo until I can get another chance to run it. My first session in UA was very informative if not exactly what I wanted.

This does not mean I have given up on it. Instead, I feel like I have to strip back down alittle and rebuild.The upshot and the downside of this is I got tons of material.

Since this is the case, I think it might be good to start posting less setting specific stuff and build up to a full blown "this is the setting" type post.

Believe me, some days I just want to toss it in.

Okay.That's it for now.

Thanks for stopping in - George Greyshirt

I made it back! New Neon Lotus stuff! I did a little restructure to include any future Feng Stuff which may fall outside of that particular setting.

Recently ran my first Storm City adventure, Spider and Fly. While somewhat successful, there are some changes I will need to make to fit our group. How this will affect the setting's recent form is uncertain. I am going through a small rethink on SC. I have been working on it so long that I feel alittle nervous about posting and running it. I just want it to be perfect. And I almost never like that.

Been reading & rereading the Maelstrom (& Story Engine)stuff,lately. Great stuff which I can't wait to run in some form. Depending on how I feel about Storm City in the next couple of weeks, it just might be the next thing I run after I run my next Feng Shui adventure. That would be some three months from now!