Uncle John's Rantings

 From the Big Red Couch podcast: "Here, have a protein squirrel"

I've been publishing playbooks and one page RPGs now since March of this year. Some of them were me just republishing my stuff on DriveThruRPG, others were created after that. And everyone was always work.

The Trouble with Rose playbooks were part of a spate of ideas that I came up with, after my friend Todd Zircher published TTwR on his own site. One was one I had started and finished after a lot of revision, and another just flew out and poof I put out my playbook Gamma Watch: The Trouble with Rose. That's part of a set of different things I want to publish under that name. But... that's for the future. 

Right now I'm cranking on my One Page Wonders, I'm working on another adventure page for Kids' Last Tour, and I just released Toys of Tomorrow. But my next project has the working title of Into the Chasm. Like Kids' Last Tour, Chasm will have a series of "strata" pages, but it will lead to a definite end. How long it will take me to release the full series, I'm not sure. But I do know that I will have to release three products to launch the line: Into the Chasm: First Strata, Into the Chasm Companion, and Into the Chasm: Second Strata. The first two will provide the background and premise for the game, But First Strata has to do double duty: Provide enough background to be viable and stay within the strictures of being a One Page RPG. (No, I'm not going to cheat and say one page, both sides. Most folks don't have a printer that can do two sided printing.)

I'm letting it stew right now, mainly so I can rethink it's layout. I can't make the type any smaller, so I have to either cut text or rewrite and compact descriptions and rules so that they still work, but take up less space. Be less wordy. Wish me luck.

I've moved to DreamWidth and will be migrating all my posts to it. However, because some folks have yet to make the move to DW, I'll still will be checking my LJ reading list.

Grab the nearest book. Find the 5th sentence on page 23. Append it to the paragraph below. Append your name to the list below of people who have contributed to the paragraph. Post the result to your LJ.


They also talk of our being guilty of injustice, and their being the victims of an unjustifiable war. Brandy, and Tom got increasingly close-mouthed and sour. Although a certain sense of tripartite society survived down to Christian times, the three classes described in the Eddic poem "Rigdthula" bear little resemblance to Dumezil's three. It is often argued, and still oftener thought, that none but bad men would desire to weaken these salutary beliefs; and there can be nothing wrong, it is thought, in restraining bad men, and prohibiting what only such men would wish to practice.

At its nearest point the wall was little more than one league from the City, and that was south-eastward. When he saw Jack Hare jump towards the fire, and the Practical Man brandishing the toasting-fork, Sir Isaac grabbed the strings of gravitational force that bound Jack to his destiny and PULLED--- That's a seventy-four gun privateer, besides. To honour a group of British nobles, treacherously slain at a conference by Hengist's guards, Aurelius decides to erect a great monument near Amesbury. That being so, he did not chortle when he went upstairs. Let stand. This ensures that when the garbage collector runs, it has complete access to the memory in the heap and can perform its tasks safely without the threat of being preempted by another thread. And then you may begin to laugh. The data are stored in Column 1 and renamed "Age."

Pull your hand back. I don't remember that any secrets were revealed to me, nor do I remember any avid curiosity on my part to learn something I wasn't supposed to--perhaps I was too young to know what to listen for. You don't remember how awful it is being normal. Highlight the desired state tax table and press Enter. Abraham had now reached a ripe old age, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. The third lieutenant started, then said a little weakly, "Huzzah for Captain Riley."

"Oh," said Pooh. In fact White had carelessly placed the team in Nip without realising it. The "well" symbol (obviously the Existentialist mirror image) combined with the shockingly distraught "feathers" impales with one word a vast social fallacy (man's flight-wish exposed for what it is). No one is going to learn how to make shark' fin soup because they want to.


1) Ranger Rick - 2) Rialian - 3) Elenbarathi - 4) Starsandfishes - 5) Echthros - 6) Doltaghey - 7) Ebonhost - 8) Tibicina 9) Browngirl 10) ceo 11) roozle 12) quietann 13) Dale (achinhibitor) 14) tigerbright 15) autographedcat 16) kitanzi xvii) annonynous 18) thnidu 19) singinglark 20) curiouswombat 21) ffutures 22)johnreiher

 It's fall, and John Kent had a good harvest, so he decided to treat his wife and adopted son, Clark, to a treat: A trip to Gotham City. They took in all the museums, art galleries, and through a chance meeting with Thomas Wayne, philanthropist, they were able to attend the Gotham Opera production of the Der Fledermaus. After the show, the Kents, unfortunately took a wrong turn, and were accosted by one Joe Chill. 

Both of his parents were killed before young Clark's eyes by Chill. His Kryptonian powers were still nascent, so he was unable to stop the criminal, as he shot John and Mary Kent. Chill was captured and sentenced, and Thomas Wayne took Clark under his wing as his ward. Clark grew up with his best friend Bruce, the two became brothers as their friendship grew.

When Clark's Kryptonian powers started to manifest, it was Bruce who helped him hide them and together, they learned how to control them. On Clark's eighteenth birthday, he returned to the farm where he had been raised. Mister Wayne had kept it going for the boy all these years, and a wiser and very much stronger Clark Kent inherited his family's farm. However, he was no longer that naive farmboy from Smallville anymore. And he was not the farmer his father was. So he put the farm up for sale, and set about clearing out the old memories from the house and barn. 

It was in the barn that he found the spaceship that had carried him to Earth. Along with him was Bruce and together, they worked out that Clark was not human, but an alien. From records in the ship, Clark found out that his birth name was Kal-el, and that he was twice over an orphan, that his homeworld was destroyed. 

He was devastated, he wanted to strike back, but, because of the upbringing he had gotten from Thomas Wayne, he could not blindly strike out. But he decided, then and there, that he would avenge the death of all his parents, and he'll start first with Gotham City and its crime ridden streets. As he was discussing this with Bruce, who wanted in on the deal, Clark said, "I need an identity that will strike fear in the hearts of criminals, a cowardly, superstitious lot. But what should I become?"

At that moment, the bats living in the rafters of the barn, woke up and took flight, both young men ducking their heads as the leathery wings flew on by. "That's it Bruce!" Clark cried out, "That's what I'll become! A bat... no, I will become...

Clark Kent, The Batman!"

Enlisting the aid of their trusty butler, Alfred, they fashioned a costume for Clark that would strike terror in the hearts of those who opposed justice and the law. Bruce, with his mechanical genius and head for mysteries, decided to join his brother in arms as a fellow crime fighter.

"I shall follow the philosophy of Nietzsche and use the concept of the Übermensch for my name," said Bruce. "While I do not have your powers Clark, I have trained long and hard by your side. I am at the peak of humanity's ability, both physically and mentally. I am not a mere man... I am a Superman. Yes, that's the name i will use, I shall be...

Bruce Wayne, Superman!"

Together, the dynamic duo fight a never ending battle, for truth, justice and the American way!

 

Heeeee's Baaaaaaaaaaack!

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My user name, "Kedamono" was the one I chose for the old Genie network back in the '80s. At the time, I wanted to use my nickname, Animal, as my user name. But when I tried to use it, I was told it was in use and I could Animal341 or some such number. I didn't care for that, so I grabbed my Japanese to English pocket dictionary and found "Kedamono: Beast or animal" so I picked that. I've been lucky in that it's been a fairly unique username and only recently have I run into at least two other people who use it. 

Now, my nickname Animal came from how I acted back then, and well, it sort of fit. I could also do a decent impression of that Muppet if I wanted to.

The meme goes like this:

• Ask and I'll assign you the basis of some show idea.


• Create the characters you need, including the actors who'd play them. Photos optional but recommended.


• Come up with a general synopsis of the premise.

There have been some wonderful answers, most notably
freifraufischer 's Right Place, Wrong Time, in which a time traveller ends up trapped on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall. Includes links to several more of these outlines.
melyanna 's No Sheep for You, a New Zealand drama series.
aj 's Gotham, basically the Batman saga continuing after Bruce Wayne's death
havocthecat 's The Lonely Sky, a space pirate series.
ffutures ' Jellystone!,  Crime Fighting Park Ranger

So I asked ffutures  to give a show idea, I got: Supernatural Starship Explorers.
( And now, the new TV Show: Dark Stars! )


The show's general premise is that the crew of the Marie Celeste, are interstellar scouts, exploring new worlds, seeking out sentient life, and dealing with the supernatural horrors that exist in the dark of space. They belong to a shadowy organization only known to as The Bureau. The 6 member Bureau team ply the stars, following the signs and portents of their Teela shaman, Sela. The Bureau's primary mission is to keep the citizens of the Commonwealth ignorant of the supernatural creatures that live along side of them. Which puts the team at odds with local law enforcement of member worlds. The crew of the Marie Celeste are also scouts and explore star systems scheduled for colonization, making sure that they are safe for the colonists.

There are only two known alien races, the small and strong Teela and the tall Shruam at the start of the series. However, evidence for a third, unknown race will surface, ending in a cliff hanger ending episode when they are revealed.

The Marie Celeste is built from modular sections, like all space and star ships, and can be updated or expanded as needed. This is a Hard Science Fiction show, so there is no such thing as artificial gravity, other than provided by counter rotating lifesystem pods of the Marie Celeste. Travel to other star systems is done through wormholes that the ship opens up and drops into and almost instantaneously appearing at their destination. Travel time in system takes weeks if the exit wormhole is formed far out from the target world. Otherwise, it's only a couple of days. Which drives Sela up the wall.

The series opens with the Marie Celeste entering the Fomalhaut system for resupply and repair. There, Captain Granger encounters an old flame in the form of the Station Master Betty Alverez. She's the fourth generation of Alverez's that have run Alverez Station for years. Alverez Station is a large O'Neill style space colony and mining concern in the target rich environment of the Fomalhaut system. They encounter a particularly nasty entity that lives in the Fomalhaut's corona and deal with it with a little damage to the station.

During the course of the first season they will encounter various otherworldly supernatural entities and creatures, along with some good old fashion terrestrial ones as well. Like the lyncanthrope family living on the earth-like exomoon Smith's Hold or the vampire running a numbers game and illegal blood drive. While all this is happening, there will be indications that someone or something is infiltrating Commonwealth space and abducting people. The series cliffhanger provides the big reveal as to who has been spying on humanity. A fellow Terran, but one from the past: Sapient Raptors. They discovered wormholes, but they are using them to find a future that they can conquer with their warships and soldiers.

And it's up to the crew of the Marie Celeste to stop them!


Captain Granger hails from Earth, and has worked for the Bureau for several years before being assigned as the captain of the Marie Celeste. His command style is by the book and while he is willing to ask for opinions, he has the final say in what happens to his ship and crew. But because his crew is a bit on the rebellious side, this almost never happens. Especially when he has to deal with Sela or his second in command, Andrea North. He was recruited by the Bureau after he had an encounter with a nasty urban spirit, a street troll. He takes his responsibilities seriously, but does have a light side, he is an amateur botanist. Once the team has set up camp on some alien world, he'll be out collecting samples and examining the flora of the planet. This has gotten him into trouble more than once.


To say that Sela is impetuous, is like saying a super nova is kind of bright. She is a Teela and hails from the Teela homeworld, Teelaka. It's a super earth and has a surface gravity of 1.5 Gs, so despite being small, Sela is strong and quick. But she's no fighter, she is a magic user and at a drop of a hat, she'll sketch out a magic circle and do magic to solve a problem. Like opening a locked door. Or getting a jar from the top shelf. This wouldn't be a problem, except that her people's magic revolves around summoning spirits and minor demons to do their bidding. Sela pretends that she doesn't care about the others on the team, but in reality is totally dependent on them for their friendship and protection. When caught off guard, her true emotions shine through. But until that happens, she'll treat the rest of them as though they were her none to bright servants when it comes to magic.

Teela are a small race, lime green lizard-like skin, sharp canines, anime elf ears, strong bones, and lighting-like reflexes. They are a pre-technology race, still using animal power and buildings made out of cut stone and mud bricks. When contacted by humanity, the Teela latched onto man like a limpet. On every human or Shruam world, you'll find Teelas. The little green people are hard workers and can more than pull their own weight.


Andrea grew up on the colony world Minerva, and found out about the supernatural when she encountered the Ur-spirits of her world. She befriended them and let them take up residence in her family's homestead. They became a bit like the Shoemaker's Elves, doing chores and good deeds for the family at night, when no one was awake, except for Andrea. For her, they would appear and help her out with her chores. A local Bureau agent discovered her and the spirits and paid for her to go to Mars to study and become a Bureau agent. She has more practical experience with alien supernatural creatures than Captain Granger, and she's not afraid to let him know that.  But don't write her off as a sandal wearing, new age hippie. She grew up with nature spirits and those tend to be excitable and nasty at times. So she has a mouth on her and always has wise-ass comment or comeback ready to go. But she does adhere to the chain of command, even though she likes pulling that chain at times.


René hails from the orbital mining colony of Alverez Station in orbit around the star Fomalhaut. There he learned the ins and outs of space drives and ships, and runs engineering as his own personal domain. He's spends more time in zero g than the rest of crew, so he's the most at risk for bone breakage, despite the medical treatments that he takes. It was in space that he encountered the spirits of deep space. Beings that live in the solar plasma streams and sail the solar wind.  Let him out into space in his space suit, he'll make contact with these beings. How he ended up working for the Bureau, no one knows, but there he is.


Melody is the Marie Celeste's AI, though that's not exactly correct. She's the ghost of a dead Bureau agent that possessed the ship's AI would be more correct. When Melody Fletcher bought the big one, her spirit couldn't rest since her fellow teammates were still in trouble. So she possessed the ship's AI and took over control of Marie Celeste and rescued the crew. She now happily lives in the ship's controls and can operate every remote on the ship, much to René's chagrin. She can manifest using the ship's hologram projector, and does so whenever she can. She has/had a crush on René and keeps a close eye on him. She will send a remote out along with the crew when they are planetside and she has become an ace astrogator, since she's now the ship's pilot and navigator as well.

O'on, otherwise know as "Owen" by the rest of the team, is a Shruam. The Shruam hail from the planet Küla, a smaller planet with only .8 Gs. The Shruam grow big because of the lighter gravity and Owen is a prime example. He's also an empath and can read emotions like a book. As Ship's Purser, he's in charge of outfitting and supplying the ship. Because he is an empath, he is also the ship's "Face" person. Need to smooth some ruffled feathers? Owen smoothes them. Need to interrogate a suspect? Owen makes them feel like his bestest buddy and they talk about old times.

Despite his size, he is a gentle giant, since he can't turn off his empath power, he feels every blow when he beats up a bad guy. And he does beat up the bad guys when he has to, but to him, it's only as a last resort. He prefers living in space, it keeps the noise down in his heart and head.

Shruams are large due to the lower gravity on their world and have a thick skin that is partly radiation resistant as Küla is a tidally locked planet in orbit about an M type star, called locally "Sülü". They have a thicker skull than humans, and skin color varies from light tan to almost mahogany for Shruam that live directly under their sun, in an perpetual noon. Shruam don't sleep, but they do dream, and do so while wide awake and working. It's not unusual to have one space out on you while they experienced a vivid hallucination. When they were encountered by humanity, they were at a mid 21st tech level, and already had space stations in orbit about their world. They learned human technology and set out on their own, forming Shruam colonies.

Recurring Characters:


Space Marshall Warren Oates
Sam Elliott


Bureau Section Chief Aston Shelley
Dennis Waterman (A bit miffed, since the theme music has no lyrics)


Station Master Betty Alverez
Victoria Abril

So if you want me to give you a show idea, let me know and I'll do so!