Happy Halodays!

Howdy, everyone! I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season. 

The boys got some fun gaming stuff for Christmas this year, including D&D miniatures, a copy of the new 5.5 Player's Handbook for each of them, and the cool new Halo miniatures game. We also played through one of the adventures from the Cypher System Starter Set, which required a lot of deep dives into the rulebook, but it turned out pretty well. We're still a long way from starting a new campaign using this system, but at least it's another step in the right direction!

Imperial Hymn

The boys and I aren't really into Warhammer stuff these days, but this video was just flat-out awesome...

Phase 1 Underway!

I mentioned last month that I've elected to use the Cypher System for my upcoming Vanguard sci-fi campaign and, ideally, all new campaigns in the Front Porch Multiverse going forward. (Side note: Big thank-you to my good friend Matt for really diving into the Cypher System rules!) One of the advantages of this system is that it's genre-agnostic, so it can be used for fantasy, modern, cyberpunk, or whatever. With a single ruleset, it will be super-duper easy for PCs and NPCs alike to cross over from one campaign to another. 

That got me thinking that I should pull together my notes from various campaigns -- names, places, storylines, adventure summaries, and the like -- and put them all into a single spreadsheet like the enormous one I created for the Druid Cycle campaign world. I have really great documentation from campaigns of the last few years -- Dark Enigma, Doctor Who, Tales of the Ternion -- so Phase 1 of my project is just to grab all that stuff and put it into one file. That's the easy part. 

Phase 2 is to go back to the not-so-well-documented campaigns of yesteryear, such as the Cyberwars series, and comb through my remaining notes for all the relevant info I can find. (Tim W, prepare to have your brain wracked!) The goal isn't to track down every last NPC name or obscure location, but essentially to mine those disparate records for anything that might help enrich future Front Porch Multiverse campaigns. 

Phase 3? I don't even want to think about it yet, but the final step is surely to merge the sheet created in the first two phases with the existing Druid Cycle spreadsheet to create one definitive repository of campaign data.

A Stark Victory

With Matthew at a swim meet in Arizona this weekend, Amy, Nathaniel, and I kept busy with a lengthy Game of Thrones board game session that took us a pretty good chunk of the weekend to complete. Nathaniel played as House Stark, Amy was House Baratheon, and I was House Lannister. I was in the lead for much of the game, or at least tied with Nathaniel, and it all came down to the final turn, when Amy seized one of my castles, which gave Nathaniel sole position of the lead in victory points. So I guess Bran Stark ended up on the Iron Throne after all, just like in the show! How it all played out was quite different; for one thing, the standard version of the game omits those pesky Targaryens...

Dark Tomb: Bloodthorn Island

On a quiet Thanksgiving day, my nephew Daniel joined Matthew, Nathaniel, and me for the second installment of the Dark Tomb series of super-tiny cooperative fantasy boardgames. Matthew and I reprised our roles from the first campaign -- a rogue-type for him, a ranger-type for me -- while Nathaniel opted for a warrior-type instead of the spellcaster he had used in the first one, and Daniel chose a cleric-type. In this campaign, we needed to procure a ship, travel to a distant island, and defeat a powerful draconic foe. We got the ship easily enough, but things went haywire soon after we set sail, as we ended up triggering all the monsters too quickly and they came swimming in hot pursuit of our vessel. Thanks to some clever use of items and Nathaniel's character's ability to reflect damage back at foes who hit him, we managed to survive the journey to the island. That final segment started off auspiciously, but the final boss turned out be a handful. Fortunately, it moved very slowly, so we were able to scamper away and come up with a plan. Matthew and I softened it up with ranged attacks, then Nathaniel allowed himself to take a huge hit so he could reflect damage back at the dragon, and finally Daniel finished it off with a powerful harpoon gun we had assembled from items scattered across the island. What a fun way to pass the time until Thanksgiving dinner!

It's a Thing of Beauty

Really digging the Cypher System. That is all.

Dune: Prophecy

Dune: Prophecy debuts this Sunday, November 17, on HBO and Max. Here's to another amazing journey into the "Dune-iverse"!

Cypher System

Recently the boys got me thinking about running a campaign set in my Vanguard universe, a sci-fi setting that has its origins in my very early childhood and has remained with me to this day. Most of my modern-setting campaigns -- from the cyberpunk Cyberwars (early 1990s) through the superheroes of Tales of the Ternion (2022) -- are essentially prequels of the Vanguard story. 

I've been looking around for an appropriate game system for this campaign, and gave the Alien RPG serious consideration, along with some d20-based systems. The boys, Nathaniel in particular, have broken the TinyD6 system (damn their incredible math skills!), so I needed something a bit more robust. I landed on Monte Cook's Cypher System, and now I'm kicking myself that I didn't find it sooner. This would have been the perfect system for all non-fantasy campaigns in my Front Porch multiverse. We could have used it for Tales of the Ternion, Doctor Who, Dark Enigma, and so many others. Well, better late than never! The Cypher System is now the official game engine of the multiverse.

Legacy of Kain

At long last, my Legacy of Kain Collection for Evercade is on its way. I've never played any games from this acclaimed vampire series, so I can't wait to sink my teeth into them!

Waiting Game

I've been waiting patiently (well, not really) for my latest Evercade fix: Tomb Raider Collection 1 and the Legacy of Kain Collection. In the meantime, I've been catching up on some Warhammer painting projects and planning lots of encounters and subplots for the current Druid Cycle storyline. After years (decades) of campaigns focused on supervillain-type foes, it feels fresh and exciting to be building toward a very different kind of crisis: World War Druid Cycle!

Empire of the Ghouls

As a kind of farewell to "classic" Fifth Edition, I've been playing through Empire of the Ghouls (from Kobold Press) over the past few months and just finished it up last weekend. I used a solo character (beastmaster ranger) and a sidekick (prodigy spellcaster) who were slightly over-level to make up for the fact that there were only two characters (and a faithful animal companion!) in the party. I really had a blast! Empire is a full-fledged campaign, and a first-rate one at that. Highly recommended!

DC Season 3 Championship

Riverton Racers (3rd place) vs. Troya Nova Paladins (4th place)

The Racers hosted their franchise's first home-field playoff game at the Circus in the Bankside district of Riverton. (Tim W's wizard Cathbad helped secure the funding for that facility many years ago -- I hope he found time in his busy adventuring schedule to catch the most important sporting event ever held in that arena!) It wasn't a battle of the league's best teams, perhaps, but a battle of the league's hottest teams. The match certainly did not disappoint. Vico scored on the game's first shot, and the Racers played with the lead for nearly 60 minutes. Midway through the second half, Apollonius scored to tie the game, but Gratian's inexcusable red card put the Paladins down a man heading into extra time. Who would emerge as the hero? Well, it wouldn't be the Racers' franchise savior, Vico, because he reverted to the kind of goonery that got him run out of Prospect and was hit with a red card of his own. Both teams played ten aside, therefore, as the game moved into the second half of extra time. With the minutes slipping away toward a dreaded decision by penalty kicks, Racers forward Mattias tallied the first playoff goal of his career. At the final whistle, it was 2-1 for the Racers, and the league's two-time cellar dwellers had claimed the Thaler Cup in Season 3!

Fort Allegheny

We haven't had much of an opportunity in recent months to play our zombie apocalypse campaign, Dark Enigma, but I was at least able to set up the next location: a remote government facility where the heroes are hoping to find some answers. Everything looks...intact, but what horrors lurk within?

DC Season 3 Playoffs

Semifinal 1: Prifddinas Golden Dragons (1st place) vs. Troya Nova Paladins (4th place)

The Dragons were flying high coming into this game, with the league's best goal differential (+14), offense (2.36 goals per game), and defense (1.36 goals against per game) as they sought to defend their Season 2 Thaler Cup championship. The Paladins, meanwhile, had slipped all the way to fourth place primarily because of their defense (1.93 goals against per game, vs. last season's 1.30). Perhaps it was memories of their epic extra-time victory over the Dragons in the Season 1 championship game, but something certainly brought out the best in the Paladins, who played a nearly flawless match and cruised to a 3-1 victory on the road. Superstar forward Belisarius went a long way toward expunging his reputation as a playoff choker by scoring his first two career postseason goals. The only downside for the faithful of Mithras was that key midfielder Theophilus picked up two yellow cards and thus will have to sit out the championship game.

Semifinal 2: Troya Nova Imperials (2nd place) vs. Riverton Racers (3rd place)

The Imperials were runners-up for the Cup last year and just completed their best-ever regular season. Their offense was barely league-average, but they won a lot of close, low-scoring games thanks in part to a stellar 1.43 goals-against per game, which was tied for second in the league with their first-round opponent, the Racers. It was Riverton's solid offense (2.21 goals per game), however, that allowed them to leap over the Paladins and the Prospect Pioneers in the final regular-season game and claim a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history. This game started off quietly with a scoreless first half, but the teams combined for four goals in a wild second frame. Early in extra time, Racers midfielder Haelmoren scored from long range to make it 3-2, and the side from Riverton managed to kill the clock and secure their place in the Thaler Cup championship.

5.5 in Hand

Our copy of the new PHB arrived today. Nathaniel has been exploring the changes and has already identified some pretty broken character options. I foresee him wanting to switch over our existing campaigns to 5.5 sooner rather than later. Not so for poor Matthew, whose artificer has no 5.5 equivalent...

DC Season 3 Awards

We'll hand out the individual hardware before the playoffs begin. Belisarius of the Troya Nova Paladins won his second consecutive scoring title with 12 goals in 14 games. Through three seasons, he's the game's all-time leader in goals with 27. The MVP award, meanwhile, went to a member of the Riverton Racers. After finishing in last place in Seasons 1 and 2, the Racers made a trade with the Prospect Pioneers to acquire feisty forward Vico, whose penchant for penalties almost outpaced his prodigious scoring talents. Vico behaved himself in Riverton, and his team-high 9 goals (tied for third in the league) boosted the Racers into the playoffs.

Dark Tomb: The Ice Chasers

The third game of the pocket-sized dungeon-crawler Dark Tomb launched on Kickstarter this morning. It was funded in about five minutes! 

The boys and I played through the original Dark Tomb during our trip to New York this past summer. We'll probably dive into the second game when we visit my in-laws for Thanksgiving or Christmas. The third one should arrive just in time for next summer's travel!

Halftime

I've reached the midpoint of Season 3, and it's shaping up to be a three-way race between the Golden Dragons (4-1-2), the Racers (3-1-3), and the Paladins (3-1-3). The Imperials and Pioneers will likely contend for the fourth and final playoff spot, with perhaps the Defenders in the mix as well, but it would take a miracle for the Gauntlets or Navigators to climb out of the cellar. 

The biggest story so far is the meteoric rise of the Racers, who finished in last place in the league's first two seasons. This year, they're tied for the best goals-against per game (1.29) and boast the second-best goal differential (+7). Can the Racers sprint from worst to first? To do so, they'll have to run past the first-place Dragons, who score a league-leading 2.57 goals per game and have the top goal differential at +8. 

Whether they finish first, second, or anywhere better than dead last, the Racers can thank striker Vico, whose 5 goals are tied for second in the league behind the Paladins' Belisarius (6). Vico, a talented but penalty-prone star, wore out his welcome with the Prospect Pioneers and was traded to the Racers in the offseason. Now he's the frontrunner for MVP as he leads his team on a race to the playoffs.

DC Season 3

I've been having so much fun with my Druid Cycle league in Sensible Soccer that I've started Season 3 well ahead of schedule. Two new squads join the league as expansion teams, bringing us up to eight total franchises across the three main human nations of this campaign world. 

Team Name	City	Nation	Season Joined
Defenders	Caer Eurfryn	Teyrnas	3rd
Gauntlets	Riverton	Southern Principalities	2nd
Golden Dragons	Prifddinas	Teyrnas	1st
Imperials	Troya Nova	Troya Nova	1st
Navigators	Liminia	Troya Nova	3rd
Paladins	Troya Nova	Troya Nova	1st
Pioneers	Prospect	Southern Principalities	2nd
Racers	Riverton	Southern Principalities	1st

The Paladins won the coveted Thaler Cup in Season 1, followed by the Golden Dragons in Season 2. Who will claim this year's prize?

DC Season 2 Championship

Prifddinas Golden Dragons (2nd place) vs. Troya Nova Imperials (4th place)
With an all-time record of 3-0-1 against the Imperials, the Dragons were confident, but also wary; they had come this far last season, as well, only to suffer a heartbreaking loss in extra time. In this game, in front of their roaring fans, the Dragons jumped out to a 2-0 first-half lead authored by Niall and Luaran. The real story of the game, however, was the Dragons' midfield: Huwcyn, Daithi, and Ederyn absolutely dominated the center of the pitch. The Imperials found themselves unable to break through and get clean scoring chances, and a frustrated Agrippa even picked up his first-ever yellow card. It was more of the same in the second half, and midfielder Huwcyn put the game away with a goal that made it 3-0 for the home side. Huwcyn, the heart and soul of the Dragons, had atoned for his ill-timed red card in the Season 1 championship game against the Paladins. There would be no such mishap in this contest. The Golden Dragons played a nearly flawless game and have won their first Thaler Cup!

DC Season 2 Playoffs

Semifinal 1: Troya Nova Paladins (1st place) vs. Troya Nova Imperials (4th place)

In the brief, two-season history of this league, the Paladins were a perfect 4-0-0 against their crosstown rivals. Easy win for the defending champions? Not so fast! The Imperials came right at their foes with a relentless attack that tested goalkeeper Zeno early and often. In front of him, the Paladins responded to the pressure with unruly behavior that earned them three yellow cards. The Imperials' Agrippa scored midway through first half to put fear into the hearts of the Paladins' faithful, while keeper Primus made huge stops before and after the midway mark to preserve the visitors' slim lead. When Julus tacked on an insurance goal in the 88th minute, it was game over. The final was 2-0 for the Imperials, who will now vie for their first league championship.

Semifinal 2: Prifddinas Golden Dragons (2nd place) vs. Prospect Pioneers (3rd place)

This year, the expansion Pioneers went 2-0-0 against the Dragons, winning those games by a combined score of 7-1. Prifddinas didn't want that trend to continue any further. They dominated ball possession from the opening whistle, picking up early goals by Niall and Finan. Josias cut the Dragons' lead in half, but Niall tallied his second of the game as the first half came to a close. The second half featured a lot of exciting back-and-forth action, but no more scoring. Prifddinas held on for a 3-1 win and will face the upstart Imperials for the Thaler Cup.

DC Season 2 Awards

In Season 1 of my Druid Cycle soccer league, Agrippa of the Troya Nova Imperials and Niall of the Prifddinas Golden Dragons shared the scoring title with 6 goals over the brief 6-game regular season. Midfielder Nicephorus of the Troya Nova Paladins won the MVP trophy as the best all-around player. 

This year, with two new teams and a 10-game regular season, there were many more players and many more opportunities for those players to demonstrate their skills. Star forward Belisarius of the Paladins won the scoring title with 10 goals, well ahead of Agrippa (8), Niall (7), and Belisarius's teammate Apollonius (5). The MVP award, however, was not as clear-cut as it was last season. Belisarius finished  third in the MVP race on the basis of his incredible offensive season. The MVP runner-up was goalkeeper Meilir of the Riverton Racers, who blocked a league-best 13.4 shots per game (well ahead of the second-most-tested keeper, Giles of the Riverton Gauntlets, who blocked 10.8 per game), but Meilir's case would have been stronger if his team hadn't been in the cellar. Ultimately, the MVP award went to Agrippa, who scored a remarkable 42.1% of his team's goals; as the Imperials faded down the stretch, Agrippa almost single-handedly dragged them into a playoff spot.

Fingers Crossed...

Wizards called it One D&D for a while, and others are calling it 5.5. Call it whatever you want, I just hope it's good. Here's the review from EN World.

DC Season 2

Shortly after completing the first, I moved right in to a second season of my Druid Cycle league in Sensible Soccer. Two new teams have joined the mix -- the Riverton Gauntlets and the Prospect Pioneers -- giving us six franchises in all. To accommodate the larger number of teams, the regular season increased from 6 games per team to 10 games per team.

For the second straight year, the Troya Nova Paladins and Prifddinas Golden Dragons finished first and second, respectively, while the expansion Pioneers and the Troya Nova Imperials claimed playoff spots as the third- and fourth-ranked teams. Both of Riverton's franchises brought up the rear, with the Gauntlets squeaking past the hapless Racers. Among individual performers, Belisarius of the Paladins led the way with an astounding 10 goals in 10 games, followed by Agrippa of the Imperials with 8 and Niall of the Dragons with 7. 

The first-round playoff pairings will be really compelling. In one matchup, the two teams based in the sprawling metropolis of Troya Nova will duke it out for a spot in the finals. The Paladins had the league's best offense (2.40 goals per game) and best defense (1.30 goals against per game), but the Imperials were surprisingly stingy as well, with only 1.50 goals allowed per match. If superstar striker Agrippa can work his magic, the Imperials might just upset the defending champions. In the other first-round contest, the Dragons have a nightmare matchup against the expansion Pioneers, who went 2-0-0 against the Prifddinas side during the regular season, outscoring them by a total of 7-1. The Pios don't have a star of Niall's caliber, but they come at you with a balanced and relentless attack; forwards Remi, Josias, and Vico each had 4 goals, and the slick Siriano led all the league's midfielders with 3 tallies. 

The playoffs begin later this week!

Update Complete

I've now completed a massive update to my Druid Cycle notes based on the archives I discovered on the old Tandy computer at my parents' house. So much rich detail added to my spreadsheet! I think this information is really going to enhance the experience for this new generation of players.

Paladins Claim the Thaler Cup!

Donated by Thaler, the wealthiest merchant in the Druid Cycle campaign world, the Thaler Cup will be awarded to the winner of my fantasy soccer league each season. In this first campaign, the first-place Paladins duked it out with the second-place Golden Dragons for the inaugural Thaler Cup.

The championship game was scoreless through a full 90 minutes of play. The Dragons' keeper, Morcan, was phenomenal, as he kept his team in the game despite a 17-2 shot advantage for the Paladins during regulation time. In extra time, however, Gratian and Apollonius both scored to give the Paladins a 2-0 victory. (In keeping with soccer's FIFA World Cup, I'm using full periods of extra time and not a sudden-death "golden goal" rule.) The Paladins have won the first title, but the Golden Dragons have proven themselves to be a powerhouse as well. Looking forward to Season 2 and the addition of two expansion teams, bringing us up to six franchises.

First One in the Books!

With only four teams, and with each team playing their opponents only twice, the first season of my Druid Cycle soccer league (a custom league in Sensible Soccer) is already in the books. The Paladins paced the circuit with a 5-0-1 record. These lay brothers of Mithras led the league with 3.00 goals per game, and tied for the best goals-against average with 0.83 per game. In the championship game, they'll host the second-place Golden Dragons, who went 3-1-2. The Imperials (1-4-1) and the Racers (0-4-2) both have a long way to go before they're ready to compete for a title. 

For the individual awards, forwards Agrippa of the Imperials and Niall of the Golden Dragons tied for the league lead in goals with 6 apiece, so they'll share that trophy. The League MVP award goes to midfielder Nicephorus of the Paladins, who contributed top-notch offense (5 goals) as well as elite defense; he was arguably the main reason why the Paladins allowed a league-low 5.83 shots against per game. 

Next up, the championship match between the Paladins and the Golden Dragons!

Tomb Raidin'

The boys and I finished up the two remaining scenarios in the original Dark Tomb mini-box prior to returning to Nevada. Once we optimized our tactics, we breezed through the combats. We had a lot of fun along the way, and there were plenty of epic moments when all three characters got their opportunity to shine. I'll be sure to pack the Dark Tomb sequel box into our luggage for our next trip!

The Lost Archives

Once upon a time, I was the proud owner of a Tandy 1000 SX. From Christmas in 1986 through my high-school graduation in 1995, it was the only computer I owned, and it held up remarkably well. My parents used it for many years after I left home, and then it sat in the basement for many more years. During our trip back to New York this past week, Nathaniel and I managed to get it running again. We found a treasure trove of old games -- Spy Hunter, anyone?! -- but most importantly, the mother lode of Druid Cycle archives. All of my adventure summaries, gamemaster notes, and well, everything I had ever typed up for that campaign world during its original development in the early '90s was still right there on that massive 20MB hard drive. The printer doesn't work anymore, and I had no way to export the data from the ancient PFS File program, but I took a photograph of every screen so that I can sit down one day and revisit all those old notes. There's so much I've forgotten since those early days, and I have absolutely no doubt that a deep dive into that material will yield tons of great stuff that I can apply to today's campaigns.

Narrow Escape

The boys and I delved into the first scenario of the mini cooperative game Dark Tomb the other day. (All components fit within a tin about the size of a modern smartphone.) Nathaniel is playing a spellcaster with a pet raven, Matthew is a rogue-like character, and I'm something akin to a ranger. The game plays quickly and we had fun discussing optimal tactics, but some lousy rolls set us back and nearly cost us a victory. As it stands, all three characters managed a narrow escape from the first dungeon. On to the second!

DC League

Next on my Sensible Soccer agenda is a league set in the Druid Cycle campaign world. I'm going to start small, with just four teams representing the three largest human cities in that setting: the Paladins and Imperials (Troya Nova), Racers (Riverton), and Golden Dragons (Prifddinas). That should be a manageable undertaking for the inaugural season, but I already have plans to expand the league with four new teams (a second franchise in Riverton along with three other cities) starting in Season 2. 

Free RPG Day

Get to your local game store for Free RPG day -- today!!!

Dark Tomb

We'll be doing some traveling this summer, but the boys and I will nevertheless have plenty of game action to occupy our downtime. A recent Kickstarter called Dark Tomb is perfect for travel: It's a cooperative, d20-based game that literally fits in your pocket!

D&D 2024

Over a decade ago, I invested countless hours in playtesting what would ultimately become Fifth Edition D&D. I submitted vast amounts of detailed feedback through many rounds of playtest materials. (Click the "5e" label and dive in to those earlier posts, if you dare!) The game that was published in 2014 was, in my opinion, an absolute masterpiece -- the best version of D&D in the game's long history. 

Fast-forward to the present. I wasn't terribly enthused by the prospect of the 2024 revamp of Fifth Edition, and some of what I was seeing in the Unearthed Arcana playtest PDFs was as troubling to me as anything from The Edition That Shall Not Be Named. But you know what? I watched this video and now I feel a bit better.

All I Really Want...

Random Thursday thoughts! All I really want -- aside from some patience, a way to calm the angry voice, and maybe deliverance -- is MultiVersus, but as a miniatures game. The obvious answer is CMON's Mayhem system, but it doesn't offer the full range of WB characters. In fact, it pales in comparison to what Restoration Games is doing with their Unmatched series these days.

Evercade Alpha

Evercade launched a revamped website today and it includes a bombshell development: They're getting into cabinets now! I don't know if I'll purchase the Evercade Alpha when it comes out in the fall, but damn, it's a pretty cool concept!

Tiffany, Heather, Cody, Dylan, Dermot, Jordan, Taylor, Brittany...

As part of my years-long (okay, decades-long) expansion of Druid Cycle history and lore, I've identified the reign of every Emperor/Empress of Troya Nova and every King/Queen of Teyrnas. Running through the lists of names, I can't help but speak them aloud in the cadence of the esteemed Cletus Spuckler when he calls to his prodigious brood...

Evercade Hall of Fame

Adding up all the games on all the carts, I probably have upwards of 200 retro games I can play on my Evercade systems. Of those games, I've completed probably about two dozen. Of those two dozen, only a select few merit inclusion in my new Evercade Hall of Fame -- games so awesome or so memorable that they rank among my favorite video games of all time, regardless of the era or system. 

Here is the inaugural class of Hall of Famers, presented in alphabetical order:

• Brave Battle Saga
• Captain Commando 
• Dragon View (Drakkhen II)
• Drakkhen
• Final Fight
• Flashback 
• Sensible Soccer

What's likely to be the next entry in the EHOF? Well, the first three Tomb Raider titles come out for Evercade in July...

Meet the Argos Achaians!

I had a lot of fun with a custom Sensible Soccer team featuring my childhood buddies from Horseheads. Although we lost our first World Cup tournament in the finals, we roared back the next time around to claim the Cup! For my next fantasy soccer experience, I'm going a bit further back in time...all the way to the Trojan War! Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax (the Greater and the Lesser) and all their companions from the Iliad will take the soccer world by storm as the Argos Achaians!

FCBD 2024

Heads up! It's Free Comic Book Day today!

A Sensible Obsession

Sensible Soccer is pretty much my new obsession. I have a huge list of custom teams, games, tournaments, and leagues in mind. One idea I'd love to explore is to create a soccer league based on the major human cities of the Druid Cycle campaign setting. Perhaps even a famous NPC or two might show up on the rosters! In the short term, however, I'm working on a Team USA -- complete with my 8-bit approximation of their real-life 2024 home and away kit -- populated by my neighborhood buddies from when I was a kid. Can't wait for my friends and I to start on the road to a World Cup!

Sensible Soccer

Sensible Soccer -- named for the company, although the game is pretty sensible too -- may just be one of the most perfect sports games I've ever played. I picked up an out-of-print Evercade cartridge basically just to get this game, and it hasn't disappointed. It's infinitely customizable and the gameplay is intuitive and fun. I foresee many, many tournaments and leagues in my future...

Back to the Tomb!

Just when I was wondering what else Evercade had up their sleeves...

Game Time = Family Time

Between Matthew's swim practices and meets, and Nathaniel's Boy Scout activities, and all the schoolwork for both of them, it's been tough to keep up any kind of momentum on our campaigns. It doesn't help that we're also juggling three campaigns at the moment, with the zombie-themed Dark Enigma (which also includes Amy) and two Druid Cycle games (one of which includes the boys' cousins). I've found myself kind of stressed out by the difficulty of getting everyone to the table, and when I gave it some more thought, I realized that game time is a proxy for family time. With the busy pace of life these days, we don't seem to have much time to sit down and just be together. 

Welcome Home

After their long trek through the snowy wilderness, our intrepid heroes have returned to the small town of Wenro, New York. Here's what awaits them...

Does this scene include all the zombie minis I have in my horde? No. No it does not.

Season 10 Awards

After an epic championship series, all that remains is to hand out the individual trophies for Season 10. 

Scoring Champion: Alf Smith, RW, Thistles
With a league-leading 18 goals and 36 points, the fiery forward won his first scoring championship, finishing five points ahead of runner-up Cyclone Taylor. Smith has always oozed with talent, but this season he put it all together -- and in doing so, he jumped from fourth all-time in goals to second, behind only the great Frank McGee of the Comets.

Forward MVP: Alf Smith, RW, Thistles
Bearcats phenom Joe Malone was the frontrunner for the first half of the season, but Smith sailed past him with an absolutely dominant finish. For the first time in his career, Smith was defensively responsible too, as evinced by his strong plus-minus (+8). 

Defenseman MVP: Dickie Boon, Bearcats
For the first time ever, the Victorias' Cyclone Taylor was not a top-three finalist for this award. Wow! This year's worthy runners-up were Fred Whitcroft of the Thistles (7 goals, 5 assists, +9) and Art Ross of the Bearcats (2 goals, 3 assists, and a league-leading +16). The winner, however, was the Bearcats' Boon, who put up Taylor-esque offensive numbers (8 goals, 9 assists) and finished second in the league in plus-minus (+12).

Goaltender MVP: Hap Holmes, Bearcats
Last season, the Vics' Bowse Hutton edged Holmes in the closest finish of all time for this award. Well, this season it was even closer! Holmes and Hutton both posted a .927 save percentage, but Holmes had a slightly better goals-against average (2.20 vs. 2.30). I don't track all high-danger/high-leverage saves, but I do make note of key moments when a goalie absolutely robs someone, and this year Holmes certainly had a lot more such "highlight reel" saves. So it's really a tossup, but I'm giving it to Holmes, who claims his second such trophy in his four-year career. 

Rookie of the Year: Frank Fredrickson, C, Bearcats
Fredrickson put up solid numbers across the board (7 goals, 13 assists, +6), although he definitely benefited from playing alongside Joe Malone. Even so, I'm very comfortable giving this award to Fredrickson over number-one draft pick Mickey MacKay of the Millionaires, who had good offensive numbers (7 goals, 6 assists), but had the second-worst plus-minus in the league (-17) and was a healthy scratch twice on a last-place Millies team.

Playoff MVP: Hugh Lehman, G, Thistles
Lehman outdueled the league's best goaltender, Hap Holmes, and finished his postseason run with a 2.25 goals-against average and a stellar .940 save percentage. He becomes the second player to win multiple Playoff MVP trophies (after -- who else? -- Cyclone Taylor) and he also has the distinction of being the first player to win major individual awards with two different teams; his first Playoff MVP trophy came when he was a member of the Millionaires. Had the Bearcats won the championship, this award would likely have gone to Malone (8 goals, 7 assists) for his offensive wizardry.

Quite a Saga Indeed!

Today I beat Brave Battle Saga, finishing off the final boss in a slog that took about a half-hour just for that one combat. 

I was rewarded with some fun cutscenes that wrapped up all the personal storylines. Families reunited! Old wounds healed! It was very sweet.

Yes, the main character's name is Tim, and yes, I had that Monty Python bit from Holy Grail running through my head the whole time...

The Curse Is Broken!

The Thistles are Creighton Cup champions! After ten seasons of futility and heartbreak, the league's most snakebitten team has finally won a title. In true Thistles fashion, they did it the hard way -- the really hard way.

Playing on the road in Game 1, the Thistles held a 2-0 lead late in the third period, but Bearcats captain Harry Trihey put his team on his back and scored twice to tie the game. In overtime, Scotty Davidson beat Hugh Lehman to give the Bearcats an improbable series-opening victory. The Thistles came home for Game 2 determined to get back on track. They got off to a great start when Jack Darragh scored on the team's very first shot. The teams traded goals throughout the game, with the Thistles managing to stay a goal ahead. In the waning moments of the third period, the Bearcats tied it yet again. This time, it was superstar Joe Malone tallying just seconds before the horn sounded. The stunned Thistles headed to overtime facing the possibility that they could be down by two games in this best-of-five series despite playing with the lead for about 90% of the time across both games. After two overtime periods, the game remained tied. Lehman and Bearcats netminder Hap Holmes made incredible saves, but at some point, one puck was bound to sneak through. Darragh ended the contest with his second goal of the game in triple overtime. The final score was 4-3 for the visitors. It was the longest game in league history, and Lehman set a record with 49 saves. Back in Bearcats territory for Game 3, the Thistles continued to roll by scoring again on their first shot. The Cats, however, notched the next three goals and skated away with an easy 3-1 win and a 2-1 series lead. Facing elimination, the Thistles had a must-win game at home, and they gutted out a 4-2 victory to force a winner-take-all Game 5, hosted by the Bearcats. 

Game 5 would prove to be an all-time classic. Late in the first period, the Thistles were hit with a double whammy when star defenseman Hod Stuart went down with a serious injury and the Cats' Dickie Boon scored after a desperate flurry of chances in front of Lehman. Stuart was ruled out for the remainder of the game, so the Thistles had to continue without one of their best players. Fortunately for them, their star forward stepped up his game; Alf Smith scored in the second period and racked up another one early in the the third to give his team a 2-1 edge. As the clock ticked away, I wondered if the Cats could manage to stage yet another amazing comeback to force overtime. Well, they sure did! The peerless Malone scored late in the frame, just as he had done back in Game 2, and the contest went to overtime. The first OT period was a quiet affair with only a couple of quality chances. In the second overtime, however, Smith broke in on Holmes with a chance to end the game and deliver a championship for his long-suffering team. (By this point, both Matthew and Nathaniel had come over to the table to witness these final dice rolls.) Smith knifed a shot past past Holmes's outstretched glove, and the game was over. It was a hat trick for Smith, but more importantly, it was a Creighton Cup for the league's unluckiest team. The curse has been broken!

Dune: Part 2

Dune is among my favorite novels. I love it on so many levels, not the least of which is that it's the primary literary inspiration for the Warhammer 40k universe. I'm such a Dune fan that I even adore the much-maligned 1984 movie, although it pales in comparison to Denis Villeneuve's more recent film. I'm so pleased that Dune: Part 2 is now premiering in theaters. The first part won six Oscars and introduced this story to a whole new generation -- including my own family! I can't wait to see what Villeneuve et al have in store for us in the second half!

First Contact

In our Dark Enigma campaign, a blizzard had trapped the heroes at a remote compound deep the wilderness. Today they received some unwelcome guests...

Clearly, something is amiss back in Wenro! The heroes will now begin a treacherous trek back through the snow to see what exactly is going on...

Crunch Time

First play of Game 1 of the Finals. I mean, the first play, right after the opening faceoff: Thistles winger and Season 10 scoring champion Alf Smith absolutely crunches Bearcats superstar Joe Malone. It's gonna be a series...

It's Finals Time!

The first round of the playoffs is in the books!

The Thistles will return to the Finals after last year's heartbreaking collapse against the Victorias. This year, the Thistles got a measure of revenge by dismantling the Vics in the first round, sweeping them 3-0 in the best-of-five series and outscoring them 10-5. Key players for the Thistles in the opening round (and strong contenders for the Playoff MVP trophy) included sophomore winger Didier Pitre (2 goals, 3 assists, +3), offensive defenseman Fred Whitcroft (2 goals, 3 assists, +4), and netminder Hugh Lehman (1.67 goals-against average, .956 save percentage), whose 44-save gem in the third game sealed the series win.

In the other series, the home team won every game, resulting in a 3-2 triumph for the top-ranked Bearcats over the Comets. Joe Malone led the way offensively (4 goals, 4 assists, -3), followed by Scotty Davidson (4 goals, 2 assists, -3), Harry Trihey (0 goals, 7 assists, +3), and Dickie Boon (1 goal, 5 assists, -1). Bonus points if you noted that most of the Cats' leading scorers had a negative plus-minus; they eked out a win in this series only because their power play clicked at a fantastic 26.67%. The Comets were the better team at five-on-five; they fought until the bitter end, coming up just one goal short in the fifth and decisive game. 

Next up, the Bearcats will host the Thistles in Game 1 of the Finals. These two contenders are the only remaining teams that have never won a Creighton Cup, so one way or the other, we'll get to witness a franchise win its very first title.

Plot Drop

I'm moving steadily toward the conclusion of the surprisingly wonderful Brave Battle Saga, and there are revelations left and right! In one cutscene alone, secrets were revealed about two of the four party members; one turned out to be the half-demon niece of a queen, and the other is...a cyborg, maybe? Now we're off to recover his memory chip, so...

Season 10 Playoff Preview

It's playoff time once again in Strat-O-Matic hockey! The Millionaires and Bulldogs won't be joining the dance this year, but here's how the other teams stack up for the first round of the tourney...

Bearcats (1st) vs. Comets (4th)

The Bearcats finished in first place for the first time in franchise history; their pennant is well deserved, too, as the Cats had the league's best goal differential (+18), best goal prevention (2.20 goals against per game), and second-best offense (3.10 goals scored per game). They were unequivocally number one at five-on-five hockey, and the top six players in the league in plus/minus were all Bearcats. Special teams were a different story, however, as the Cats ranked second-to-last in power play and their penalty kill was middling. Their first-round opponent, the Comets, had a hot second half, but still finished as the only playoff team with a negative goal differential (-11) and mediocre rankings in all major offensive and defensive categories. Head-to-head, the Cats were 3-1-0 against the Comets this year, so I'm picking the Bearcats to make their inaugural appearance in the Creighton Cup Finals.

Thistles (2nd) vs. Victorias (3rd)

It's a rematch of last year's Cup Finals! The Thistles allowed the Vics to come back in that series and thus were denied their first-ever Creighton Cup. Could it be time for revenge? The Thistles were a goal-scoring machine this year, with a league-best 3.25 goals scored per game, but the Vics counter with elite goal prevention (number two at 2.30 goals against per game). The Thistles had a league-leading penalty kill (89.16%), but the Vics had the top power play (21.67%). It seems that each team can counter the other's advantages. Not surprisingly, I guess, their head-to-head record was 1-1-2, and they both finished with a +9 goal differential overall. This one is a coin toss, folks!

Friends Knocking Down My Door

I'm at a natural pause point with Brave Battle Saga, so I've put that game aside for a few days to explore an Evercade cartridge containing nothing but Commodore 64 classics. How come no one has knocked down my door yet?

BBS -- TLOTMW

As titles go, Brave Battle Saga -- The Legend of the Magic Warrior is kind of an awkward jumble. (I'm sure its original Mandarin title has a nicer ring to it.) As games go, however, it's kind of a blast! BBS -- TLOTMW (wow, the initialism seems almost as long as the actual title!) is the latest game I'm working through on my Evercade. It was originally a Sega Genesis game released only in Taiwan, but now it has a full English version. The endless random encounters add unnecessary length and monotony, but the story is pretty fun (and occasionally downright funny) and there's a funky science-fantasy vibe that's getting stronger as I get deeper into the game. Anticipating later classics like Baldur's Gate, it opens with a single protagonist, but ultimately you pick up a rag-tag band of companions who all have their own personal storylines and motivations. Can't wait to see how it all plays out!

Milestone

Today's Druid Cycle adventure marked the one-year anniversary of the campaign I've run for my boys and my niece and nephew. (Well, technically, tomorrow is the calendar anniversary.) To celebrate this milestone, I invited Tim W to join the game session as his esteemed wizard Cathbad. It was awesome to have this new generation interacting with a living legend. They all participated together in a weighty discussion of how to protect their nation and avoid becoming embroiled in a burgeoning continent-wide conflict that I've dubbed "World War Druid Cycle." Considering that I've been laying the foundation for this storyline for the past year, I'm pretty sure it won't be the last time that Cathbad and the younger heroes will cross paths!

The Compound

In our Dark Enigma campaign, the companions have trudged through a Western New York snowstorm to a remote survivalist compound in search of information about the main NPC's missing sister. The compound and surrounding area are depicted in the photo below.

You can see Amy's stealthy huntress hiding behind a large bush in the foreground. The heroes managed to defeat the guards, and next they'll explore the compound for clues. Another storm is rolling in, however, so they'll need to wait it out here at the compound before they can hike back to town. I wonder what will have changed when they finally get back to Wenro...?

Welcome to Wenro

We're inching closer to starting our zombie apocalypse game! I set up the buildings that form the core of Wenro Center, a small community off of Interstate 86 in western New York. All the buildings (as well as the smaller terrain elements and townspeople) were printed on our 3D printer and -- for better or for worse -- painted by yours truly. 

Nary a zombie to be found! Well, at least, not yet...

This story is set in the same world and time period as our Tales of the Ternion campaign, but it's a horror/survival theme rather than comic book superheroes, and the title will be Dark Enigma -- named after a spooky campaign of yesteryear. Can't wait to get started!

All-Star Break

It's almost time for the NHL All-Star Game, and here in Season 10 of my historical Strat-O-Matic hockey league, we've reached the midway point of the campaign. The Bearcats and Victorias are vying for the top spot, the Thistles and Comets are jostling around in the middle of the pack, and the Bulldogs and Millionaires are in a race to the bottom. Some interesting team stats include the Cats' astonishing penalty kill (96.3%) and the inability of the run-and-gun Comets to dent the twine (a league-low 1.80 goals per game and an abysmal 8.33% success on the power play). 

Looking at player performances, I'm intrigued by Thistles star Alf Smith, one of the league's all-time greats but a player who has yet to win any sort of individual trophy; at the moment, he's leading the league in goals (11) and points (18), so he could snag a scoring title and possibly a Forward MVP award, although in the latter case he'll face a tough challenge from Joe Malone (9 goals, 3 assists, +4) of the Bearcats and quiet workhorse Dubbie Bowie (6 goals, 6 assists, +7) of the Victorias. The Cats' Hap Holmes seems like a lock to win his second Goaltender MVP in three years (1.90 goals-against average, .940 save percentage). Can he and Malone lead the Bearcats to their first Creighton Cup in franchise history?

It's Our Trophy Guy!

Here's a great article about Jim Creighton, the man for whom the championship series in my nineteenth-century Strat-O-Matic league is named.

2023 Goal Achieved

Looking back on the year that was, I could rattle off any number of gaming-related accomplishments. (Yes, granted, it's all recreational, but I view anything I learn or do as an opportunity to accomplish something.) I painted tons of 3D-printed terrain, delved into retrogaming, and ran a Doctor Who campaign that was pretty dang cool, but I think I'm most proud of reinvigorating the Druid Cycle world. Matthew and Nathaniel had played most of their D&D in my Shattered Realm setting, but in 2023, they leveled up to the big leagues. We started one campaign just for them, and then a separate one where their two older cousins join us via Zoom, and in both cases it's been absolutely fantastic. It's like 1998 all over again!