Dead Suns: Countdown (Starfinder)

Hey there, folks, sorry it's been quiet here. Not a lot of news to add, as everyone should know by now how hard it can be to schedule gaming around the holidays. Speaking of which, I hope everyone's holiday season has been going well, and that everyone has a safe and pleasant New Year's Eve.

In other news, not that I think there's a lot of interest in it here in the first place (feel free to prove me wrong), I recently completed another chapter of Conversion and still need to upload it here, and will probably do so this weekend.

But this session will wrap up the fifth volume of Dead Suns, and next time we should begin the sixth and final volume of the adventure path, Empire of Bones.

And let's get on with it!

Trinity Continuum: Æon is available!

Okay, so the big day has come! The Trinity Continuum Core and Trinity Continuum: Æon corebooks are available in PDF and print on demand! As I've mentioned far too many times to anyone who'll listen, I worked on Æon and it's probably my best RPG work. I mean, I'd pitch you all on it, but to be honest I'd mostly just be repeating Ian Watson's descriptions, so let's skip the middleman...

The Trinity Continuum core is all-new. Adventure? Excitement? A Jedi many not crave these things, but you do.
Agents of SHIELD, Leverage, Global Frequency, Fringe, Human Target, and more. pic.twitter.com/7alF3xOgxX

— Ian A. A. Watson (@VonAether) December 4, 2019

Æon is a new edition of the Æon/Trinity RPG originally released in 1997. It's a kitchen sink RPG setting. The feel of it is very Mass Effect, except 10 years before Mass Effect came out. pic.twitter.com/KZoY91u3Fh

— Ian A. A. Watson (@VonAether) December 4, 2019

Anyhow, thank you for your time, and I hope you enjoy the game if you check it out!

Dead Suns: Gate 2 (Starfinder)

Greetings, programs. So here I am with some more Starfinder goodness for you.

Nothing more really to add there. It's a short one because it's from a single session, but long enough to be worth posting. So let's get on with the show.

Dead Suns: Software Patch (Starfinder)

Greetings, folks, I know it's been a while but we've had a little bit of Starfinder this past month and thus there's been some action to write up for the blog. Not sure really what else to add to this, commentary-wise, so let's just get into it.

They're here!

So my KS copies of the Trinity Continuum core and TC: Æon arrived today!

 

"But wait," you might ask. "Haven't you been going on and on about how you worked on Æon?"

Yes. Yes I have.

Status Update

Okay, so I realize it's been a while since I've really posted anything (or at least it feels like it), and it's time for an update.

So I've been struggling with some burnout these past few weeks. I had trips in June, July, and August, and in between those I had a dozen little stressors that collectively were wearing me down. most of this last month has been a legitimate blur. To be frank, I haven't been okay, but I'm getting out of it. I've been trying to whittle down the stuff that's been eating at me, with enough success I'm getting back to functional.

Part of the issue is that I had a freelancing gig that wound up being harder than I'd anticipated, and I was struggling with it in places, and I didn't feel comfortable writing anything for fun while I still had deadlines for that over my head. I do have my final draft turned in, so that's one thing off my plate. (Song in the Dark 3 was finished and released in between first and final drafts)

Another issue is that there was a recall on the blood pressure medication I was on, and I waited a while for a suitable replacement to get in stock, and figured 'how long could this take?' Well, it took long enough that the medication cleared my system and my blood pressure started getting back into 'regular headache' levels, where I could feel the physical effects of the stress -- which stressed me out. They've since worked out a replacement (my medication was a combination of two drugs in one pill, and now I'm just taking both drugs separately), and I'm getting back to normal there as well.

But I'm still kind of emotionally and mentally drained and getting caught up on stuff. In addition, due to scheduling and life problems, my gaming group hasn't been able to get together to play anything since July (and it's been even longer since I've had the entire group at once). And playing a couple of games and running one at Gencon haven't exactly been enough to scratch that itch.

But, I mean, I'm managing as best I can right now.



And now, more specific updates:

Conversion: Working on the new chapter. That's been a little slow because a bunch of stuff came to me while I was working on the previous chapter that's changed the story's ending, and the new version of events is going to take a little more planning than the previous one. But it's cool and exciting and I'm looking forward to working on it.

Song in the Dark: On pause until I get the new chapter of Conversion out. And to be honest, I need the break, as the recent news about Alec Holowka (one of the developers of the game) has kind of dulled my enthusiasm somewhat. But I'm sure once I'm finished with the next chapter of Conversion, assuming I don't have anything else I absolutely need to do right then (i.e., something with a deadline) I'll probably be fine to get back into it. Though during all of the discussion about Alec, it's come up that there is apparently an epilogue planned for the game that was in the works and may still come out in some form, which means I might have to make some decisions on how to handle portions of the story that extend beyond the game's ending. Yes, I'm aware I could just say "this was always a fan story, I always knew I might just separate it from canon," but at the same time there's a part of me that wonders "but what if the official epilogue has lots of choice stuff I could mine for material for my fanfic." You see the conundrum I'm in.

In addition, I've got some urban fantasy stuff I've been poking at, taking a story that's been on the back burner and applying some new ideas to rework it into something that might be worth submitting to a publisher. And while I'm doing that, I'm fending off the constant itching in my brain to start something new that likely won't be worth finishing, or dust off something I've previously decided wasn't worth finishing and write three paragraphs before realizing I never had any functional ideas there to begin with.

And... hm. Honestly, I can't really think of anything else to add here. Hope everyone's summer has been a pleasant one.

This year's Gencon

So, in case you haven't heard, I went to Gencon this year, and I wanted to just do a quick rundown post. I mean, there's not much to say -- I didn't exactly do anything too terribly profound. Maybe if I had even the first clue about how to try and network at conventions, I'd get more done but it's possible there's a part of me that's not ready to make the leap from 'gaming vacation' to 'work opportunity.' (It's more likely that I don't know what I'm doing, am aware of that fact, and am afraid to just ask for help.)

While I'm not going to do blow-by-blow write-ups of every little thing that happened while I was there, I'll at least give the quick gist of what games I played and what happened in those games underneath the cut.

Space Brigade's Legacy (Gencon special!) [Æon]

Hey there, folks. Another Gencon has come and gone. I'll probably go into a more detailed run-down of the convention's events in another post, but for now I've got a write-up of the Æon game I ran at the convention, "Space Brigade's Legacy."

This adventure is a sequel to the one that I ran last year, following up on the question of of "Has the Russian mob on Luna been totally compromised by Aberrants?" that came up in last year's session. That said, I'm wondering if running a sequel was the best idea since I had to spend time doing a recap of last year's session while also explaining the setting and system to a few players. I'm pondering my options for next year.

Again, the books aren't out yet and it's still kind of a new system for a lot of people. So if you read this and have any questions, feel free to ask me here or anyplace else where you can find me.

Song in the Dark, Day 3

I know it's been a little while, but after getting some other writing projects off my plate, I was finally able to return to this to finish the third chapter of my Night in the Woods fanfic.

In case you missed them, the first chapter can be found here and the second can be found here. Alternate sites for this chapter can be found here (with a downloadable PDF version) and here. (Note that while adult content is hidden unless you're signed in, those two sites may trip NSFW content filters.)

Disclaimer: Events of this story overlap with events of the video game, as Eric Hostetler and Mae Borowski are having largely separate-but-parallel adventures. I'm not rewriting game events to fit it, but there will be a "canonical" series of story choices that may become evident. This and future chapters will spoil certain events of the main game as well as the 'Lost Constellation' side-game. (this chapter in particular spoils a big event for the game, in fact)

And with that out of the way, you'll find the chapter beneath the cut. Enjoy!

Dead Suns: Gate 1 (Starfinder)

Greetings, folks. It's been a while, I know. Fact of the matter is, my current gaming group's schedule is pretty limited at the moment even before you get into the occasional cancellation. And then with the fact that I don't do individual posts for every Starfinder session (usual disclaimer about multiple posts, people appearing or disappearing, etc.), it sometimes means annoyingly-large gaps in the posting. But that's just life. It's only stupid luck that the trips I've taken in the last month and change haven't interfered as it is.

Speaking of which, just as a reminder that I'm going to be at Gencon this year, and I'm running another Æon game, a sequel to last year's. The game is currently full-up, but if anyone wants to drop by with generics just in case, it's Saturday at 6pm, at the Crowne Plaza. I'll be getting in Wednesday evening and leaving Sunday afternoon, and unless something happens and I have to bail at the last minute, I've got games I'm playing Thursday afternoon, Friday evening, and Sunday morning. Outside of those times, if anyone sees this and also wants to hang out at the convention, just reach out through any of the various social media channels and we'll see what we can do.

And now, on to Starfinder!

My Game Writing

I thought it'd be good to create sort of a central list of RPG (and related) books I've worked on, basically so I've got something I can point people to if I need to. This is going to get updated as new stuff comes out, in case it needs to be said. I'll keep in-progress book status up to date as best as I can, but at least on the Onyx Path books the most recent information will be in the Monday Meeting notes. (Current as of 11/29/2024)

A similar page for my published fiction can be found here.

(By the way, full disclosure, using any of the links here and then buying something shortly afterwards will get me some DTRPG store credit.)

Trinity Continuum
(For Onyx Path)

Trinity Continuum: Æon -- One of the big setting books for the Trinity Continuum (and does require the Trinity Continuum core book), presenting a world of sci-fi adventure and heroics in the future of 2123. I wrote the section on Luna, as well as the write-ups for the Chromatics and the Coalition.
The links above are for PDFs and PoD copies. Traditionally-printed copies of the TC core book can also be found on Studio 2's website, but they're out of Æon. A new printing of the traditionally-printed books is in the works.

Terra Firma -- A setting book for Trinity Continuum: Æon, fleshing out 10 nations described in the core with a significant city detailed in each. It also includes threats and weirdness facing Earth, as well as a bunch of technology both mundane and bizarre. I wrote the sections on China/Shanghai, Luna/Olympus, and half of the 'Relics of Mad Science and the Nova Age.'

Under Alien Skies -- A sister-book to Distant Worlds, a guide to the alien races of Æon, including a guide on using them as player characters. I wrote the setting and Storyguiding information for the Coalition chapter.

Prometheus Unbound -- A guide to the Psi Orders of the TC: Æon setting. I wrote the opening fiction (which you can read in the in-site preview) and the Æsculapian chapter.

Trinity Continuum Player's Guide -- Trinity core supplement combining the Talent Player's Guide and Brave New Worlds, the latter of which I initially worked on. It fleshes out a bunch of factions and includes extra Gifts and systems for characters as well as guidelines for travel to other worlds and times. I worked on the time travel stuff (with some associated mechanical material), and wrote one of the fictions.

Scion

(For Onyx Path)

Realms of Magic and Mystery -- A guide to Terra Incognita for Scion: Second Edition, detailing strange places within The World, as well as Midrealms, Overworlds, and Underworlds. (This will require at least Scion: Origin to use, and probably also Scion: Hero.) I wrote the opening fiction, "Under the Bridge" under the section on 'Realms Next Door,' the Midrealm known as the Thrice-Tenth Kingdom, and the Underworld of Yomi. 

Exalted

(For Onyx Path)

Alchemicals: Forged by the Machine God -- A sourcebook for playing the Alchemical Exalted, Chosen of the Great Maker, as well as the realm of Autochthonia in which they and the communities they serve live. (Currently on Backerkit!)

Chronicles of Darkness
(For White Wolf/CCP/Onyx Path)

Night Horrors: The Unbidden -- A book of antagonists for Mage: The Awakening. I wrote the Abyssal Imprint and the Lucid.

Night Horrors: The Tormented -- A book of antagonists for Promethean: The Created. I wrote a big chunk of the 'regular' Pandorans: The Cavin, the Hitchhiker, the Scrub Talons, the Stack, and the Student Project.



The Idigam Chronicle Anthology (fiction) -- A collection of Werewolf: The Forsaken stories. I wrote "Legacy."


Classic World of Darkness
(For White Wolf/CCP/Onyx Path)

W20 Rage Across the World -- A supplement for Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition, providing setting updates showing the state of the world in the 21st century. I wrote the "Weaver" Chapter.

W20 Umbra: The Velvet Shadow -- A supplement for Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th Anniversary Edition, updating mechanics and settings for the edition and providing an easy resource for Umbral Realms. I wrote the sections on the CyberRealm and Wolfhome, as well as pretty much the first half of the "Spirits" chapter (like, all of the setting stuff leading up to the 'Denizens' section).

---

Dead Suns: The Gate of Twelve Suns (Starfinder)

Hey there, folks, looks like the long-range scanners have picked up another Starfinder session.

.....

Wait, wait, come back, I'll never make that joke again, I swear!

But anyhow, all kidding aside, we've begun the fifth volume of the Dead Suns Adventure Path, The Thirteenth Gate.

So let's get on with it!

(again, as often happens, this is a combination of multiple sessions, so characters may appear or vanish, etc.)

Conversion 8: The Ocho

Alright, so in case you're at all interested in my ongoing furry cyberpunk story, I've got another chapter of it up. I've done something a little different with this one (I mentioned as such in my last post), and while eight chapters in is probably a bad time to do anything like that, eh. If you don't like it, complain to my publisher.

So without further delay, here's...

Conversion Chapter Eight: Change of View

Here's links to prior chapters, just for easy of access:
Chapter One (for which I still need a proper chapter title)
Chapter Two: Coming and Going
Chapter Three: In the Light of Day
Chapter Four: Couriers
Chapter Five: Familiar Spaces
Chapter Six: Allies
Chapter Seven: Measures


I also have a side-story in the same setting that I posted after spending a while trying to get it published. It stands well enough on its own, though it does serve as something of a sequel to a story I had published in FANG Vol. 8 a year and a half ago (knowledge of the earlier story isn't necessary, but it does feature the same characters). And here it is:

Renegotiation

In case it needs to be said, these stories are more or less safe for work. There's some swearing and some violence, but nothing you couldn't see on network TV past a certain hour. (Though Chapter 7 does imply some particularly unpleasant violence off-camera, it's still nothing you couldn't have gotten on, say, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.) Now, of course, if stories featuring anthropomorphic animal characters aren't your thing, feel free to give it a pass.

Dead Suns: The Temple Found (Starfinder)

It's been a while, ain't it? A couple of my players have had notable schedule problems, which has held up sessions (this is also why there haven't been any Borderlands write-ups in a while). Also, I tend to do these write-ups once the group has progressed through enough story to be worth telling, and we had a couple of sessions that were mostly taken up by combat that would result in a write-up too short to bother with.

So this write-up comprises three sessions, covering the last act of the fourth volume of the Dead Suns adventure path. As such, between that and the aforementioned scheduling issues, the usual disclaimers about members of the group seeming to fade in and out apply.

Also, in case you missed it, the Gencon event catalog is currently open. While you can't sign up for it just yet, the game I'm running on Saturday, Space Brigade's Legacy, is currently available to view. Even if you can't get into the game, feel free to seek me out at Gencon if you're going to be there!

Status Update

So I've put up a version of this post on a couple of different spaces, realized I should post it here too.

So this is just a quick update as to writing projects and other stuff.

First, the writing:

Conversion: I've gotten to a point where I can start spending time and energy on this, and I'm working on the next chapter. It's a little slower-going than I'd anticipated, though -- I'm doing something a little different with this one, and it has its own obstacles.


Song in the Dark: As you may or may not have noticed, I've posted the second part. I haven't started on part three yet, as I'm trying to get a little more progress done on Conversion so it's not totally neglected. (I do have part 3 roughly outlined, so I at least have a plan and once I get back to this the writing should be relatively smooth, knock on wood)

I've got a couple of other things I poke at when I'm blocked on the other stuff. Most of it's gone unfinished and abandoned because I have a real bad habit of mistaking 'that's an interesting premise' for 'there's an actual story here.' Anything I have finished hasn't really been shared or posted anywhere, largely because every now and again I beat the metaphorical bushes looking for someplace where I could submit it. (Biggest issue there: This is stuff I wrote with the mindset of 'I'll write this for myself and if it's worth submitting, I'll submit it,' but the word count is too high for short fiction and too low for novellas, so I'm a little stuck there.)  If either of those things ever changes, I'll let you know.


And now, the other stuff...

If you haven't heard already, I've been accepted into this year's Regional Anthropomorphic Writers Retreat. So I'll be spending a week in June with a bunch of other writers in South Lake Tahoe, hopefully uncovering some insights into stuff I've been doing wrong and building some confidence in networking and the like.
(And if anyone's got any ideas or suggestions on stuff I could do or see in that area before or after said retreat, I'm all ears while I'm still in the 'looking at plane tickets' phase of the trip.)

In July, I'll be hitting Anthrocon in Pittsburgh, as per usual. If anyone's going to be around there and wants to hang out, let me know.

And in August, I'll be in Indianapolis for Gencon. Saturday, from 6pm to 10pm, I'll be running an Æon one-shot. (It'll be a sequel to the game I ran last year, though knowledge of that game won't be necessary.) The game's called "Space Brigade's Legacy," and when the event catalog goes live the Game ID will be RPG19156461. I may or may not submit a late event to run another game over the weekend, I haven't yet decided. Part of me wants to run something but I don't have any great ideas at the moment. But as with AC, if anyone's going to be around (either at the convention or just in the area) and wants to hang out, let me know.
Heads-up: This might be the last Gencon I attend for a while, as it's becoming harder and harder to get affordable hotel rooms downtown and as much as I enjoy the convention the frustration of dealing with the hotels' gouging is finally reaching a tipping point.


And that'll probably be it trip-wise for the rest of the year, but who knows. We'll see. If anyone's got any questions, feel free to ask here or in all of the various places you can find me online.

Song in the Dark, Day 2

Welcome back, folks, for the second installment of my Night in the Woods fanfic. In case you missed it, the first chapter can be found here.

It occurs to me that I should point out that -- in case it wasn't obvious by the first chapter -- events of the story will overlap with events in the game. And while I'm not going to be rewriting game events to confirm to my story or anything like that (though there is a 'canonical' set of story choices I'm sticking with for the sake of this story), that does mean that future chapters will spoil certain events of both the main game and the Lost Constellation 'side' game. Eric Hostetler and Mae Borowski are having somewhat-parallel adventures, but their individual stories diverge enough that this story won't spoil all of the big reveals in the game. At the same time, while Song in the Dark draws upon Night in the Woods for its 'mythology,' it will delve into places the game doesn't go.

So after that unnecessarily-long disclaimer, you'll find the second chapter under the cut. If you want to read the story on other sites or find a PDF download (on the FA page), you can find it on FurAffinity and SoFurry (note that both sites are generally considered NSFW even though you have to sign in to see anything like that).

Dead Suns: Voices of the Ancestors (Starfinder)

Okay, so it's been a little while. I'd make some pun here about sidereal time or some such, but nothing's coming to me at the moment.

So let's get on with a write-up of my last couple of Starfinder sessions. (usual disclaimers apply about multiple sessions being stitched together meaning that individual characters may suddenly seem to appear or disappear from the narrative)

No Rest for the Wicked: Lambda

Helllooooo, minions!

So we've got a bit of a hat trick here, three No Rest for the Wicked sessions in a row. That's scheduling weirdness for ya. (Next week will probably be Starfinder, though, just a heads up.)

So not much has happened since my last write-up, so let's just jump right in.

Song in the Dark, Day 1

Unless you count my various Chronicles of Darkness fictions (which take place in a vague setting without a whole lot of strict 'canon' other than what I put into them), it's been forever since I've dabbled in fanfic and I'm not sure I've ever finished a proper one. Either way, this isn't something I do often. But playing through Night in the Woods sparked something in me; while I didn't grow up in a town exactly like Possum Springs, I saw enough of similar places and met enough similar people that the game struck a chord and I took it upon myself to start writing.

Admittedly, I don't know exactly how long the whole story's going to be. I've got the plot roughly worked out, and I've got this much and a bit of the next chapter and we'll see where it goes from there.

The story overlaps with the timeline of the game, and while people who've played the game should recognize where they link up (and which story choices contributed to the 'canon' in which this fanfic resides), I've endeavored to write this such that you don't need knowledge of the game to enjoy or understand it. I hope I've succeeded.

Anyhow, let me know what you think, that'll help me decide how and whether this is worth finishing.

The story begins just below the cut. If you'd rather download this as a PDF and/or read it on a site other than this blog, I also have it up on my FurAffinity page and on SoFurry. (Warning: Neither of these sites should be considered SFW in general.)

No Rest for the Wicked: Old Business

Greetings, minions. I know this seems pretty quick, but a few things lined up to get us another session of No Rest For the Wicked right away, which means you get another write-up!

No Rest for the Wicked: Hashtag Badass Crater 2

Helloooooo, minions!

Welcome back to another write-up from my No Rest for the Wicked game. We've had all sorts of scheduling madness and overcoming them required performing a series of devious challenges -- First we had to collect 139,377 brown rocks, then kill Ug-Thak, Lord of Skags, then pilfer the Lost Staff of Mount Schuler, defeat the Destroyer of Worlds, then dance for Claptrap's enjoyment.

But we did that, and then we got to play.

As a wise skeleton once said, let's just get to the point.

Dead Suns: The Ruined Clouds (Starfinder)

Hey there, folks, I've got another Starfinder write-up for you. As of now, the group has properly ventured into the fourth volume of the Dead Suns Adventure Path, The Ruined Clouds (with a tiny bit of wrap-up from volume 3, hence the tag). As is sometimes the case, this is a couple of sessions' worth of adventure stitched together and the lineup doesn't always remain consistent throughout. I don't go out of my way to draw attention to it, but when folks seem to drop in and out of the narrative, that's why.

Also, before I get on with it, I have an announcement! Night Horrors: The Tormented (a book I worked on), is now available in print! You can get it at the link in the previous sentence. (Which means also that the Advance PDF stuff from the prior posts no longer applies, this PDF is the final version barring some technical problem, and so forth.)

And with that, let's move on to... SPACE!