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!