A old colour drawing of an ugly cat baring its teeth (a caracal)

AAR: What's in the DOME?

This continues a long-form campaign, Zen and the Art of Caravan Maintenance.

Emmett, Joshua, and Zalephona are now cattle ranchers, all seeking a quiet change in career for various reasons. They’re driving buggalo from Emerald City to the Porcelain Citadel. Or at least, in general. Currently they’re amusing themselves in Potsherd Crater to see what is going on. Hazel has promised them an autogolem, so there’s no rush to leave.

Time for some constructive pillaging!

A dungeon map of a cross-shaped building, with some secret rooms to the North

Learning to draw a dungeon

Thinking of trying the #dungeon23 thing. So I bought some Micron pens and am giving some dungeon drawing tutorials a go.

Concept

This is a church that has rooms available via doors from its wings. One is open, the other is a secret but can be deduced.

Lessons

I followed this tutorial. I’m not sure I’d bother tracing over with ink twice. I’m also learning I need to sketch more in pencil - can’t just be the room outlines, any furniture needs to go in too.

A technical numbered diagram of an unexplained swirly thing. It is round with an axle.

AAR: These are not the droids you're looking for

This continues a long-form campaign, Zen and the Art of Caravan Maintenance.

Emmett, Joshua, and Zalephona are now cattle ranchers, all seeking a quiet change in career for various reasons. They’re driving buggalo from Emerald City to the Porcelain Citadel. Having picked up Phonie in a grimy rest-stop on the Low Road and the High, the caravan proceeds to Potsherd Crater to deliver their mysterious cargo.

Now with a baby buggalo called Junior and a steppe hound called Rufus. Spoilers: Junior gets petted. ๐Ÿคซ

A violin and full mug of beer rest on a book titled CASH

AAR: A new friend

This continues a long-form campaign, Zen and the Art of Caravan Maintenance.

Joshua and Emmett are now cattle ranchers, both seeking a quiet change in career for various reasons. They’re driving buggalo from Emerald City to the Porcelain Citadel. Or at least they were, now they’re heading away from the Citadel, with a mysterious box, on the promise of a favour from the Matriarch of the Pine clan.

This week: a ๐Ÿง™ joins the party.

Theme update

There’s a new theme! I think the site looks nicer, and should creak a bit less. Also pagination on the front page, finally.

Apologies if RSS goes crazy, at least it should have full text in there now.

AAR: The Matriarch's Favour

A man wearing a coif, a ruff, and trunk hose stands in a clearing amid a growth of intricate branches and heaves a large bulldog-like dog off a locked chest
Wood engraving in "Andersen's Fairy Tales", by Hans Tegner

This continues a long-form campaign, Zen and the Art of Caravan Maintenance.

Joshua and Emmett are now cattle ranchers, both seeking a quiet change in career for various reasons. They’re driving buggalo from Emerald City to the Porcelain Citadel. Now on the Lime Steppes, the Matriarch of the Pine clan is asking for a favourโ€ฆ

Do ya like dogs?

View of a mostly Gothic church devoid of transept, people hang around outside

AAR: That's enough fun

This continues a long-form campaign, Zen and the Art of Caravan Maintenance.

Joshua and Emmett are now cattle ranchers, both seeking a quiet change in career for various reasons. They’re driving buggalo from Emerald City to the Porcelain Citadel. Currently they’re in Violet City, hanging out with some Lime Nomad pilgrims, after irritating some lovable street-life.

More drugs, some commeuppance.

Yet Another Weather Table

Line drawing of a fairytale castle, wreathed in stylised clouds
Opening illustration to "The Cloud Kingdom", drawn by Charles Robinson

I’m currently running a Ultraviolet Grasslands campaign, and like every other campaign I run, I’m really focussed on making the weather a big part of it. Just travelling should be a challenge — not the greatest challenge in the game — but not a literal walk in the park. I want the party hunting for dry firewood, or stuck at a swollen river, or so cold they can’t face breaking camp. Not every single day, obviously, but an “encounter” for me doesn’t have to be “kill a thing that’s appeared with suspicious regularity”.

AAR: Welcome to Violet City

This continues a (hopefully) long-form campaign, Zen and the Art of Caravan Maintenance.

Joshua and Emmett are now cattle ranchers, both seeking a quiet change in career for various reasons. They’re driving buggalo from Emerald City to the Porcelain Citadel

Last session they were approaching Violet City, and had resolved to kick back and explore for a week.

AAR: Zen and the Art of Caravan Maintenance

UVG

Time for a new game.

I want to run Luka’s Ultra Violet Grasslands again, but I just don’t quite understand his SEACAT engine, so I’m going to use Black Hack for that1. We’re going to make a travelogue in the Vastlands!

Joshua and Emmett are now cattle ranchers, both seeking a quiet change in career for various reasons. They’re driving buggalo from Emerald City to the Porcelain Citadel

We had a Session Zero and talked about the kind of game the three of us wanted to take part in, and we all wanted something pretty chill.

  1. Violence should be largely avoidable (minimal surprise ambushes!)
  2. Not too grim (some of Luka’s flavour-text is being elided)
  3. Enjoy the ride, we’re thinking of the Westerns we like and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintence