By Duncan on 29 January 2008 12:17

Just read some news which is gutting to me. Black Industries (http://www.blackindustries.com/) have posted an announcement that they are to stop producing new material beyond September. Black Industries produce what is currently my favourite RPG, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and also our newest on in the form of Dark Heresy, set in the universe of Warhammer 40K.

What makes this stranger is that Dark Heresy was only released last Friday!

Now admittedly I do have enough WFRP material to run for several years, but it is still a shock for a growing company like BI to just stop, especially when it has produced consistently high quality and useful products.

More frustrating is that Dark Heresy was supposed to be the first part of three sections expanding the universe of 40K. Maybe someone else will take over the production of the RPGs.

I'll have to wait and see .

...

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By Duncan on 28 January 2008 17:12

This year for my birthday I had planned on getting away from it all for a couple of nights in Dublin, as there are fairly cheap flights from Exeter.

Sadly, when I went to check the availability, I found that I couldn't get the times I wanted .

So instead I'm going to the sunny city of Aberdeen, in the tropical climes of Scotland. By complete coincidence there are a couple of dance nights I might attend there, and I will probably scout out the shops and local historical sights. I may even do some reading.

I'm hoping for a peaceful and relaxing birthday in an almost foreign country.

By Duncan on 18 January 2008 20:30

Last night there was no jive in Exeter, due to the floor being redone in the Corn Exchange. So instead met in the Hog's Head for some drinks, after some hasty organisation on my part via Facebook.

I saw a few faces I hadn't seen for a while and got to know some people who'd I'd only danced with in the past.  Chatting while dancing isn't normally the best way to meet people. We talked of dance weekenders and work, of other dancers and more, while even a couple of non-dancers joined us.

The hardcore of us moved on to Rococos as the others drifted off (or had to be up early the next morning). Cheesy pop and dance was on the bill at the club, as well as some entertainment provided by an inexpert but enthusiastic pole dancer. Half a dozen of us stayed for a couple more hours of chat, drinking and dancing, to end a good night for jivers not jiving.

Back to normal next Thursday .

By Duncan on 15 January 2008 18:58

Saturday night we went for a chinese and then a drink afterwards in our local. Except that the local was packed full of a noisy crowd and noisier band, so we opted for the Bowling Green instead.

And the quiz machine was generous in there, so much so that I managed to buy (most of) a round for us punters from my quid. Spot the Difference, some frog game, bullseye and others were all paying up. This was followed by three losing pool games in a row (I blame my team-mates entirely).

Might have to start visiting more often to the Bowling Green.

By Duncan on 11 January 2008 17:45

My latest venture on Facebook is the rearing and development of my virtual friend - Gavin the Frog. He is a pet from the fluff pets application, who appears in his own little box on my facebook page.

He can be fed, petted, given little companions, apparel and backgrounds. He has his own little profile and can be raced against other people's virtual pets. After a poor start, Gavin has got off his fat arse and started winning races. Pets can also speak a message, which can change on their mood.

Its fairly pointless overall, but then that describes a lot of facebook. Pointless but quite fun in a strange way.

Now if they could find a way for pets to fight each other, with scars and bruises, then this application might just get a little more interesting.

And yes, this was named after one of my gaming group. I have no idea why, but it just felt right .

By Duncan on 10 January 2008 19:44

Each year I enter a team into the fantasy football league at http://fantasy.premierleague.com/, carefully managing it and doing fairly (or very) well, despite my lack of football knowledge.

Not this year.

Despite keeping up management of my team when many others have given up, I am outside the top 500,000 (my lowest position ever!) of 1.5 milliion. It's not that I have a bad team, just that lots of others are doing far better.

My aims through the year have been lowered each week, and now I'd settle for finishing up in the top 200,000 . Maybe next year I should give it a break and just write some more RPG adventures!

 

By Duncan on 09 January 2008 17:40

I've never been a fan of Marmite, and apparently you love it or hate it. One of my house-mates likes to eat it by the bucket-load, whereas even the smell normally puts me off. Goey, black, greasy mess which people use to destroy a perfectly good sandwich.

But I like to think that I can eat nearly any food, so when a friend looked aghast at my dislike of it, I decided to overcome my aversion.

One purchase of a pot of marmite and two sandwiches later (with some ham and cheese to soak up the taste), I haven't died, or thrown up, and while the taste isn't great, I've had worse. I'll try some more tomorrow, and by the end of the jar, maybe I'll even have developed a taste for it.

 

By Duncan on 07 January 2008 19:25

Fancy dress once more on Saturday. This time the theme was "Shocking", quite a strange one really. I went with more "garish" and "vibrant", with lots of colour. Bright trousers with flowers and matching waistcoat, bracelets, bandanna and a hawaiian shirt completed the outfit. There's probably a picture on facebook somewhere.

We went to a fish and chip restaurant beforehand, with massively big fish to weigh us down before the dancing. The evening of dance in Newquay (actually Indian Queens) was great, with some lovely dances and only a few people I knew. There was a quartet of punks, a man with light bulbs around him and one disturbing man in a bra, tights, speedos and a zombie mask.

The mix of music was great and its always nice to go somewhere new, where you aren't known, and get some suprising dances.

Hopefully I'll be back there soon!

 

By Duncan on 04 January 2008 17:58

So with a view to running or playing in it, I've been looking at the previews to Dark Heresy - an RPG set in the universe of Warhammer 40,000. There is a demo adventure, previews on the guardsman career and cybernetics, and information on the setting. In addition, fragments of info have been spoilered on the forum.

The setting is dark and gritty, and I have never played in a proper sci-fi campaign (though some would call this fantasy in space). The 40K universe is well-defined and vast, with room for pretty much any type of campaign. The default premise of Dark Heresy involves the PCs working for an Inquisitor, one of the most powerful people in the Imperium of Man, dedicated to rooting out threats to the civilisation of mankind.

 

Its out end of this month and looks really good. Based on my favourite system at the moment (WFRP) and taking it a little bit further. No doubt we'll have a trial mini-campaign before making any decisions on longer campaigns.

With luck someone else will volunteer...

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By Duncan on 03 January 2008 19:49

So my table football arrived, on the Friday before xmas, only 45 days after I ordered it (I'm not bitter at all, honest!). Putting it together took a bit more effort than first would seem, especially as some of the fittings were in upside-down and new holes needed to be drilled for some of the screws and widened for the score-markers. After some help putting it together from John, we gave it a try out and then went down the pub.

 

Last night was the first time it was used in vengeance, as my gaming group got their filthy fingers on it and gave it a hammering for a couple of games. Luke showed a surprising amount of aptitude for the game and the drinks-holders were approved of.

It is definately a sturdy table, and should last for years to come. The ball does get stuck in the corners at the moment, but I'll find some foil or a smalll ramp to fix it. All in all, I like the latest addition to my household!