[Q&A] C.J. Carella (Armageddon Girl, Buffy, WitchCraft, Nightbane, et al)

[19:03] <+cjcarella> Greetings and salutations! My name is C.J. Carella, you may remember me from such games as the WitchCraft RPG, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, and assorted titles for Steve Jackson Games and Palladium Books.
[19:03] <+cjcarella> Hey, Jason :)
[19:03] <+The_Grey_Elf> Long time, dude! Where'd Dan dig you up?
[19:03] <~Dan> (Give him a minute, Jason -- he's introducing himself. ;) )
[19:04] <+cjcarella> I'm here mainly to promote my latest project, a novel titled Armageddon Girl.
[19:05] <+The_Grey_Elf> (Oops, my bad. Thought he was done with the intro.)
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[19:05] <+cjcarella> It's an alternate history/superhero/SF novel. The setting started out as an RPG setting, but it grew into a story and the story grew into a 120,000-word manuscript.
[19:06] <+cjcarella> After trying (and failing) to get the book published through regular channels, I'm going to try my hand at self-publishing via a Kickstarter campaign.
[19:06] <+GenoFoxx> Dan has powers other mortals can scarcely understand
[19:06] <+cjcarella> I'm also working on an Armageddon Girl Companion Book that will include short stories in the novel's setting as well as notes on using the setting for RPGs.
[19:06] <+The_Grey_Elf> I'll keep a close eye on that. I've considered trying a kickstarter to self-publish my second novel.
[19:06] <+cjcarella> (done) :)
[19:07] <~Dan> Thanks, CJ!
[19:07] <+The_Grey_Elf> So will the Companion Book be Unisystem?
[19:07] <~Dan> Okay, so! I'd like to give CJ a chance to discuss his book first, then we'll open the floor to general questions.
[19:07] <+The_Grey_Elf> Oh, sorry.
[19:07] <+GenoFoxx> aw man I was so rude, I apologize
[19:07] <+cjcarella> At this point I'm thinking of making it system-neutral.
[19:08] <+The_Grey_Elf> Interesting. Will it be stat-free, then, or are you going to come up with a set of "generic" stats that are generally applicable across the board?
[19:08] <+cjcarella> Okay, the novel. Well, since I semi-retired from RPG writing a few years back, I've started a good dozen novels that never went anywhere.
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[19:09] <+cjcarella> What made me passionate enough to finish this one was a combination of the setting - a "what if" where super-powered humans appeared around the end of WW1
[19:09] <~Dan> Nice.
[19:10] <+cjcarella> and completely altered the course of history.
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[19:10] <+cjcarella> And the characters, specifically "Armageddon Girl' herself. I'm a big fan of the webshow _The Guild_ and the main character of the book, plain geeky college student Christine Dark
[19:11] <+Silverlion> Always interesting to hear about it, what are her powers? :D
[19:11] <+cjcarella> is somewhat inspired by Cyd Sherman frm the Guild. Her geeky point of view as she is dragged into this alternate universe really made it a fun book to write.
[19:12] <+cjcarella> (done)
[19:12] <~Dan> Did you catch Silverlion's question, CJ?
[19:12] <+cjcarella> Okay, let me backtrack on the questions.
[19:13] <~Dan> (I'll call a question pause there while CJ catches up.)
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[19:13] <+cjcarella> Jason - at this point I'm going to describe things in ways that can be used to translate into game terms (i.e., so-an-so can lift so many tons, can take a direct hit from a Main Battle Tank Gun, etc.
[19:14] <~Dan> (Howdy, Catseye! Q&A with cjcarella in progress!)
[19:14] <+The_Grey_Elf> Cool.
[19:14] <+cjcarella> Silverlion - as the book progresses Christine discovers she has a number of empathy powers and can also project telekinetic force fields and blasts, but most importantly she has a direct connection to the source of everyone's powers.
[19:15] <+Silverlion> Ah. Interesting.
[19:15] <+The_Grey_Elf> Well that answers my next question already.
[19:15] <+cjcarella> Okay, I think that's a (done) :)
[19:15] <+Abstruse> Is the Kickstarter for a printing of the novel? And why go print over full-digital via Amazon, B&N, iTunes, Google Play, etc?
[19:16] <~Dan> cjcarella: I have it on good authority that Beyond Human is finally on the way. Would you consider using that for the RPG supplement?
[19:16] <+Abstruse> As opposed to releasing as an ebook only I mean.
[19:16] <~Dan> Because, wow.
[19:16] <+The_Grey_Elf> Or are you planning to do print and digital?
[19:16] <+Silverlion> ...that was my question..
[19:16] <+Silverlion> I read a lot of superhero fiction on Kindle...
[19:16] <+cjcarella> The Kickstarter is mainly meant to cover ancilliary costs like marketing, art and so on. Thanks to CreateSpace and Kindle publishing I can get a print and e-book pretty much for nothing.
[19:16] <~Dan> (Question pause, please.)
[19:17] <+cjcarella> But I just want it to be professionally produced.
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[19:17] <+cjcarella> Worst case, though, I will publish it regardless of the Kickstarter results.
[19:17] <~Dan> (Welcome to #rpgnet, HsojRue! Here for the Q&A?)
[19:18] <+cjcarella> The plan is to release a POD trade paperback and a Kindle edition, followed by other e-pub formats.
[19:18] <+The_Grey_Elf> Are you going to buy a block of ISBNs for it, or go "commando"?
[19:19] <+cjcarella> As to Beyond Human - yeah, that's something I was thinking about talking to George about, maybe do something along those lines, either through the Companion or as a later supplement.
[19:19] <~Dan> Sweet.
[19:19] <+cjcarella> I was going to go through CreateSpace for ISBNs.
[19:19] <+cjcarella> (done)
[19:20] <+The_Grey_Elf> Ah, I didn't realize CreateSpace had a program to provide them.
[19:20] <+Silverlion> Cool.
[19:20] <+cjcarella> Yeah, their ISBNs aren't usable for all outlets, but I can live with the ones that work with them.
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[19:21] <~Dan> Is this a single-source superpower setting, cjcarella?
[19:21] <+The_Grey_Elf> And of course if you do other formats, other programs may have similar deals.
[19:21] <~Dan> (Welcome to #rpgnet, TLDrake! Q&A with cjcarella in progress!)
[19:21] <+Silverlion> Who are here Aunt May's?
[19:21] <+cjcarella> Yes, the super-powers all come from the same source, and nobody in the setting really knows what it is.
[19:21] <+Silverlion> her.
[19:22] <~Dan> What's the upper end of the power scale?
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[19:22] <+cjcarella> No Aunt May equivalent in the first book, assuming I understand the question...
[19:23] <+Silverlion> Yeah, who is her personal emotional link...
[19:23] <+cjcarella> Not quite modern DC levels but I'd say John Byrne's Superman or a bit more.
[19:23] <~Dan> Really? Interesting.
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[19:24] <+cjcarella> Doh, okay - she makes a couple of friends along the way, the main one being a vigilante who rescues her, a shape-shifter by the name of Face-Off.
[19:24] <+The_Grey_Elf> I presume this is a modern day setting with backstory established in the novel for the alternate history?
[19:24] <+cjcarella> Correct - the story begins in March of 2013 on both worlds, except the conditions are fairly different on each.
[19:25] <~Dan> Oh... one being "our" world?
[19:25] <+The_Grey_Elf> AH. So I did misunderstand.
[19:25] <+The_Grey_Elf> She starts off in our world and gets sucked into the supers world?
[19:25] <+cjcarella> Yes, OTL (where Christine comes from) and the ATL where supers are real.
[19:26] <~Dan> Can you give us some examples of how far of the rails history's gone in the ATL?
[19:26] <~Dan> (of = off)
[19:26] <+cjcarella> She ends up calling them Earth Prime (OTL) and Earth Alpha (ATL) just so everyone feels like they're number One :)
[19:26] <~Dan> How very diplomatic. :)
[19:26] <+The_Grey_Elf> So what does "OTL" and "ATL" stand for?
[19:26] <~Dan> (I'm guessing Original Timeline and Alternate Timeline.)
[19:26] <+cjcarella> Well, World War Two starts out sort of the same but it changes pretty radically afterwards.
[19:26] <+The_Grey_Elf> Yes. Sigh. Sometimes I'm dense.
[19:27] <+cjcarella> Yeah, sorry for the shorthand.
[19:27] <+cjcarella> Among other things, Stalin gets killed by a rogue Hero of the Revolution in 1942, mostly just for being Stalin.
[19:27] <+Abstruse> Does everyone have some sort of superpower, or is it only certain people? If the latter, is it random who gets what powers, or is that a spoiler?
[19:27] <+The_Grey_Elf> Sounds similar to a certain WWII AFMBE book that's coming out soon, only with zombies instead of superheroes ;)
[19:28] <~Dan> What a ridiculous notion, The_Grey_Elf...
[19:28] <~Dan> ;)
[19:28] <+Catseye> You mean Eden is still producing? It's been nearly a decade since I last saw anything from them
[19:28] <+cjcarella> By 2013, there are about 5,000 "Neolympians" (the common term for supers) on the planet.
[19:29] <~Dan> Based on your description of Armageddon Girl, I take it that their power combinations aren't all that "thematic"?
[19:29] <+cjcarella> Nobody's sure how anybody becomes a Neolympians. No genetic link, frex.
[19:30] <+The_Grey_Elf> Neolympians. I like that term.
[19:30] <~Dan> That is a cool word.
[19:30] <+Silverlion> (Storm has returned, alas :/ Dan will read later..sadly got to run.)
[19:30] <+cjcarella> It varies. Most characters tend to fall into certain "types."
[19:30] <~Dan> (ttyl, Sil!)
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[19:31] <+cjcarella> There are also three general power rankings: Type Ones are fairly low-powered and among the earliest Neolympians (think pulp fiction Mystery Men types).
[19:31] <~Dan> (Welcome, fluffykins0! Q&A with cjcarella in progress! :) )
[19:31] <+cjcarella> Type Twos are your typical Marvel superhero types.
[19:32] <+The_Grey_Elf> So Type Ones are like along the lines of Doc Savage? I'm asking that for Dan, btw ;)
[19:32] <+cjcarella> And Type Threes are Superman-level, there are only a couple dozen of them, and quite a few of those own their own little countries.
[19:32] <~Dan> (You'll have to excuse Jason. Running gag, there. ;) )
[19:32] <+The_Grey_Elf> Yes, but it's also a legit. question.
[19:33] <~Dan> (It is, yup.)
[19:33] <+cjcarella> Yes, exactly (in fact one of the earliest Neolympians is called Doc Slaughter and does bear a striking resemblance to that other guy) ;)
[19:33] <+The_Grey_Elf> Awesome.
[19:33] <~Dan> So where does the setting fall on the 4-color/grim-and-gritty scale?
[19:34] <~Dan> (And awesome, re: Doc Slaughter.)
[19:35] <~Dan> Are supers rocking the Spandex?
[19:35] <+cjcarella> It's a bit schizoid in that way - you have lots of people running around with godlike powers (Neolympians don't age, btw) in cute skintight outfits, but the damage they do is all too real and gruesome.
[19:35] <+The_Grey_Elf> Nice. Sort of like Watchmen, in a way.
[19:35] <+cjcarella> Neos (short for Neolympians) also tend to have abnormally high rates of personality disorders.
[19:36] <~Dan> Oh, interesting.
[19:36] <+The_Grey_Elf> A lot like Watchmen, then :)
[19:36] <+The_Grey_Elf> Except everyone's got real superpowers, instead of just one guy and a bunch of masked vigilantes
[19:36] <+cjcarella> Let's just say that was an inspiration :)
[19:36] <~Dan> Yes, but with power levels between "nothing" and "God". :)
[19:36] <+fluffykins0> Is there a cause for that explained, or is it left up to the individual GM? (Oh and hi Dan!)
[19:36] <+cjcarella> Yeah, in this case there's a bunch of Dr. Manhattans, which has a good many implications.
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[19:37] <~Dan> fluffykins0: This is a novel with a forthcoming RPG supplement, actually. :)
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[19:37] <~Dan> (Welcome, Guest72! Please set your name with the /nick command. :) )
[19:38] <+cjcarella> Did I miss any questions?
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[19:38] <~Dan> I don't think so...
[19:38] <+cjcarella> Cool.
[19:38] <~Dan> And re: carnage, Man of Steel sounds like a good example of what you're describing. :)
[19:39] <+cjcarella> Haven't seen it yet, but Miracleman was on my mind when writing the book.
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[19:39] <~Dan> Ah. Well, no spoilers, then. Let's just say that the surroundings take a beating. :)
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[19:39] <+cjcarella> Yeah, figured as much from the previews.
[19:40] <~Dan> What's the morality of the setting? I'm guessing that's not exactly four-color, either?
[19:41] <+cjcarella> Well, in theory "legal" Neos have some pretty strict codes of conduct.
[19:41] <+cjcarella> By legal, I mean properly bonded and licensed parahumans.
[19:41] <+Jason_Vey> Sounds like a really cool concept. I'm curious about the sourcebook. I get the desire to go system-free to appeal to as many gamers as you can, but it seems that with gamers being as lazy as we are, it'll be tough to get someone to pick up a book with no real stats at all....
[19:41] * ~Dan nods
[19:41] <+Jason_Vey> A gaming sourcebook, that is
[19:42] <+Jason_Vey> (Is that cool to query now or are we on "novel only" questions?)
[19:42] <~Dan> (Oh, no, I think that's fair game, Jason.)
[19:42] <+cjcarella> Well, right now the Companion is a combination of short fiction, "mockumentary" articles and setting concepts.
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[19:43] <~Dan> (Howdy, brainglitch! Q&A with cjcarella in progress! :) )
[19:43] <+brainglitch> dan i am late :(
[19:44] <+cjcarella> I'm currently planning on releasing it as a $2.99 e-book (the Companion, that is) and use it as a Kickstarter reward.
[19:44] <+Jason_Vey> Ah, ok. That's very nice, then.
[19:44] <~Dan> What's the tech level of the setting like? Have super-geniuses changed the world?
[19:44] <+JP> CJ Carella, is the kickstarter forthcoming or already begun? If the former, how can one get updates?
[19:45] <+Jason_Vey> Also, how do the politics of the world play out? Like, what's the ratio of neos to norms, and how do the norms cope with being, well, norm? Are the subjugated? If not, then why not?
[19:45] <~Dan> (Question pause, please.)
[19:45] <+cjcarella> There are a number of tech changes. Among other things, wrist-comms have been in common use since the 1960s (after some inventor gave one to some police detective in Chicago)
[19:45] <+Jason_Vey> NICE
[19:45] <~Dan> (Cool. :D )
[19:46] <~Dan> (I bet the guy was a real Dick, though...)
[19:46] <+cjcarella> The Internet is known as the Hypernet and the web is the Xanaweb, and it works more or less like the original Xanadu concept for the internet.
[19:46] <+cjcarella> (You got it, Dan) :)
[19:46] <~Dan> How's that, re: Xanadu?
[19:47] <+cjcarella> (Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Xanadu)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Xanadu
[19:47] <~Dan> Ah! Thanks. :)
[19:47] <+cjcarella> And there is a lot more clean energy, power armor, etc.
[19:48] <+Janana> ah, yes, Detective Tracy Richard.
[19:48] <+cjcarella> Politics: There are about 5,000 Neos in the world by 2013. Shold be more like 10,000 but despite being ageless they have a high mortality rate.
[19:48] <+Janana> :)
[19:49] <+Jason_Vey> Because they kill each other off, I presume?
[19:49] <+cjcarella> There are almost 20 Neo heads of state as of 2013.
[19:49] <+cjcarella> Yeah, Neos are their own primary cause of death.
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[19:50] <~Dan> (Actually, turns out rednecks are especially likely to become Neos. "Hey, y'all! Watch THIS....")
[19:50] <+cjcarella> Two US Presidents have been Neos, the Patriot in 1964 defeats Kennedy's re-election bid, and in 2012 ex-soldier and Neo Wrestling Federation vet John Colletta wins on the Reform Party ticket.
[19:50] <+Jason_Vey> Hey, Dan, always SOMETHING goin' on down at the Trailerhood!
[19:50] <~Dan> :D
[19:50] <+cjcarella> Neos are adrenaline junkies, so there's a lot of that going on :)
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[19:51] <~Dan> Really? I was joking. :D
[19:51] <+Jason_Vey> Wait a second, let's step back to Neo Wrestling Federation??
[19:51] <~Dan> (Howdy, Bethy!)
[19:51] <+Jason_Vey> That may be the single coolest supers idea EVER.
[19:51] * +JP high-fives BethE
[19:51] <&BethE> (Hi Dan!  *HUG*  Hi JP!  )
[19:51] <+cjcarella> It's been done before :)
[19:51] <+Jason_Vey> I've never heard it before.
[19:51] <~Dan> (cjcarella, this is Beth. She was my Slayer, and I'm in her decade-old Buffy game. :) )
[19:51] <+Jason_Vey> But it makes TOTAL sense.
[19:51] <+cjcarella> It only gets an offhand mention in the book, though.
[19:52] <&BethE> (And I was in your Angel game.  :) )
[19:52] <~Dan> (That, too!)
[19:52] <+cjcarella> Very cool,glad you enjoyed the game. :)
[19:52] <&BethE> Thank you for working on it!  :)
[19:52] <+cjcarella> Thank you.
[19:52] <+Jason_Vey> Too bad you guys never got to see City of Heroes. C.J. did an AWESOME job on the rewrite for that one!
[19:53] <~Dan> Oh? I didn't realize you ever had a hand in that, CJ!
[19:53] <+Jason_Vey> Unless I'm very much mistaken.
[19:53] <+cjcarella> City of Heroes  (sad face). It was my favorite MMORPG. I only worked on the RPG supplement.
[19:53] <+cjcarella> Which unfortunately didn't make it.
[19:53] <+Jason_Vey> Yeah, it's sad
[19:54] <+Jason_Vey> It would've been an awesome game.
[19:54] <+Jason_Vey> I had the pleasure of running demos of it at Origins back in the day.
[19:54] <+cjcarella> Yeah, it came out pretty nicely, I thought.
[19:54] <~Dan> Are there any "weird" aspects to Earth Alpha that aren't directly related to the Neos?
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[19:55] <~Dan> (Howdy, Wondy! Q&A with cjcarella in progress!)
[19:55] <~Dan> (Oh, and as usual, #rpgnet2 is open for general chat.)
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[19:56] <+cjcarella> Not for the most part, at least not that people would notice. No magic or occult - well, there are plenty of Neos with magic or occult motiffs running around but they are deluded or charlatans.
[19:56] * ~Dan nods
[19:56] <~Dan> So no mole men, dinosaurs, Martians, etc.?
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[19:57] <~Dan> (Welcome, Guest54! Please set your name with the /nick command. :) )
[19:57] <+cjcarella> No - I would have loved to have more of that stuff but it was hard to make it fit the theme concepts. There are a lot of homages to comic book history in the story, though.
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[19:58] <~Dan> On a related note, is there any suggestion of still other worlds?
[19:58] <+cjcarella> As in parallel universes or other planets?
[19:58] <~Dan> The former.
[19:59] <+cjcarella> Yes. There have been a couple of incursions from other worlds (one such involved some sort of Afrikaner-Nazis from an advanced civilization, frex). There's also a couple of Neos who claim to travel betwene worlds.
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[20:00] <~Dan> Ah. So there is the potential for more weirdness -- it's just not front and center?
[20:00] <+cjcarella> As to other planets, so far there's been no alien contact. One Neo went off on a 20-year journey among the stars, came back, and refused to talk about what he found out there.
[20:01] <~Dan> Ominous...
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[20:01] <~Dan> (wb, Mike!)
[20:01] <+cjcarella> Yes, definitely some weirdness potential not directly related to Neos.
[20:01] <~Dan> Cool. I like to have that potential there, at least.
[20:02] <+cjcarella> And in the RPG treatment, I will go on about how to add other elements to the setting, because that's how I roll :)
[20:02] <~Dan> Excellent. You roll well, sir. :)
[20:02] <+cjcarella> :D
[20:02] <~Dan> Speaking of RPGs, would you be okay with opening the floor to general CJ-questions?
[20:03] <+cjcarella> Sure thing.
[20:03] <+Jason_Vey> So where have you been hiding these past several years?
[20:03] <+cjcarella> I've mostly been working for a living and starting novels that went nowhere.
[20:04] <+Jason_Vey> Hah. I know the feeling of working for a living. Wouldn't we all love a magic ticket to get out from under that one?
[20:04] <+cjcarella> And playing a lot of games (tabletop and computer).
[20:04] <+Kei> dude, is that cj carella!?
[20:05] <+cjcarella> I'm pretty sure it's me - I mean,l who'd want to impersonate me, really? :)
[20:05] <~Dan> Can you say a bit about the development of WitchCraft? I remember seeing the first edition years ago and thinking, "Oh, great -- probably some politically correct touchy-feely Wiccan: the RPG." I was pleasantly surprised. :)
[20:05] <+Kei> you'd be surprised! :D
[20:05] <~Dan> Howdy, Kei. :)
[20:05] <+Kei> but seriously, high five, sir! your gaming works are most excellent.
[20:05] <+Kei> Dan! you rock!
[20:05] <+Jason_Vey> Man, where's Bill Coffin when I want to throw a jab at him? Because I'd say, "Bill Coffin would impersonate you in a second, C.J. He's that type of guy" ;)
[20:05] <~Dan> Thanks!
[20:05] <+cjcarella> Sure. I've always been fascinated with horror and paranormal games.
[20:05] <+Kei> of course!
[20:05] <+cjcarella> Thank you, Kei.
[20:06] <+ToferC> Seconded (or thirded, fourthed, whatever).  My players and I have loved your games, CJ.  Armageddon was excellent.
[20:06] <+Catseye> I'm a huge Witchcraft fan. I have every book in the 2nd edition line.
[20:06] <+Jason_Vey> (and don't worry; I'll make sure Bill sees this chat log just for that barb)
[20:06] <+cjcarella> And I wanted to develop a modern setting with an underlying magical theme that answered the question "what if every horror movie took place in the same setting?"
[20:06] <+Kei> you're welcome, natch. always been a fan of the uni/cineuni games in particular - I think I played AFMBE most. but I remember your work as far back as palladium (which is perhaps showing my age, but I digress)
[20:07] <+cjcarella> Thank you.
[20:07] <+Kei> again, you're welcome. now I'll stop interrupting and allow you to continue ;p
[20:07] <+cjcarella> So I wrote the cosmology around those concepts.
[20:08] <+cjcarella> I still tried to be nice to Wiccans, though :)
[20:08] <~Dan> (I know. ;) )
[20:08] <+Jason_Vey> I always found your use of the Kabbalistic Sefirot fascinating. Could you elaborate on why you chose to make them worlds instead of names of God?
[20:08] <+cjcarella> I briefly dabbled in Wicca in college so I have a soft spot for them.
[20:08] <+Catseye> It's a shame, though. Witchcraft always seems to be unfinished business to me. A lot more could have been done with the line.
[20:09] <+Jason_Vey> You kind of combined the Sefirot of the Kabbalah with the Norse concept of Yggdrasil and the different worlds therein.
[20:09] <+cjcarella> Well, in some interpretations of Kabbala the Sefiroth are branches in a universal tree, so I combined that with the idea of Ygdrassil and the Norse many-worlds mythos. Just a bit of comological mashup.
[20:09] <+Jason_Vey> Hahahaha. Great minds.
[20:09] <+cjcarella> :)
[20:10] <~Dan> Yeah, one thing I mentioned in my review of WC was how skillfully you wove so many cosmologies together.
[20:10] <&Le_Squide> I have players who will not stop trying to get me to run Nightbane. :|
[20:10] <+Jason_Vey> It's a really interesting take. Always has been. I've also been fascinated by the Gnostic concepts you chucked in there.
[20:10] <+cjcarella> Yeah, there was a lot more stuff I wanted to do with WC. Sales didn't quite make it, though.
[20:10] <~Dan> You are nice to Wiccans. And other pagans, and Christians, and pretty much everyone except maybe atheists. :)
[20:10] <~Dan> In terms of the cosmology, I mean.
[20:10] <+Jason_Vey> That's okay; Atheists don't need you to be nice to them. They're independent and self-sufficient :p
[20:10] <+cjcarella> Well, in that setting atheists are in deep dodo. :)
[20:10] <~Dan> Indeed.
[20:11] <+Catseye> I am still a big fan of Nightbane. I used to run it for a local group
[20:11] <+cjcarella> I tried to put all my years of education for good use - making weird crap up :)
[20:11] <+Jason_Vey> Hahahaha I do the same.
[20:11] <~Dan> I hope this isn't a sore spot, but did you have any influence from the World of Darkness games? I have some thoughts on the subject, but I'd like to hear your opinion. Because I've defended WC/Armageddon for years from the "knockoff" label.
[20:12] <+cjcarella> Nightbane is my favorite game I wrote for PB :)
[20:12] <+Jason_Vey> You know people have wished for years for you to get that IP back and do it up as a Unisystem game, don't you?
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[20:13] <+cjcarella> Well, I certainly drew some inspiration from WoD, but I wasn't trying to copy them. If anything, my intent was to address what I saw as flaws in the WoD - essentially multiple totally incompatible cosmologies in allegedly the same setting.
[20:13] * ~Dan nods
[20:13] <~Dan> Exactly.
[20:13] <+cjcarella> My intention was to create a single cosmology that would accomodate every type of supernatural entity you could think of.
[20:14] <~Dan> Also, I find WC inherently heroic, which the WoD is not.
[20:14] <~Dan> The way I've described the difference to people is this:
[20:14] <~Dan> The WoD is, "You're a supernatural creature. How do you feel about that?"
[20:14] <+cjcarella> Yeah, I do tend to go overboard with the power-trip fantasy elements :)
[20:15] <~Dan> WC is, "You're a supernatural creature and the world is in danger. What are you going to do about that?"
[20:15] <+Jason_Vey> I always say WitchCraft is the World of Darkness done right. ;)
[20:15] <+cjcarella> I'm sure WoD fans love to hear that :)
[20:15] <~Dan> (Well, or a magician, or a seer, but you get the idea.)
[20:15] <~Dan> Yeah, they're touchy about that, CJ. Heh. :)
[20:15] <~Dan> But I just think it's a matter of taste.
[20:15] <+Jason_Vey> And it's SO fun to poke that particular hornet's nest on occasion.
[20:15] <+Catseye> Jason_Vey: That I would agree with
[20:16] <~Dan> I, for one, LOVE the fact that your groups aren't pseudo-classes, but feel more "organic".
[20:16] <+cjcarella> Well, I have nothing against personal struggles and angst as a theme, but I like the idea of overarching conflict in game settings.
[20:16] <+technoshaman> My first question is if you had the chance to do an upate like a new edition to one of your old RPGs, which one would it be?
[20:17] <+WonderRat> OK I admit I have never played Witchcraft, but that is an intresting way to describe it. I think I used to be a WoD fanboy, but I really saw its flaws in the end. Still neat though.
[20:17] <+cjcarella> Hm - really, the only 100% original RPGs I've done have been revamped through Eden and are in pretty good shape, IMHO as they stand.
[20:17] <~Dan> (Well, you can fanboy over Mark Rein-Hagen when he shows up tomorrow, Wondy. ;) )
[20:18] <+WonderRat> Not much of a fanboy anymore, but still be cool to hear what he has to say bout diffirent stuff.
[20:18] <~Dan> Certainly.
[20:19] <+technoshaman> I'm not sure if you created the Unisystem or not but if so which one did like the most, classic or cinematic?
[20:19] <~Dan> (He did. :) )
[20:19] <+cjcarella> Of course, I haven't kept up with WoD since they destroyed the original incarnation, so i don't know how things have changed.
[20:19] <+Jason_Vey> cjcarella: entirely.
[20:19] <+Jason_Vey> So much so that they reprinted the original version via print on demand because it seems nobody is playing the new version.
[20:19] <+cjcarella> It depends on the game I'm trying to run - I enjoy Cinematic a lot, just because it adds those little extra storytelling tools.
[20:20] <+Abstruse> They're doing a KS right now for a new edition of Mind's Eye Theater, and they reprinted the original game with all clans/disciplines last year I think.
[20:20] <+cjcarella> How retro of them :)
[20:20] <~Dan> I think my ideal is some combination of standard and Cinematic, personally. I like the "flavor" of magic in standard more, I think, but I love me some Drama Points.
[20:21] <~Dan> Speaking of which, CJ: Do you think you made magic too powerful in Buffy?
[20:21] <+cjcarella> Yeah, the magic system in WC is a lot more detailed and coherent than Buffy's, for obvious reasons.
[20:21] <+Jason_Vey> Agreed, Dan. Though Tim Brannan did a great job with the magic system in Ghosts of Albion.
[20:21] <&BethE> Drama Points were my favorite part too, although I dislike paying off players for railroading.
[20:21] <~Dan> Oh, yes. Ghosts of Albion is fantastic.
[20:21] <+cjcarella> Well, magic in Buffy is way too powerful :)
[20:21] <+cjcarella> Just ask the guy Willow skinned.
[20:21] <+Jason_Vey> LOL
[20:21] <+cjcarella> Oh, wait, he's dead.
[20:22] <+Jason_Vey> But he came back as an avatar of the First
[20:22] <~Dan> Heh. Well, true... but I just found that a mage with Drama Points to burn could pretty much run the table in a fight.
[20:22] <+Abstruse> Read the comic...
[20:22] <&BethE> *shfty look at thinking about one of her PCs who summoned a creator god and got away with it...*
[20:22] <+cjcarella> Yeah, but so did everyone :P
[20:22] <+cjcarella> That's true, the balance could have been tweaked, I admit.
[20:23] <+Jason_Vey> I use Classic magic in my Cinematic games by having players roll Will + Essence Channeling. Success levels = the amount of essence they can call upon that turn to power spells.
[20:23] <+cjcarella> But the Director can always try to play the Unintended Consequences card.
[20:23] <~Dan> What's your favorite Unisystem game that you didn't have a hand in?
[20:23] <+technoshaman> i wish they did psionic powers similar to ghosts of albion or WC magic rather than qualities in GoA
[20:23] <+cjcarella> AFMBE - I'm a zombie apocalypse fan and the game rocks.
[20:24] <+Jason_Vey> [cheap plug] You know Band of Zombies is coming out soon, yeah?
[20:24] <+cjcarella> Yes, I heard. Looking forward to it. :)
[20:24] <~Dan> Does it make you feel like a proud pappa to see your "kid" doing so well, CJ? :)
[20:24] <+Jason_Vey> Not half as much as I am!!! ;)
[20:25] <+cjcarella> Yep, I'm glad to see Eden's still putting out stuff.
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[20:25] <~Dan> (wb, Sil!)
[20:26] <~Dan> cjcarella: Have you seen Eldritch Skies yet?
[20:26] <+technoshaman> still waiting on Beyond Human "shakes fist"!
[20:26] <+Silverlion> (Danke)
[20:26] <+cjcarella> Nope - just googled it and it sounds interesting.
[20:27] <+cjcarella> I haven't really been keeping up with the industry since around 2006 :(
[20:27] <~Dan> I have a review of it up on my blog (and other places). It's very, very cool.
[20:27] <+Silverlion> I want it but alas game designer with no dayjob
[20:28] <~Dan> So does talk of an RPG supplement for Armageddon Girl bring back an RPG-writing itch at all? Maybe? :)
[20:28] <+Silverlion> Hint hint..
[20:29] <+cjcarella> A bit. I have to admit I was pretty burned out after I finished the City of Heroes sourcebook. And I'm enjoying writing fiction in a different way, it's more visceral and immediate.
[20:29] * ~Dan nods
[20:29] <~Dan> Well, for what it's worth, you're missed. :)
[20:29] <+cjcarella> But I'm still a gaming geek at heart.
[20:30] <+cjcarella> But if the book does well and there is interest, I wouldn't mind doing something more with the setting.
[20:30] <~Dan> Awesome.
[20:30] <&BethE> Well, I need to go kill gnomes.  Night, all, and thank you again, C.J., for your wonderful work!
[20:30] <+cjcarella> thank you, Beth. :)
[20:31] <~Dan> Just let me know if you'd like to shoot me a review copy when it comes out, by the way. It wouldn't exactly be the first one of your books that I've reviewed. ;)
[20:31] <~Dan> Bye, Bethy!
[20:31] <+Kei> Beth!
[20:31] <+Silverlion> Indeed if i were wealthy id  pay cj what hes worth for games
[20:31] <+cjcarella> Absolutely.
[20:31] <&BethE> Hi/Bye, Kei!  :)
[20:31] <+Silverlion> Gah nexus keyboard
[20:31] <~Dan> (Kei is Damiar, Beth. :) )
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[20:31] <+cjcarella> Hey, if you can find me a patron of the arts, I'll happily accept his $$ ;)
[20:31] * ~Dan chuckles
[20:32] <+Silverlion> New evil kickstarter plan...
[20:32] <~Dan> Did your WitchCraft work lead directly to you getting the Buffy gig? Because I remember thinking that WitchCraft could be Buffy: the RPG before that actually happened.
[20:32] <+Abstruse> Give me a winning Powerball ticket it and I'm your huckleberry.
[20:32] <+Jason_Vey> Okay, folks. I'm going to roll off of here, too. I need to get some early shut-eye tonight--haven't been sleeping well lately. CJ, sent you a private message (see the tabs at the top).
[20:33] <~Dan> Hope you sleep well, Jason!
[20:33] <+Silverlion> Night jason vey
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[20:33] <~Dan> And welcome, Jonathan!
[20:33] <+cjcarella> Got it, Jason. Good night.
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[20:33] <~Dan> (This is the publisher of Eldritch Skies, cjcarella. :) )
[20:33] <+Jason_Vey> Night, all!
[20:33] <+BPIJonathan> Hello Dan, CJ
[20:33] <+cjcarella> Not sure if WC led to Buffy. George handled the licensing deal.
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[20:33] <+Silverlion> Allo jt
[20:33] <+cjcarella> Ah, cool.
[20:34] <+Abstruse> What was it like working on a licensed product? Did the license holder have a lot of notes for you, or were you given free reign?
[20:34] <+cjcarella> I was a fan of the show before the RPG deal, though.
[20:34] <+cjcarella> Liked the movie, too (in fact there is a Buffy nod in Pantheons of the Megaverse).
[20:35] <+cjcarella> They pretty much just did the final approval stuff. No notes, I just watched the show over and over (I know, hardship).
[20:35] <~Dan> (How can you not like a movie with a vampiric Peewee Herman?)
[20:35] <+BPIJonathan> I have been a fan for some time CJ.
[20:35] <+cjcarella> Thank you, Johnathan.
[20:35] <+BPIJonathan> (of yours, but also Buffy :D)
[20:35] <+cjcarella> Ah :)
[20:35] <+Silverlion> I wasnt a fan of bud
[20:36] <+Silverlion> Buffy at first took me a while
[20:36] <+Silverlion> Sjow not game
[20:36] <+Silverlion> I
[20:36] <+Silverlion> Sigh
[20:36] <~Dan> Would you agree that Angel is more flexible than Buffy, CJ?
[20:36] <+cjcarella> Joss Whedon is a freaking rock star, though.
[20:36] <~Dan> (And yeah, in retrospect, that sounds bad...)
[20:37] <+cjcarella> Yeah, the setting is a lot more open.
[20:37] <~Dan> Well, I mean in terms of the game systems provided.
[20:37] <~Dan> Especially the demon creation rules in Angel.
[20:37] <+cjcarella> Given that there were so many demonic "PCs" in Angel, we had to provide something like that. Buffy was mostly humans and vamps as characters.
[20:38] * ~Dan nods
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[20:38] <+Silverlion> I thing theyre the same..just one shows you how
[20:38] <+BPIJonathan> CJ: Have you had a chance to read Eldritch Skies?
[20:38] <~Dan> Oh, I have to say this: Kudos on the rogue demon hunter archetype. :)
[20:39] <+cjcarella> No, I'm so clueless I didn't even know about the game until tonight. Really been keeping my head in the sand. It looks really awesome, though.
[20:39] <+BPIJonathan> Whats a rogue demon?
[20:39] <~Dan> :D
[20:39] <+cjcarella> I'm just glad I didn't spell it "Rouge Demon Hunter" ;)
[20:39] <~Dan> LOL
[20:39] <+Silverlion> Hehe
[20:40] <~Dan> How hard was it to write in "Buffy-ese"? Because man, you made it look effortless.
[20:40] <+cjcarella> Well, I did watch the show a lot of times. It kinda sunk in after a while. And it was the most fun writing I've ever done for RPGs.
[20:41] <~Dan> It really shows.
[20:41] <~Dan> And it could have gotten really annoying in less capable hands.
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[20:42] <~Dan> (Welcome, Guest12! Please set your name with the /nick command. :) )
[20:42] <+cjcarella> It's a fine line, true, and sometimes I look at a few things here or there when I tried to be too cute.
[20:43] <+cjcarella> Any other questions?
[20:43] <~Dan> So let's assume that you REALLY got the game-writing bug back, and someone handed you all the cash you wanted to do a project. What would it be?
[20:44] <+cjcarella> There's two I wanted to do: Jurassic Kingdoms, a time-travel mutli-genre game set in, well, it's in the title.
[20:44] <+cjcarella> And an Atlantis-Mu-Ultima Thule game.
[20:44] <+BPIJonathan> I know that I miss yours and Erick Wujick writing, and while I know that Erick is gone from us....I would love to see you do some more...especially under my banner :D
[20:45] <~Dan> Would the latter have been in the WC/Armageddon setting?
[20:45] <+cjcarella> Thank you, and now that I'm writing regularly again maybe we can work on something.
[20:45] <+cjcarella> Both of them were, to some degree (I still have notes gathering dust in my hard drive).
[20:45] <+Silverlion> Is that a game of occult sorority
[20:45] <+BPIJonathan> Would it be ok if I get your email address from Dan?
[20:46] <~Dan> I would so love to see one or both of those. :)
[20:46] <+cjcarella> Absolutely.
[20:46] <+BPIJonathan> Thank you so much. I do appreciate it.
[20:46] <~Dan> As an aside, my standard description of Armageddon is everything supernatural teaming up against high-tech undead mutant Cthulhu Nazis. :)
[20:47] <+cjcarella> They are just the kind of settings that would probably only sell a couple thousand copies. Although nowadays with Kicstarter things may be doable that weren't five years ago.
[20:47] <+Silverlion> Indeed
[20:47] <~Dan> That's true, re: Kickstarter.
[20:47] <+cjcarella> Yeah, I loved that. I use it myself. "Angels, demons and gods versus Cthulhu Nazis."
[20:47] <+Silverlion> I enjoyed it
[20:47] <~Dan> Really? You got that from my Armageddon review?
[20:48] <+cjcarella> Yes, sir. :)
[20:48] * ~Dan blushes!
[20:48] <~Dan> I am honored. :)
[20:48] <+cjcarella> It's a great one-liner.
[20:48] <+Silverlion> Speakimg of rouge demoms
[20:48] <+Silverlion> Blah
[20:48] <~Dan> Thanks. :)
[20:48] <+cjcarella> And they are Cthulhu Nazis, near enough.
[20:49] <~Dan> Some of them rather literally!
[20:49] <+cjcarella> lol
[20:49] <+cjcarella> Oh, I wanted to make a couple of announcements, and it looks like time is growing short (forgot about them).
[20:50] <~Dan> Please do!
[20:50] <+cjcarella> First, I will be releasing the first 40,000 words or so of Armageddon Girl as a free Kindle download sometime in early July.
[20:50] <+Silverlion> Yay free
[20:50] <~Dan> (Although, while you're typing, I should mention that you are more than welcome to hang out with us as long as you like.)
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[20:51] <+cjcarella> Just want to give people a good idea of what the book's like before I ask them to plop money on it.
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[20:51] <+cjcarella> Oh, okay, wasn't sure if things would shut down at 9 pm CT on the dot :)
[20:51] <~Dan> Not at all. And especially not for one of my game author heroes. ;)
[20:51] <+cjcarella> Now I'm turning rouge.
[20:52] <+BPIJonathan> But Dan, CJ is the guest here tonight :)
[20:52] * ~Dan chuckles
[20:52] <+cjcarella> lol
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[20:53] <~Dan> (Was there another announcement?)
[20:54] <+cjcarella> The other thing, and it's kinda embarassing, I'm participating on a vlog contest on (Link: http://geekandsundry.com/)http://geekandsundry.com/ and my vlog entry will appear (along with dozens others, so my chances ain't great) at this link: (Link: http://geekandsundry.com/vlogger/carlos-j.-martijena-carella)http://geekandsundry.com/vlogger/carlos-j.-martijena-carella
[20:54] <+Silverlion> Cool
[20:54] <+Silverlion> Ill go look
[20:54] <+Abstruse> What's yours over?
[20:54] <+cjcarella> Now, I have the onscreen presence of a dead armadillo, so my chances ain't great, but I said what the hell. Oh, the link won't go live till tomorrow sometime.
[20:54] <~Dan> So will I. And you may get quite a few hits from the log of this chat, too.
[20:55] <+Silverlion> Cant be as bad as me cj
[20:55] <+Kei> okay I'm officially free. I see cj's still about, that's an added bonus!
[20:55] <+cjcarella> The Vlog will deal with gaming, writing (following my misadventures with self-publishing), self-image issues in the geek community, and Hispanics and geeks (yeah, maybe too many subjects).
[20:55] <+Kei> you know cj,
[20:55] <~Dan> CJ, I should also mention that you're also more than welcome to hang out here whenever you like, to discuss your work or not. We have our share of "resident" authors. :)
[20:56] <+Silverlion> Sounds interesting cj
[20:56] <~Dan> A Q&A just means you have the floor to yourself.
[20:56] <+Abstruse> Tight focus is better in my experience.
[20:56] <+Kei> as a fellow hispanic gamer geek, I have always felt a bit of kinship ;p
[20:56] <~Dan> So if you ever want to hang out and get your geek on, we're your people. :)
[20:56] <+cjcarella> Cool. I'll probably take you up on it. Maybe I'll show up tomorrow to pester Mark Rein ** Hagen.
[20:56] <+cjcarella> Just kidding.
[20:56] <~Dan> Heh. That would be epic. :D
[20:56] <+BPIJonathan> Someone needs to pester  him, hes been pestering me lately :P
[20:56] <+Silverlion> Ive written two wholw tiny and unimpressive games
[20:56] <+Kei> has he graduated to two asterisks?
[20:57] <+cjcarella> Cool, otro hispano :)
[20:57] <+Abstruse> Do it. My column goes up Friday or Saturday and it would make a great story :p
[20:57] <+Kei> haha ^^
[20:57] <+BPIJonathan> I have my share of unimpressive games.
[20:57] <+cjcarella> I've never met the guy, I don't think it'd be nice of me to show up at his Q&A. Curious, though, what is he working on?
[20:58] <+Crazy-Cabal> So as a huge fan I have to say, did you have any urge to revisit some of your old palladium stuff in a more...modern system? I don't know you could call it "Darkspawn" or "Daybane" maybe? ;)
[20:58] <~Dan> He's got a game coming out called "I Am Zombie".
[20:58] <+Abstruse> Zombie: The Zombieing
[20:58] <+Silverlion> Zombie game with pc zombies
[20:58] <+Abstruse> Because WW has run out of monsters to make game protagonists out of.
[20:58] <+cjcarella> Ooh, maybe I will show up and go "You know, I loved this game when it was called AFMBE!"
[20:58] <+BlasterKyubey210> If anything else
[20:58] <~Dan> Yeah, I was just thinking that, CJ. :)
[20:58] <+Silverlion> Id love improved nightspawn
[20:59] <~Dan> After all these years of being accused of knocking him off, you could accuse him of knocking of a game based on your game. :D
[20:59] <+Silverlion> Is rh with ww anymore?
[20:59] <+BlasterKyubey210> Yes is there
[20:59] <+cjcarella> So would I, but Nighbane 2.0 ain't exactly a realistic hope.
[20:59] * +Catseye smiles
[20:59] <+Abstruse> I don't think so, but I'd have to check.
[20:59] <+Abstruse> My own damn column, as a matter of fact :p
[20:59] <+BlasterKyubey210> ... mmm, Palladium...
[20:59] <+Silverlion> I know. Sadly
[20:59] <+BlasterKyubey210> Speaking of the system
[20:59] <+BlasterKyubey210> Was there anything good that came out of it?
[20:59] <+BlasterKyubey210> I see mostly bad things
[21:00] <+cjcarella> There's a set of Uni rules for it floating around, if a C&D hasn't shit it down.
[21:00] <+BlasterKyubey210> Walking around the field
[21:00] <+BlasterKyubey210> No one wants to try Palladium so I deleted all the books
[21:00] <~Dan> Mind the language, CJ. ;)
[21:00] <+cjcarella> doh.
[21:00] <+Silverlion> Oops
[21:00] <~Dan> Heehee.
[21:00] <+BlasterKyubey210> It's fine, some people already feel shut down anyways
[21:00] <+Silverlion> Typo of the damned
[21:00] <+Catseye> There are good things that came from Palladium. But I can list off quite a few stinkers too
[21:01] <+Abstruse> For the record, it's only my respect for you, Dan, that keeps my filthy mouth in check :p
[21:01] <+Crazy-Cabal> I never knew though, did you write the game with the intent for the random Morphus table or was it something suggested?
[21:01] <+Silverlion> Ditto catseye
[21:01] * ~Dan chuckles
[21:01] <+Abstruse> I use the f-word like a comma usually.
[21:01] <+BPIJonathan> Im a fan of older palladium more than I am the newer stuff, but I still buy a book or two once in awhile.
[21:01] <+cjcarella> Hey, I always loved the books. System never did much for me but the settings always appealed to my inner geek.
[21:01] <+Silverlion> Same here cj
[21:01] <~Dan> Oh! CJ, I have to tell you a story about my WitchCraft game, and some players who did not get the point.
[21:02] <+cjcarella> Yeah, the Morphus table was part of it. People seemed to like it.
[21:02] <+BPIJonathan> We do a lot of Robotech still, mostly just my brother, my son and I.
[21:02] <+Silverlion> Hehe
[21:02] <+cjcarella> Cool, what happened?
[21:02] <~Dan> So I had this long-running gaming group, and I got them to play WC.
[21:02] <~Dan> Good group, but we needed more players.
[21:02] <+Crazy-Cabal> Slight joke but did you have a Bear table written?
[21:03] <~Dan> So we had this guy join us who was a cop. Good player, but kind of a power gamer. Very gung ho.
[21:03] <~Dan> Which was fine...
[21:03] <+Silverlion> Ouch
[21:03] <~Dan> ...except that a friend of his invited himself over.
[21:03] <+cjcarella> I think somebody did do a Bear table.
[21:03] <~Dan> Who was... a little strnage.
[21:03] <~Dan> strange
[21:03] <~Dan> He wanted to play a Phantasm.
[21:03] <+cjcarella> Hehe.
[21:03] <~Dan> (The cop was playing a Mundane badass.)
[21:04] <+Silverlion> I sha
[21:04] <~Dan> I was like... are you suuure? Because that's kind of a tricky character type to jump in on...
[21:04] <~Dan> He insisted. I agreed.
[21:04] <+cjcarella> That's what Mundanes are for :)
[21:04] <+Silverlion> I shall now get out all my wc books
[21:04] <~Dan> He wrote this insane back-story that he was the spirit of one of the cop guy's ancesters, who had been some kind of Viking or something...
[21:05] <~Dan> Anyway, I empasized that I expected the PCs to be heroes.
[21:05] <~Dan> Maybe not pure as the driven snow, but the Good Guys.
[21:05] <~Dan> First break in the action, I ask what people are doing.
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[21:05] <~Dan> Mr. Phantasm says, with a creepy grin, "I go to a children's hospital and feed on the pain and suffering."
[21:06] <+Silverlion> ...wha
[21:06] <+cjcarella> tsk tsk.
[21:06] <+Kzar> ... okay
[21:06] <+Catseye> ~Dan: That's messed up!
[21:06] <~Dan> I'm like... yeah, okay....
[21:06] <+xyphoid_> did that session last past that?
[21:06] <+Silverlion> And you are eaten by a grue
[21:06] <~Dan> Yes, but I lectured him a bit on the whole "hero" thing...
[21:06] <~Dan> But then...
[21:07] <+cjcarella> I have a bad feeling about this...
[21:07] <~Dan> ...the group was scoping out the house of a guy they suspected of being the leader of a cult. I forget the exact details... But anyway, the guy had security officers making the rounds of his house.
[21:07] <~Dan> The commando Mundane goes in, because he's super-sneaky.
[21:07] <~Dan> His ancestor Phantasm goes in with him, because, Phantasm.
[21:08] <~Dan> (I should mention that a Phantasm is a ghost that can take on a physical form temporarily.)
[21:08] <~Dan> Anyway, commando guy is in a room. Security guys are coming in. Commando hides.
[21:08] <~Dan> (Again, bear in mind that they just suspect that the owner of the house may be a bad guy.)
[21:08] <~Dan> Commando guy hides successfully. Security guys turn to leave.
[21:09] <~Dan> Commando guy pops up and fills'em fulla lead!
[21:09] <~Dan> Me: "I... but..."
[21:09] <+TLDrake> *facepalms*
[21:09] <+Silverlion> Poor dan
[21:09] <~Dan> Mr. Phantasm: *gleefully* "I leap upon their souls as they leave their bodies and devour them!!"
[21:09] <+cjcarella> And him an officer of the law in RL? Scary.
[21:09] <+cjcarella> And we have a winner.
[21:10] <+TLDrake> was the suspect as dirty as they suspected?
[21:10] <~Dan> Yeah. So... We kinda disinvited the guy.
[21:10] <~Dan> He was, IIRC. But the security guys were... just security guys.
[21:10] <+Abstruse> Sounds like my Pathfinder group in my last game...
[21:10] <+Catseye> Reminds me of a retired cop I had to deal with. The guy scared me away from GMing for 3 years.
[21:11] <+Silverlion> Sigh ive known too many many players like that
[21:11] <+cjcarella> Yeah, that kind of player can get disturbing. The one time I ran a WoD-Unisystem hybrid things got a little unpleasant, because the Cainite players were playing like Cainites.
[21:11] <+TLDrake> about the only guess i have is the game was a chance for him to enact fantasies of getting guys who were dirty as hell but were impossible to prove guilty.
[21:11] <~Dan> Mr. Phantasm wrote us this really strange email in response, tying in the situation with the fact that his wife complains about the kids leaving their toys around, and how he'd deliberately leave the toys out to teach her a lesson, and if you're asking yourself what the Hell this has to do with being a creepy Phantasm player, so were we...
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[21:12] <+Kei> okay I wasn't following and didn't entirely get at first how he was creepy
[21:12] <+Kei> but that sort of shows it :P
[21:12] <+cjcarella> At that point, you don't want to know what's going on inside his head.
[21:12] <~Dan> No kidding.
[21:13] <+cjcarella> Yeah, I've met a few people who showed bits of themselves during games that made realize I should never, ever, be in any position where my life or satefy could be in their hands.
[21:14] <+Abstruse> I had just re-read The Hobbit, so I wanted to run a standard adventure game. I wanted a group of LG/NG/CG adventurers in a sandboxy setting.
[21:14] <~Dan> And, you know, he was playing a character type that's pretty unplayable if the character doesn't want to help out the world, since they can pretty much say, "Screw this, I'm going ghost" at any time.
[21:14] <+Abstruse> The only Chaotic Neutral character I got was the cleric because he couldn't channel positive energy if he was evil :/
[21:14] <+Silverlion> Heh.
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[21:14] <+Catseye> Chaotic neutral characters are NEVER played correctly
[21:15] <+cjcarella> lol
[21:15] <~Dan> So you mentioned doing a lot of tabletop gaming, CJ. What have you been playing?
[21:15] <+Silverlion> Never
[21:15] <+Abstruse> Even the monk (who, in my Greyhawk straight-fantasy campaign, had to be told he couldn't play either a gunslinger or a ninja) was LE.
[21:16] <+cjcarella> Well, mostly running Unisystem games and occasionally playing on a friend's homebrewed system.
[21:16] <~Dan> What sorts of settings?
[21:16] <~Dan> (JP over there has been running a "Weird West" setting using CineUni for us for a while now.)
[21:16] <+cjcarella> A bunch - I did a pretty nice Banestorm (from the GURPS Banestorm book)-Witchcraft hybrid.
[21:16] <+Catseye> every player I have ever encountered that described their chaotic neitral character was always describing a textbook example of Neutral Evil. Every single one!
[21:17] <+cjcarella> Cool.
[21:17] <+xyphoid_> death to alignment
[21:17] <+BPIJonathan> I keep writing notes for the wierdwest game that I will never actually run
[21:17] <+BPIJonathan> (or publish)
[21:18] <+cjcarella> Yeah, alignments suck ass. It gives too many people excuses for idiotic behavior.
[21:18] <~Dan> Do you tend to like settings that are really wide open?
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[21:18] <+cjcarella> I do that sometimes, then remember who my players are and sigh, because I'll never run them.
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[21:18] <+Catseye> Alignment isn't the problem. It's the players.
[21:18] <+xyphoid_> no i really think it's alignment that's the problem
[21:19] <+Kei> I think it's the players, but I also think alignments is at least 95% useless :P
[21:19] <~Dan> Actually, I think you can have the same sort of problem with Ads/Disads as well, depending upon the player.
[21:19] <+xyphoid_> it sits there on character sheets and messes with people's behaviour
[21:19] <+Kei> the 5% of usefulness is where it interacts with certain spells/magic items
[21:19] <+xyphoid_> you should never be thinking 'but i'm chaotic neutral, i should behave this way'
[21:19] <~Dan> I had a great player who created a character for Deadlands. Wanted him to be a hardass gunslinger. Sort of a "Man with No Name," but from the Deep South.
[21:19] <+Kei> Dan: agreed about ads/disads, which is why I just plain don't like them.
[21:20] <~Dan> He took all kinds of "mean" Disads...
[21:20] <+Silverlion> I know you can be nasty in game without alignment.
[21:20] <+cjcarella> Depends on my mood. For fantasy I try to keep things restricted to the standard tropes. But my longest-running game was a Cyberpunk-Wild Cards-Shadowrun mashup that had such PCs as a Colonial Marine fomr Warhammer 40,000K and a Green Lantern.
[21:20] <+Silverlion> I don't mind it myself.
[21:20] <~Dan> ...and was upset that the guy ended up being not an antihero, but a bastard.
[21:20] <+Silverlion> Whee.
[21:20] <+Abstruse> I play Shadowrun.
[21:20] <+Silverlion> CJ: You really wanted Rifts didn't you
[21:20] <~Dan> Wow, re: that mashup!
[21:20] <+Kei> cj: dude, we need to play a game together :P
[21:21] <+Silverlion> I run Shadowrun, I'd like a simpler system.
[21:21] <+BPIJonathan> I havent played Shadowrun since SR1
[21:21] <~Dan> I would so play Unisystem Rifts. I would play it so hard.
[21:21] <+Kei> yes please, Tim!
[21:21] <+BPIJonathan> I converted it all over to GURPS and ran it there.
[21:21] <+Kei> Dan: you and me, both
[21:21] <+Silverlion> I run a mean SR game, but I'd need simplicity..
[21:21] <+Abstruse> I'm really looking forward to SR5.
[21:21] <+xyphoid_> you should be making decisions for your character based around the character's personality, not a two-word summary. and you shouldn't feel bad as a player when your character acts against your alignment, because humans *do* behave inconsistently, and what makes them behave like that is where everything interesting about roleplaying lies
[21:21] <+Silverlion> I may use FATE/FAE.
[21:21] <+Abstruse> The QuickStart SHOULD go live any day now.
[21:21] <+Kei> cj, get on it! but stick to the corebook stuff. none of this atlantis nonsense.
[21:21] <+BPIJonathan> FAE looks nice, but not really sure its for me.
[21:21] <+Silverlion> Albeit I know that I've got my own kitchen sink setting in the works...
[21:21] <~Dan> (brb)
[21:21] <+cjcarella> I've run Uni-Rifts too. It can be fun. I had a great game set in Kingsdale, IIRC, where all the players were members of the ruling families.
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[21:22] <+Abstruse> They've sold copies at Origins but still haven't given the press their review copies yet. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr...
[21:22] <+BPIJonathan> Im not really a fan of FATE
[21:22] <+Kei> I'm totally looking forward to SR5. should be in my hands just about the time I get home from vacation ^^
[21:22] <+cjcarella> lol, but I like the Atlantis nonsense :)
[21:22] <+BPIJonathan> I own Dresden Files, but ended up converting it over to other systems.
[21:23] <+Silverlion> I hope 5E is better.
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[21:23] <+cjcarella> Shadowrun rocked. The setting, at least, I never could get into the system (converted it to GURPS back in the day).
[21:23] <+Silverlion> Dresden Files was a complex version of FATE, most Fate is simpler.
[21:23] <+Abstruse> SR5 looks like SR4 only with a lot of the issues fixed from what I've seen so far.
[21:23] <+Silverlion> My mashup will use a rewritten clone of MSH.
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[21:23] <+Kei> cj: so do I, but like...I like cohesion more maybe. then again, if you are going to deliberately turn up the gonzo nature of the setting, play those elements for all they are worth.
[21:23] <+BPIJonathan> Thats what I just said CJ. We bring to you another GMTA moment. :D
[21:23] <+Kei> that's pretty much what it is, Abstruse
[21:23] <+Silverlion> It looks like it adds an issue to me Abstruse (the pool lock/cap)
[21:23] <+Catseye> There is a Rifts book I'm betting we never see. Well I'm hoping not.
[21:24] <+Kei> I want that shadowrun 2050 book yesterday
[21:24] <+Abstruse> I'm a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE Shadowrun canon whore. I own something like 90 hardcopy RPG books. I 60-something of those are Shadowrun.
[21:24] <+cjcarella> indeed.
[21:24] <+Abstruse> NO.
[21:24] <+Abstruse> NONONONONO.
[21:24] <+Silverlion> I'm not, I own like 4 SR books :D
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[21:24] <+Abstruse> I can't tell you how bad Shadowrun 2050 is without breaking the language rules.
[21:24] <+BlasterKyubey210> mmm Catseye
[21:24] <+Abstruse> But it's baaaaaaaaaaad.
[21:24] <+Silverlion> Al 4E
[21:24] <+Catseye> Rifts Antarctica
[21:24] <+Silverlion> Heh.
[21:24] <+BlasterKyubey210> oh
[21:24] <+BPIJonathan> I own about six SR books.
[21:24] <+cjcarella> Remember I'm known as the guy who totally unbalanced Rifts ;)
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[21:25] <+BlasterKyubey210> oh...
[21:25] <+BlasterKyubey210> So this
[21:25] <+BlasterKyubey210> This I wonder
[21:25] <+BPIJonathan> You did...oh..now I have someone to blame :P
[21:25] <+Silverlion> as for Palladium books, I was fond of Nightspawn and I think Century Station was one of the better superhero settings (wouldn't use HU though.)
[21:25] <+BlasterKyubey210> Is tehre anything good that comes out of Palladium?
[21:25] <+BlasterKyubey210> I mean
[21:25] <~Dan> Hey, CJ? What are your thoughts on the "Glass Slayer" issue?
[21:25] <+BlasterKyubey210> I can't get anyone...
[21:25] <+Kei> Abstruse: how did they manage to make it bad?
[21:25] <+Abstruse> They apparently revised SR2050 and I haven't seen that yet, but the one they released just after the Shadowrun Returns Kickstarter went through the roof? Hoooooooooorible.
[21:25] <+BlasterKyubey210> I can't get anyone to try it
[21:25] <+BlasterKyubey210> So yes
[21:25] <+BlasterKyubey210> I threw away all of Palladium
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[21:25] <+Catseye> cjcarella: What you did pales in comparison to one supplement. The one I hated so bad that I gave it away
[21:25] <+Kei> yeah the sr4 version of 2050 was bad
[21:26] <+cjcarella> Glass Slayer? As in Glass Cannon?
[21:26] <+BlasterKyubey210> Because it felt like there isn't much I ccan do
[21:26] <+Catseye> Wormwood
[21:26] <~Dan> Not familiar with Glass Cannon... But allow me to explain...
[21:26] <+Abstruse> Replace every "o" in that word with three to four curse words and keep in mind that's me holding back and that's how passionately at HATE that book.
[21:26] <+Silverlion> Or glass ninja..
[21:26] <+Abstruse> It's bad from a gameplay standpoint and bad from a canon standpoint (they screw up the timeline royally).
[21:26] <~Dan> "Glass Slayer" refers to the fact that because defense is all-or-nothing, a good defense doesn't reduce incoming damage. (more)
[21:26] <+Silverlion> Kei: Did you get the computer game? If I /can/ I'll use the new one to make some adventures
[21:27] <~Dan> So, if you're hard to hit, something that connects will automatically do ungodly amounts of damage.
[21:27] <+cjcarella> Oh, ok.
[21:27] <~Dan> Hence, if the Slayer actually gets hit, she gets CLOBBERED.
[21:27] <+BlasterKyubey210> So the dilemma comes from the nature of how Attack vs Defence works
[21:27] <~Dan> (It's a variation of the "glass ninja" flaw from TORG, as Sil pointed out.)
[21:28] <+Abstruse> Glass Cannon is a character that does a massive amount of damage but has low "defense" (AC/HP/armor/health/whatever).
[21:28] <+Silverlion> Indeed. I've always assumed that's what her Drama points were for.
[21:28] <+cjcarella> Because of the damage bonuses you get for high hit rolls.
[21:28] <+BPIJonathan> I love TORG. I need to play that again.
[21:28] <+Silverlion> Since she didn't need action boosts
[21:28] <+Abstruse> Most magic users in games are glass cannons.
[21:28] <~Dan> (Ah, I see, re: Glass Cannon)
[21:29] <+BlasterKyubey210> (Yes, from a mechanical standpont, the dilemma is Attack vs Defence shenangians)
[21:29] <+Silverlion> Glass Ninjas have high agility in a game where agility defends you from being struck, but not from the excess damage you take for their high success based damage rolls
[21:29] <+Catseye> cjcarella: Wormwood introduced the most abusive character class in Rifts. It was so bad that I don't even correctly remember its name.
[21:29] <+Abstruse> I've always seen glass ninjas written as "fragile speedster".
[21:29] <+BlasterKyubey210> Well
[21:29] <+cjcarella> It is a problem, and a lot of people use a rule where you subtract Success Levels from the defense to the attack.
[21:29] <+Kei> same diff
[21:30] <+Silverlion> You mean the Cosmic Knight or whatever?
[21:30] <+Catseye> I remember now. The Apok
[21:30] <~Dan> Yeah, that's what I do, re: subtracting Success Levels.
[21:30] <+cjcarella> No, the Cosmo-Knight was mine ;)
[21:30] <+Kei> doesn't that make being fast better than being tough by a lot?
[21:30] <~Dan> That's really the only issue I have with Unisystem, which is really saying something.
[21:30] <+BPIJonathan> Isnt that in the Three Galaxies stuff?
[21:30] <+Catseye> I'm actually a big fan of Rifts Underseas
[21:30] <+cjcarella> Just for people who thought playing the Silver Surfer was wimps.
[21:31] <+cjcarella> Yeah, Phase World and so on.
[21:31] <+Silverlion> I don't know, I've always heard it was abusive, but for Rifts I stuck to core book, except in VERY rare instances I'd allow the optional juicers.
[21:31] <+cjcarella> wimpy I mean.
[21:31] <+Crazy-Cabal> Were any of the other WC faction books in the works before the line stopped or just kind of ideas at that point?
[21:31] <+Silverlion> Then again we had Dog Boys, Psi Stalker, a Juicer, and a Technomancer, so we didn't have a big gun arty
[21:31] <+Silverlion> When I ran rifts..
[21:31] <+cjcarella> I think all the ones that had writers assigned got written and published.
[21:32] <~Dan> How much of GURPS Voodoo found its way into your other work, CJ? I've heard people really singing that supplement's praises.
[21:32] <+cjcarella> But yeah, the attack/SL level bonuses can be a problem. Makes for shorter fights, though ;)
[21:32] <+Silverlion> I've also run Nightbane (Giant Copper Snake who head butted people was one of my PC's..)
[21:33] <+Silverlion> (as in one my players ran not me.)
[21:33] <+Silverlion> Pally games: Nightspawn, HU, Rifts, Ninjas & Superspies I've run :D
[21:33] <+cjcarella> Voodoo was my fave GURPS book to write, obviously. Only problem then I had to tiptoe around it when writing Voodoo rules for WitchCraft, to avoid ripping myself off.
[21:34] <~Dan> It pitted Voodoo against Western European magic, as I recall?
[21:35] <+cjcarella> Yeah, Voodoo versus evil rich white guys (well, not 100% evil, but not very nice). It was all very PC and stuff ;)
[21:35] * ~Dan chuckles
[21:35] <~Dan> So using Voodoo dolls to literally "stick it to the Man"? :)
[21:35] <+Crazy-Cabal> Django 2 Hex Hex Djang Djang!
[21:35] <+cjcarella> Although you could play the Lodges (the white ceremonial magicians) as well.
[21:36] <+cjcarella> Tarentino, he so crazy...
[21:37] <~Dan> Hmm... What was that scifi game Myrmidon Press put out at the same time as WC 1e?
[21:37] <~Dan> Manhunter?
[21:37] <+cjcarella> Manhunter/Cosmic Enforcers, Sci-Fi and supers.
[21:37] <~Dan> Yeah... What was that system like?
[21:37] <~Dan> And was that yours as well?
[21:38] <+cjcarella> No, that was done before I joined Myrmidon for WC. I never paid too much attention to it, because it wasn't all about me ;)
[21:38] <~Dan> Heh. No problem. :)
[21:38] <+cjcarella> The system seemed okay, though. A bit Palladium-like, IIRC>
[21:40] <~Dan> How did you get into game writing in the first place?
[21:40] <+cjcarella> Oh, that takes us back to ancient times.
[21:41] *** No text to send
[21:41] <+cjcarella> I've always wanted to be a writer. During college I got a good hdozen rejections from assorted magazines and worked on a novel for decades. I also was a big RPG nerd. One day my then-wife said, why don't you write something for one of those damn games you waste so much time on?
[21:41] <>Ambiance<> The room goes all wavey as we roll back the clock...
[21:42] <+BlasterKyubey210> Ah that story
[21:42] <+BlasterKyubey210> Endless Rejection
[21:42] <+cjcarella> So I wrote a Roleplayer (SJG's mag) article on Martial Arts. They bought it, liked it enough to offer me a chance to write GURPS Martial Arts. And so it began.
[21:43] <+cjcarella> That was back in '89 or 90.
[21:43] <+cjcarella> So last century.
[21:43] <~Dan> Heh. :)
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[21:44] <+cjcarella> So I went from fiction to rpgs and now back to fiction again. Kinda circular or cyclical or whatever.
[21:44] <~Dan> Was game writing your full-time job at any point?
[21:45] <+Silverlion> Gurps martial arts was an awesome book.
[21:45] <+Crazy-Cabal> Were there any rules you added to your personal game you would have added to the main game? Has the tech advanced over the years?
[21:45] <+cjcarella> Yeah, about five years or so out of the last 14.
[21:45] <~Dan> Did that feel like "living the dream"? :)
[21:46] <+cjcarella> Most rules I've added in my games have made it to the newer editions of the book.
[21:47] <+cjcarella> It felt pretty good. Never made a great living but I've still managed to do what I wanted to do, so all in all I'm okay with my choices.
[21:47] * ~Dan nods
[21:47] <+Silverlion> Awesome!
[21:47] <+cjcarella> :)
[21:47] <~Dan> I'm turning on ads on my blog... in part for the money, but more for the personal symbolism of getting paid for doing what I love.
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[21:48] <~Dan> I wish Eden Studios Presents hadn't gone the way of the dodo... I had a setting article in line for that.
[21:49] <+cjcarella> I can understand that. And if you're putting out a product, any product, that has an audience, I think a little supper for the singing is in order.
[21:49] <+cjcarella> Bummer.
[21:49] <+cjcarella> Yeah, game publishing is in a weird place now - has been for the last decade and change, really. Hard to make books pay for themselves.
[21:50] <~Dan> Yeah... It was a Uni/CineUni hybrid about a small town in Texas cut off from the rest of the world by a supernatural apocalypse. It's a real town called Comfort. I called the setting "Cold Comfort".
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[21:50] <~Dan> Hey there, Anthony!
[21:50] <+cjcarella> Cool.
[21:50] <+Silverlion> Funny though, the E-technologies are making it easier for people to write, and get their works out, but at the same time throttling more traditional avenues.
[21:50] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Hello, Dan.
[21:50] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Oh.
[21:50] <+AnthonyHoltberg> No way.
[21:50] <+BPIJonathan> I think with crowdfunding, that books tend to be able to pay for themselves more often than not, it still requires someone with a decent business sense running it though.
[21:50] <+AnthonyHoltberg> *The* CJ Carella?
[21:51] <+Catseye> yep
[21:51] <~Dan> Yup, that one.
[21:51] * ~Dan points
[21:51] <+cjcarella> Yeah, but in a way the gatekeepers of publishing sucked, so getting around them is cool.
[21:51] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Huh.
[21:51] <+cjcarella> Howdy.
[21:51] <+Silverlion> I am worrying about my future kickstarter, I just don't have resources to get the "bonuses." I might need, yet
[21:51] <+AnthonyHoltberg> It is possible to be starstruck on the internet.
[21:51] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Weird.
[21:52] <+BPIJonathan> Never put a bonus goal that you cant afford.
[21:52] <+cjcarella> What kickstarter, Silverlion?
[21:52] <~Dan> No worries, AnthonyHoltberg. :)
[21:52] <~Dan> Although it turns out that CJ is just this guy, you know?
[21:52] <+Silverlion> I've not done one yet. I'm planning on it. Just have to finish the 2E of my superhero game. Setting mostly.
[21:52] <+cjcarella> Yeah, bonuses are something that worries me about the project.
[21:52] * +AnthonyHoltberg snorts.
[21:53] <+cjcarella> Cool.
[21:53] <+Silverlion> I need adventures to include as a bonus, but other than that, I've no ideas. Additional alternate settings?
[21:53] <+Crazy-Cabal> Was there any more material planned for Armageddon? I noticed a few books not seemingly written by Eden.
[21:53] <~Dan> Quite a bit, as I recall...
[21:53] <+Abstruse> To get published, it really is more about who you know than anything else. Meeting an agent at a con is much better than even the perfect manuscript.
[21:53] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Well, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, CJ. I very much enjoy reading AFMBE and my copy of Armageddon.
[21:53] <+Catseye> I'm still working on my worldbooks and worrying about their commercial viability
[21:53] <+cjcarella> Yeah, there were a bunch of books planned.
[21:54] <+cjcarella> Thank you>
[21:54] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Mice, men, and all that, I suppose.
[21:54] <+fantomx11> (hey-o #rpgnet)
[21:54] <~Dan> (Howdy, fant!)
[21:54] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Ahem.
[21:54] <+AnthonyHoltberg> How goes, Dan?
[21:54] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Quite some time.
[21:54] <~Dan> Goes well, thanks! Haven't seen you in a while, yes. :)
[21:55] <+BPIJonathan> CJ: Are you planning on attending GenCon this year?
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[21:55] <+cjcarella> At this point, I don't even know how much I should shoot for on the Kickstarter. I'd like to at least go for $1K, maybe $2,000.
[21:55] <+BPIJonathan> You need to shoot for enough to cover all your costs. dont undercut yourself so that you are spending money out of your pocket.
[21:55] <+cjcarella> No GenCons for me for a while, now, unfortunately. The last gaming con I went to was Origins the year Angel won. :(
[21:56] <~Dan> Hmm... Do you ever play tabletop RPGs online, CJ?
[21:56] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Hm. I've never played or read Unisystem Lite.
[21:56] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Or, Cinematic, I think it's called.
[21:56] <+cjcarella> Thanks, Jonathan. Yeah, I'm trying to figure things out as I go along.
[21:56] <+Abstruse> I kind of have to go next year. My editor will skin me if I don't.
[21:56] <+Silverlion> I've never been to a game con..alas.
[21:56] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Me neither, Silverlion.
[21:56] <+Silverlion> I did goto Akon one year...best I could manage.
[21:57] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Ah.
[21:57] <+AnthonyHoltberg> I've never been to any con of any sort.
[21:57] <+cjcarella> I ran a couple of online games a few years back, but nothing recently, Hard to schedule.
[21:57] <~Dan> Well, we arrange such games here all the time. Just let me know if you ever feel like joining one. That would be awesome. :)
[21:57] <~Dan> Heck, I think JP may be recruiting for this Weird West Unisystem game...
[21:58] <+WonderRat> It is a good game
[21:58] <+cjcarella> Cool. Right now my time is pretty screwed up trying to get the book published, but after things settle down I might take you up on it.
[21:58] * ~Dan nods
[21:58] <+Crazy-Cabal> Kickstarter? Writing another book?
[21:58] <~Dan> That's why he's here, CC. :)
[21:59] <+Silverlion> AH: Considering my anxiety that was a HUGE step for me
[21:59] <+cjcarella> Yeah, this is just some shameless self-promoting ;)
[22:00] <~Dan> Well, the original reason for him being here was, at any rate. We've just been hanging out and chatting for a while now. CJ's one of the guys now. ;)
[22:00] <+cjcarella> Indeed.
[22:00] <+BlasterKyubey210> mmm
[22:00] <+BlasterKyubey210> Kickstarter question
[22:00] <+BlasterKyubey210> I need a Paypal or at least something to stuff these donations in right?
[22:00] <+Crazy-Cabal> I thought you had just hooked him from the hoary depths for one last exposure to the too bright sun! ;)
[22:00] <+cjcarella> I will try to drop by, since this seems like a friendly hangout :)
[22:00] <~Dan> Yeah, I'm rather proud of it in that regard, CJ. :)
[22:01] <+cjcarella> You should be.
[22:01] <~Dan> I'm not quite sure how, but seems like this place attracts friendly people. :)
[22:01] <~Dan> Awww... thanks. :)
[22:01] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Sorry to tread old ground, but what is the new book to be?
[22:02] <+cjcarella> Friendly people on the Internet. Who'd have thunk it. Mostly it's electornic monkeys flinging virtual poo.
[22:02] <+AnthonyHoltberg> No kidding...
[22:02] <+BPIJonathan> I thought there was only cats and porn on the internet :D
[22:02] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Aren't there games, too?
[22:02] <+Abstruse> Come on, it's not THAT bad guys.
[22:02] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Coulda swore.
[22:02] <+cjcarella> Well, I do hate to talk about myself, but it's a novel set in an alternate Earth where superheroes exist. It's called Armageddon Girl.
[22:03] * +Abstruse reminds you to think of who he writes for again and remember context.
[22:03] <~Dan> It wasn't always the case. We had our "Wild West" days in here. Took a while to clean things up.
[22:03] <+cjcarella> monkeys flinging poo while watching kitty porn on the internet.
[22:03] <+BPIJonathan> *Stepping slowly back away from the crazy person* :D
[22:04] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Hm.
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[22:04] <+cjcarella> Of course, the internet also gave us Wikipedia and Google.
[22:04] <+AnthonyHoltberg> And JSTOR... despite the controversy.
[22:04] <~Dan> I think it may be that people find that this is a friendly place and either stay because that's what they've been looking for or leave because they can't behave like asshats here.
[22:05] <+BPIJonathan> I live on JSTOR :D
[22:05] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Great resource.
[22:05] <~Dan> JSTOR?
[22:05] <+cjcarella> Yeah, really the problem is the asshats just attract most of the attention.
[22:05] <+Abstruse> JSTOR?
[22:05] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Saved my butt more than once.
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[22:05] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Academic articles, Abstruse.
[22:05] <~Dan> Howdy, jcfiala!
[22:06] <~Dan> Say hello to CJ Carella. :)
[22:06] <+Abstruse> Thanks to the internet, I'm watching Mythbusters right now.
[22:06] <&jcfiala> "hello to CJ Carella."
[22:06] <+BPIJonathan> I used it quite a bit in graduate school, and I still use it to look up stuff. As an alum I get to keep my student account
[22:06] <~Dan> Well done.
[22:06] * ~Dan gives jcfiala a jcfiala snack.
[22:06] <+cjcarella> Man, I remember writing books before Wikipedia. It sucked.
[22:07] <+Silverlion> ...
[22:07] <~Dan> It floors me sometimes to think about what we take for granted regarding the Internet.
[22:07] <+cjcarella> Not that Wiki is a 100% reliable source, but at least it gives you a quick reference source and a place to get started.
[22:07] <+Abstruse> I remember writing 1/3 of a book before Wikipedia. It made research a lot harder, but it also went a lot faster.
[22:07] <+Silverlion> I wrote before it too. Now I still write without it, first, then use it to find better sources..
[22:07] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Heh.
[22:07] <~Dan> Like the fact that this discussion would have been impossible pre-Internet.
[22:07] <+Silverlion> Yeah what he said :D
[22:08] <+cjcarella> Yeah.
[22:08] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Wikipedia actually gave me a lead to a crucial source on my dissertation none of my texts referenced.
[22:08] <+AnthonyHoltberg> One that was making me pull my hair out because of how obvious it was.
[22:08] <+BPIJonathan> Remember, we all have to thank Al Gore for inventing the internet. :P (and my apologies if that offended anyone)
[22:08] <+egyptian> It's handy having an encyclopedia that can look things up for you and point you to related subjects
[22:08] <+AnthonyHoltberg> But, no matter how obvious; no source, no go.
[22:08] <~Dan> Heh. No politics, Jonathan. ;)
[22:09] <+Abstruse> Because every time I decide to "just check one thing real quick" on Wikipedia, about say when plate armor was invented, I end up three hours later having 15 tabs open reading about old WWF wrestlers and the different classifications of cheese.
[22:09] <+BPIJonathan> I wasnt thinking of it as politics :-)
[22:09] <~Dan> I know. Just sayin'. :)
[22:09] <&jcfiala> Which is why we let you live... this time.
[22:09] <+Silverlion> Avoid TV Tropes..
[22:09] <+cjcarella> lol, Abstruse. Yeah, I know the feeling.
[22:09] <+Silverlion> Very very specifically Abstruse.
[22:09] <+Silverlion> Or for that matter the creepy SCP website.
[22:10] <+BPIJonathan> I know, its tough to just look up that "one thing" anymore.
[22:10] <+AnthonyHoltberg> TV Tropes is a drug.
[22:10] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Ah.
[22:10] <&jcfiala> cjcarella: I had a fine time playing Armegeddon once when Dan was running a playtest.  Fun game!
[22:10] <+BlasterKyubey210> mmm, looking at Heroscape
[22:10] <+Abstruse> Oh, I think I've read all of TVTropes at this point. I was unemployed for a year and a half.
[22:10] <+BlasterKyubey210> Anyone remember that board game?
[22:10] <+BPIJonathan> I still do a lot of research with my printed books.
[22:10] <+AnthonyHoltberg> I still find it a feather in my hat that the SCP site links to my creation.
[22:10] <+cjcarella> I was working on a short story for the Companion set in the Spanish Civil War, and quick fact check turned into an ungodlyb amount of time wasted and me reading half of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" online.
[22:10] <+Silverlion> I do a lot of it with printed books.
[22:10] <&jcfiala> I think i was a demigod from Hermes, by way of John Woo.
[22:10] <+Silverlion> Awesome AH!
[22:10] <~Dan> Oh, yeah. jcfiala played a son of Hermes who was a super-fast John Woo-ish gunslinger. :)
[22:10] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Mr. Welldone.
[22:10] <+cjcarella> Thank you, jcfiala.
[22:11] <+AnthonyHoltberg> A fan recently read aloud the bulk of my writings in that character.
[22:11] <+Abstruse> I never played Heroscape. I just own a bunch of the minis because they're 28mm prepaints.
[22:11] <~Dan> Who was flirting with a hot Nephilim chick. :D
[22:11] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Still a kick.
[22:11] <+cjcarella> lol
[22:11] <+Abstruse> I hate the older beveled bases though. They don't fit on a 1" grid. Not as bad as Mage Knight or HeroClix, but bad.
[22:11] <+Silverlion> I had friends who did, but I didn't play it but once. I played the Heroquest board game more.
[22:12] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Heh.
[22:12] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Heroquest.
[22:12] <+Abstruse> If you liked Heroquest, look into Descent.
[22:12] <+cjcarella> And on that note, I will bid you all a good night.
[22:12] <+BPIJonathan> I dont have Heroscape, but I do have Heroquest
[22:12] <+cjcarella> Thank you very much Dan for inviting me here.
[22:12] <+AnthonyHoltberg> That game really is responsible for corrupting me.
[22:12] <~Dan> Thanks so much for coming by, CJ!
[22:12] <~Dan> I'll email you the link to the log.
[22:12] <+Abstruse> It's the spiritual successor in terms of being "D&D-lite"
[22:12] <+BPIJonathan> Night CJ, have a good one. I will  send you a note sometime tomorrow. I cant promise when though, its a busy day here.
[22:12] <+cjcarella> And it was great meeting y'all.
[22:12] <+Silverlion> Abstruse: Poor game designer, or I would have.
[22:12] <+BlasterKyubey210> mmm
[22:12] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Nice to meet you, Cj.
[22:12] <+AnthonyHoltberg> Later.
[22:12] <+BlasterKyubey210> Isn't Mage Knight done in inches?
[22:12] <~Dan> Likewise! Don't be a stranger!
[22:13] <+Catseye> have a nice night, CJ
[22:13] <+cjcarella> No problem, Jonathan, looking forward to hearing from you.
[22:13] <+AnthonyHoltberg> That's what she said...
[22:13] <+BlasterKyubey210> or Heroclix for this matter?
[22:13] <+Silverlion> Later CJ. Thanks for stopping by.
[22:13] <+cjcarella> Will be in touch with more self-promotion. :)
[22:13] <+Abstruse> Not sure, but the bases are about 1.2"
[22:13] <+cjcarella> Night.