Good Monday, Gamer!
āIt is not death that we should fear, but we should fear never beginning to liveā āMarcus Aurelius, Emperor-Philosopher
As you know, dear gamer, Iām a cranky old veteran.
Memorial Day for me isnāt about our war hero grandfathers, great-grandfathers, or some abstract feeling that āsoldiers out thereā are watching over me like angels. Itās a rollercoaster of feels ā one that hits harder the older I get.
Iāve lost a lot of veteran friends. I drank with them, ate with them, played with their kids. And if youāre a vet, you know: itās all yesterday. You said āsee you laterā, meaning some future assignment or TDY.
There was a moment during one of my regular blood rituals at the VA where the nurse asks if I know where my next meal or two is coming from, my silly ass asked if that was an invite for dinner?!
She laughed, but she was talking about 'food insecurity' -she was asking me if I was food insecure, because many vets coming through there were, and also homeless, and that made me tear up something strong. I'll never forget it. Iām in that cohort.
The folks at the VA medical clinic remind me that veterans who served abroad, especially those from combat theaters, face some of the highest post-service suicide rates, worsened if they hit rough transitions home.
Iāve attended the funerals of three veteran friends who took their own lives over the past four years.
Weāve been ācivviesā for more than 20.
These days, in my cranky old-man phase, Iāve been spending more time at my local VFW ā which is HILARIOUS to me. My newest family group. It feels like going home to NJ/NY to see my peoples. Or like catching up with gamer friends at game conventions.
These are my veteran people.
Iām okay.
My secret? I always keep a mission on the books ā and the mission comes first. IYKYK.
If you can, I urge you: reach out to your local VA.
Ask how you can help. Thank you.
CBR+PNK: Ghost in Virtual Seconds
Two sessions are in the books, and itās been a ride.
CBR+PNK uses the Forged in the Dark system (think Blades in the Dark), perfect for crew-focused, neon-soaked heist games. I dig how fast you can make a character and be running a session in under 20 minutes. Check out session twoās AP write-up from our newest crew member, āDowntownā on Don't Roll A One. Iāll post my own GM-side recap later this week. All in service of dogfooding Mad-Dice.com!
Draw Steel RPG
Played my first session of Draw Steel ā a crunchy, tactical fantasy RPG where Iām playing the Human Censor, which honestly feels like a cleric on steroids. They aināt kidding about this being a _Fightinā Fanatsy Monsters_ game!
Other players keep referencing 4E (which Iāve never played), but even without that anchor, I can say:
Itās crunchy.
Itās loaded with combat tactical bits.
And itās got just enough weirdness to keep me intrigued.
Any game that lets me roll up into a ritual, pass Judgement on a fool (a bugbear caster) and Vader-snatch them 40 feet -- You have my attention.
I'm only one session in, but I love these early play cycles where everyone at the table is invested in the play mechanics
āWhat is this game? What is it doing here? Whatās it really about?ā
Weāre working through it for now ā most recently on a rescue errand to save the blacksmithās daughter from goblin raidersā¦
and we stumbled into something occultā¦
Mythic Bastionland
Iām excited about an upcoming Mythic Bastionland game in a few weeks! It's built on Into the Odd and set in the past of Bastionland in aĀ past that never was.Ā And the book is BEAUTIFUL!!
Iāll be playing the Tome Knight ā a loom of wisdom spun at dawn, Laid to rest til coming morn. I canāt wait to ride into this oneā¦ but Iām sure youāll hear from our Legendary GM soon!
ICYMI
Whatās become of Best Buy?!
We stopped in for a new Xbox controller and batteries, and it was like walking through a ghost town ā no DVDs, no music CDs, barely any accessories.
Just a strange, half-empty appliance husk.š¤·š¾āāļø
š I would be doing yāall a disserviceā¦ Advanced OSE is on Humble Bundle. Iām a fan!
Thanks for sticking around, friends.
Hold your people close.
Keep a mission on the books.
Catch you next Monday,
ā Mad Jay
Thank you for your service MJ! š„°š„° itās truly appreciated and respected. My dad was a WW2 veteran. Lived to age 95. (Before u think that Iām super old, Iām not. We were his second family later in his life. š) and about Best Buy? Yup, sadly it is a ghost town now. Not sure how long theyāll last. šš