Side Passages

Welcome to the Lair of Secrets podcast, where David's been tinkering in the dirigible hanger trying to get the old girl flying again, and Ken's just beamed back from halfway across the galaxy. He's fine. Mostly.

Library 67:Attack Surface by Cory DoctorowDavid's in the middle of this book. Having a hard time connecting with the character. The descriptions of the security precautions and all of the ways that they can be overcome are both interesting and also breaks me out of the book.Attack Surface on GoodReadsPenric’s Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold, started reading it.I love her Miles Vorkosigan novels and saw that she had released this new book. Enjoying it so far. It’s about a boy who is on his way to be betrothed and comes upon an older woman dying. He goes to help her and her demon enters into him when she dies. In this world, those that have demons inside them are sorcerers.Penric's Demon on GoodReadsThe DarkhouseIt’s like a greenhouse, but with no windows and it’s underground, no we don’t grow mushrooms thereDavid doesn't have a lot to actually update this week due to the spores and his allergies to them. He was pretty useless for most of the week. He watched a lot of Netflix and Amazon Prime (Agents of Shield, Wynonna Earp, and others that he doesn't remember).Stepping into the teleportation cube (of course we have one of those):Star Trek: The Lower Decks is a fun take on how non-officers live and love in Star Fleet (and great inspiration for Guy). Features all your favorite Star Trek tropes, comically subverted (e.g. an episode about all of the lower deck crew padding their time estimates, another about the USS Cerritos’ “second contact” missions, the obligatory alien misunderstandings, etc.).Star Trek: Discovery is settling down into a more traditional, episodic format (though retaining serial elements). Love the show’s optimism, even after the ship’s been thrown into the far future and the Federation has been crippled by a mysterious event known as “The Burn”.The Grand KitchenKen Signed up for one of those meal-kit subscriptions. Two meals a week, heavy on the protein.Ken would like to cook more … but finding recipes, getting ingredients, and actually cooking defeated him.Ken and his wife are super busy with the kids, work, and life, with none of us really having the time we want to prepare meals. This may help (and so should the kids…).Brainstorming: Army Corps of EngineersIn which David and Ken brainstorm their upcoming Fate-powered cryptid hunting (or protecting or ... well, we're not quite sure what we're doing) campaign.Based on an idea that John Rogers(Leverage, The Librarians) mentioned on Twitter.Inspiration:Delaware Water Gap - Tocks Island DamCentralia (not Cetrona) mine fireMichigan dam collapseFriday the 13th: The SeriesNuclear bombs for engineering (aka peaceful nuclear explosions)The Immortal HulkFounding of the Army Corp of EngineersProject Blue BookEureka

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Promotional artwork for Star Trek: The Lower Decks. Credit: Paramount.

Episode 10 sees Ken figuring out how to deal with the long, dark, tea time of the soul known as November, while David fends off allergies while contemplating where all the good role-playing game communities went after Google+ folded.

Venturing into the Chamber of Infinite Darkness: It’s November. Daylight Saving Time is over. And suddenly, it’s gotten very, very dark: it’s pitch black at 6 a.m., and not much lighter at 5 p.m. Ken's fond that getting out of bed has become its own mental battle; so has running after the sun has set. What’s the solution? Coffee. Podcasts. Sunlamps?Stellar Cartography (no, it’s not staffed by whales … we think)Ken's been playing the heck out of Stellaris, a 4X-style, galactic empire management game. It reminds me of Master of Orion and it devoured a huge chunk of time. Exploring the galaxy is great, but diplomacy is a little lacking and managing dozens of worlds in the end game is boring. But it’s got great stories, awesome visuals, a Mass Effect-eque soundtrack, and DLC that will probably address most of my complaints (once there’s a Steam sale).The Game Room (every good lair should have one): Ken's 5+ year 5th Edition D&D campaign just ended. Now his group in the storming phase of figuring out what to do next. We’ve settled on two games:A Savage Worlds-powered Ringworld campaign. The setup: The characters are natives of a Larry Niven-style ringworld. It was struck by a massive asteroid that punched through one side of the ring, and impacted on the other. Over the last 150 years, various ring systems have been failing; we’re trying to figure out what to do about that. One player wants to include high-concept science fiction ideas into the campaign; how do you actually do that though?Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition dungeon-of-the-week campaign: A 5e campaign leveraging Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything that’s focused on short dungeon crawls and one-shot location encounters. Less focus on story, more on discovery.Pen turning David is eight pens in and really enjoying how he can start and finish one within about an hour if he likes.Nanowrimo David's novel-writing efforts are not going well at allDistractions and prioritization are to blame.Gaming woes update - David is thinking of making this its own segment (not really), did a little gaming with his Sunday group. Brindlewood Bay was just a bit too different for the group to continue with. It really needs everyone to be on their game, and at the time it's played that is just not going to happen reliably. So the group is looking for a new game to play and figuring out who will run it.Terra Oblivion - A pre-apocalyptic game of eco-espionage on a world slowly being killed by humanity’s need to consume. By Michael Fiegel, Kieran Turley, and Jerry Grayson

Where do you get your game dev and community connection now that G+ is several years gone?Twitter can keep you in contact with specific people, but conversations there are impossible to hold and impossible to find againSome podcasts - Daydreaming about Dragons, have good insight into playing and running games, but are a very slow conversation if you interact with the hosts.:Ken's answer? He doesn't know - he has found good replacements for the game theory and storytelling discussions held on podcasts like The Round Table or The Game Master’s Show. Or some of the old forums he used to haunt, like Greytalk (a Greyhawk-oriented list serv). We brainstorm a bunch of ideas about where to find good gaming conversations. Have ideas of your own? Tell us!

Outro

If you have feedback, we love feedback. You can send it to us at [email protected] or via Twitter @lairofsecrets. You can also visit lairofsecrets.com and leave us some feedback, topic ideas, or your own thoughts on what we’ve talked about.

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Cover art for Larry Niven's Ringworld. Credit: Del Rey

On this episode, David and Ken battle against ghosts, memories, and missing time in an effort to get out another podcast ... and launch our first episode! (yes, time remains a bit wibbly wobbly in the Lair).

Pens keep on turning, turning, turning... into the future!David turns his first pen. He needed to make a few jigs to prep the blanks and to assemble the penPreparing for NanowrimoDavid delves into his approach to National Novel Writing MonthSome Star Wars gamingThe pandemic canceled GenCon ... but the Star Wars games must go on. David talks about his online gaming sessions in a galaxy far, far, away.Phineas and Ferb movie: Candace Against the UniverseOur kids grew up on Phineas and Ferb; now they're back in a Disney+ movieZine of Wondrous Power – Daniel Perez Issue 04 #RPGzine Now on KickstarterA Talmudic Bestiary – A collection of creatures from Jewish lore. Compatible with Old-School Essentials.DaVinci Labs: WRK400 Workman Modular Mecha – A technical profile on a utilitarian mecha.What’s the Point of It? – An essay about gaming while the world burns around you, and why I still do itThe Ioun Codex: Addendum – The Iounmancer – A prestige class about mastery of ioun magic. Compatible with Old-School Essentials.The Secret of Brook’s Mine – A small dungeon crawl with an out-of-this-world surprise.Games as Essays – An essay about games primarily expressing ideas rather than rules for play. Side-scrolling bullet stormsR-Type is out for Switch.Ken is really bad at it.Comic Book Bullet JournalingSpeaking of bullets, Ken is using a habit tracker in his bullet journal to track comic reading. Because he keep losing track of where he stopped in the X-Men's Dawn of X series.Reading comic books shouldn't be this hard...Haunting of Bly Manor A Nicely creepy follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House. As with the earlier show, the writers have fun with the timeline, which reinforces the idea that hauntings are as much about lost time as they are about lost souls. Ken's inner 12-year-old, who scared himself silly reading ghost stories, is pleased.David and Ken geek out for a while on ghost stories, which inevitably brings us back to Hellboy.Sword Art OnlineAnime in which a people become trapped in a virtual reality universe.Ready for Launch?We announce the launch of our first episode ... which you've already listened to.(we told you time was still wibbly wobbly in the Lair...)

Outro

If you have feedback, we love feedback. You can send it to us at [email protected] or via Twitter @lairofsecrets. You can also visit lairofsecrets.com and leave us some feedback, topic ideas, or your own thoughts on what we’ve talked about.

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Cover art for X-Men #1, part of the Dawn of X storyline. Credit: Marvel

A podcast by two fortysomething geek dads who are even more middle aged than they were during the last podcast. On this episode, we talk about the joys of progressive lenses (see, we told you we were middled aged), the Twilight 2000 Kickstarter, woodworking with lathes, The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (and narrated by the most excellent Robin Miles), and even more geekery.

Role-playing in a World War III that never wasRole-playing in a World War III that never was - Twilight:2000 Kickstarter. It is probably the first non-D&D RPG Ken ever played.So much middle school nostalgia - the height of the 1980s, Red Dawn had just come out, and Ken was trekking across an imaginary Poland with his friends.The new retro-apocalyptic edition of Twilight: 2000, published by Free League Publishing in partnership with Game Designers' Workshop.The core rules of the game build on the Year Zero Engine (used in award-winning RPGs such as ALIEN, Tales From the Loop, Forbidden Lands and Mutant: Year Zero), but heavily adapted to fit Twilight: 2000 and its focus on gear and gritty realism.Big, beautiful boxed set with maps of Poland and SwedenKen's Very Long WalkKen went on a 24-mile backpacking trip in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation AreaLessons learned?NeutronLad (Ken's son) needs to get the weight right in his pack. NeutronLad needed new boots. Which Ken and NeutronLad didn’t realize until well into the hike.Sock liners work! No blisters!Gear secured!Ordered a new sleeping bag; NEMO Forte 20 Sleeping Bag - Men'sIt’s a $200 bag. We’ll see how it works when I go backpacking again in two weeks.Got a Whisperlite stove, which is fueled by white gas. Looks like a tiny inferno when you light it.Also got a small hand-crank radio that’s solar chargeable and has AM/FM, and NOAA radio. Also, you can use it to recharge a phone!Death, Love, and Kids in Video GamesKen's playing Fire Emblem - Fates - Birthright for the Nintendo 2DSTurn-based JRPG with a battlefield focus.Deep-story built around combat and relationships.As with previous versions, characters with close relationships can have children, who then join your army.Foolishly playing it in traditional hardcore mode, which involves restarting the DS every time someone dies in combat.The Chamber of NostalgiaNintendo 3D All-StarsFeatures Mario 64, Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario GalaxyKen's kids are lost in nostalgia.Sailing into the FutureDavid is diving deeper into sailing, maybe a trawler? Likely not?He really loves the idea of being on the ocean without the smoke or noise of an engine.But trawlers are like the RVs of the ocean. More room and more creature comfortsStarting to see the cautionary tales of sailingWe could invite Bob as a guest some time to talk about sailingInto the WorkshopDavid worked in the workshop more, it’s much easier to work in with the new layoutWorked on some tool holders and things to practice onBuilt a new floor lampDavid got a lathe for his birthday (thanks Erin!)The City We BecameAudiobookN.K. Jemisin - authorRobin Miles - narratorBattle GroundGoodReads page for the bookJim Butcher - authorDaydreaming about Dragons Podcast by Judd Karlman and Inspiration GoatCheck out the podcastA Most Excellent ChairDavid's new chair! - Herman Miller ChairsProgressive LensesThe New Frontier of Middle AgeKen explains how pre-COVID gaming (specifically, looking at his notes and rulebooks during in-person games) drove him to get reading glasses ... and then progressive lenses.We meander through other progressive lense / weakening eyesight related topics including hefty indexes, miniature design, and the impact of how a poorly-considered background color/image for an RPG sourcebook can make it more difficult to read.

Outro

If you have feedback, we love feedback. You can send it to us at [email protected] or via Twitter @lairofsecrets. You can also visit lairofsecrets.com and leave us some feedback, topic ideas, or your own thoughts on what we’ve talked about.

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Cover art for the new edition of Twilight 2000. Credit: Free League Publishing.

David and Ken once again find themselves ignoring linear time to bring you a show FROM THE FUTURE!!! On this epsiode of Lair of Secrets, they discuss their respective summer reading lists for 2021.

Ken's Summer Reading List

Ken is going to be spending a lot of time reading away from home, as he finally backpacking in Philmont and heads to Lake Champlain for his family's annual vacation.

Watership Downby Richard AdamsAn epic book about rabbits escaping the destruction of their warren and their attempt to find a new home.Boundless (The Lost Fleet: Outlands Book 1)by Jack CampbellCampbell returns to his Lost Fleet universe on June 15. This time around, Admiral John "Black Jack" Geary has to survive the peace he brought about by saving the Alliance. His own government - which spawned a malevolent Artificial Intelligence fleet in the last series - fears Geary. Confronted by evidence of their own misdoings, they dispatch Geary on a dangerous expeditionary mission to the frontier while they "debate" what to do.  Ancestral Night (White Space, Book 1) by Elizabeth BearFrom the book blurb: "Halmey Dz and her partner Connla Kurucz are salvage operators, living just on the inside of the law…usually. Theirs is the perilous and marginal existence—with barely enough chance of striking it fantastically big—just once—to keep them coming back for more. They pilot their tiny ship into the scars left by unsuccessful White Transitions, searching for the relics of lost human and alien vessels."The Trumps of Doom (Chronicles of Amber, Book 6)by Roger Zelazny, read by Wil Wheaton ((audio book on Audible)The further adventures of the royal family of Amber, who rule the multiverse from the one true city and the one true reality. This book kicks off a second series of five novels in which we meet Merwyn, the son of Corwin, the protagonist of the first five books. All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1)by Martha WellsFrom the book blurb: "On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid ― a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth."Leviathan Falls (Book 9 of the Expanse)by James S.A. CoreyThe final book in The Expanse series. And Ken would totally have read it this summer … but it’s coming out in November 2021.

David's Summer Reading List

The Fifth SeasonN.K. Jemmison (audio book on Audible)This is the way the world ends…for the last time.From the book blurb: "It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester."Fuzzy Nationby John Scalzi (audio book on Audible read by Wil Wheaton)From the book cblurb: "In John Scalzi's re-imagining of H. Beam Piper's 1962 sci-fi classic Little Fuzzy, written with the full cooperation of the Piper Estate, Jack Holloway works alone for reasons he doesn't care to talk about. On the distant planet Zarathustra, Jack is content as an independent contractor for ZaraCorp, prospecting and surveying at his own pace. As for his past, that's not up for discussion."The Calculating Starsby Mary Robinette KowalFrom the book blurb: One woman. One mission. One chance to save the world. It’s 1952, and the world as we know it is gone. A meteorite has destroyed Washington DC, triggering extinction-level global warming. To save humanity, the world unites to form the International Aerospace Coalition. Its mission: to colonise first the Moon, then Mars. Elma York, World War Two pilot and mathematician, dreams of becoming an astronaut – but prejudice has kept her grounded. Now nothing – and no man – will stop her from reaching for the stars.The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking)by Katie MackFrom the blurb: "We know the universe had a beginning. With the Big Bang, it expanded from a state of unimaginable density to an all-encompassing cosmic fireball to a simmering fluid of matter and energy, laying down the seeds for everything from black holes to one rocky planet orbiting a star near the edge of a spiral galaxy that happened to develop life as we know it. But what happens to the universe at the end of the story? And what does it mean for us now? Dr. Katie Mack has been contemplating these questions since she was a young student, when her astronomy professor informed her the universe could end at any moment, in an instant. This revelation set her on the path toward theoretical astrophysics. Now, with lively wit and humor, she takes us on a mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay (the one that could happen at any moment!), and the Bounce. Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory, and much more, The End of Everything is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know."Sevenevesby Neal Stephenson (audio book on Audible)"A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space. But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers until only a handful of survivors remain ..."Project Hail MaryAndy Weir (audio book on Audible)Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

Outro

If you have feedback, we love feedback. You can send it to us at [email protected] or via Twitter @lairofsecrets. You can also visit lairofsecrets.com and leave us some feedback, topic ideas, or your own thoughts on what we’ve talked about.

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A collection of cover art for some of the books on our summer reading list. Copyright their respective authors/publishers.

David and Ken once again find themselves ignoring linear time to bring you a show FROM THE FUTURE!!! On this… Read more S1E17 Summer Reading 2021

On this episode of the Lair of Secrets podcast ... David Moore has had a strange few weeks and he's not really sure who he is anymore. Meanwhile, Ken Newquist digs into a good, scary graphic novel, tries out some new backpacking gadgets, and investigates a small-town murder mystery.

David Messed Up Bullet JournalingRolled over into September without migrating from AugustStill haven’t quite caught up since he was also teaching last week which isn’t the normal day-to-day job.ColonoscopyThe Trials of Online GamingBrindlewood Bay and the trials of online gaming with my other group"I am the Law"David picked up the Judge Dredd 2000 AD Humble BundleCovid ScareTo Sail the Infinite Oceans...David discusses a five-year plan for buying a boat and sailing the world. And you thought backpacking was adventuresome!The Wilds of New JerseyYes, New Jersey has wilderness.Ken spent lots of time in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.Ken went on a 10-mile canoe trip along the Delaware River.5-mile hike on the AT and Rattlesnake Swamp Trail Coming up (but not really, since we recorded this last year: 2.5 days of camping and backpacking, totally 20 miles on the trail.Picked up a new gadget - a water purifier for the trail (filters out bacteria, not viruses; for that you need to treat the water)Hiker Microfilter by KatadynGeek Needs Exercise ... BadlyKen's exercise routine is stalled. Need to get back to it (and sleep better)Ken's Summer Reading List Additions (2020 edition)The big, scary books: Aliens 30th Anniversary: The Original Comics Series and Aliens: Nightmare Asylum and Earth WarFrom the late 1980s and early 1990sDirect sequel to Aliens (before the disappointing Alien3)Features Hicks and Newt about ten years after Aliens.Once Alien3 was released, they were renamed (Newt became Billie while Hicks became Wilks) ….. which was dumb … and they restored their names for these editionsFocuses on the intersections of humanity and the alien, from alien-worshipping cults to military officers obsessed with crafting the perfect army.Unsurprisingly, infection (how to contain the aliens … and how to deal with them when that fails) plays a major part in the series.Main Topic: How do you like to read?Print booksNo school like the old schoolDoesn’t run out of batteriesHas that new book smellHey, why can’t I increase the font size on this thing?Already have so … many … booksVs. E-Reader bookBooks don’t take up any physical spaceGo ahead. Make the font as big as you wantBacklighting makes it easier to read on the trail or camping … or at 2 a.m. when you can’t sleep (but you should really just get up anyway)Doesn’t have that new book smell. Doesn’t feel like a book.Vs. AudiobooksRead at the pace of the book. No skipping ahead, no flipping backward, no skimmingMaybe slower. And may take weeks to finish a bookThe Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss? 42 hrs and 55 mins.Digital, so they don’t take up spacePeople may not consider this “reading”

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Cover art for the Aliens: Nightmare Asylum and Earth War. Credit: Dark Horse Comics.

On this episode of the Lair of Secrets podcast … David Moore has had a strange few weeks and he’s… Read more S1E7 Online Gaming Redux, Wild New Jersey, Aliens Graphic Novels, Books (aka The Format Wars)

Welcome to the Lair of Secrets podcast! On this episode, we talk coffee, bullet journaling with the Leuchtturm1917 (for games) and Paperage A5 (for daily use), new backpacks, and the Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion board game. For the main topic, we discuss the relative merits and challenges of playing role-playing games in the real world, vs. the virtual one.

Want some more bullet journal inspiration? Check out our "Virtual Bullet Journals" post.

Coffee snobberyKen got an Aeropress.

Plunger-powered coffee press.

Quickly makes strong coffee.

Faster clean-up, fewer loose grounds than french press.

Super easy, light, and durable; might need to get one for camping and backpacking.

Also got an electric kettle. Which seems like cheating.

Day Pack of Holding

Ken's Osprey Stratos 24 pack came. Took it on a 5-mile shakedown hike last weekend. Worked great! Might not be ideal for conventions … or I just need to carry less books.

Big Huge Board Game ... now somewhat Less Huge ... but still Big

Ken played Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion with his son. Very approachable game; comes with its own ziploc bags and instructions on how to sort components. First few adventures are tutorials (of which we did one) that spell out how combat, spells, and movement work.

Bullet Journal TimeDavid started Bullet Journaling - jumped on the bandwagon, several years late

Paperage A5 - for daily/regular bullet journal - enjoying it so far

Yellow

Leuchtturm1917 for a game bullet journal - inspired by Ken’s use

Wine

Bullet journaling and gaming

Dune Mentat-like statement on the paper band of the cover

Terraforming the Garage

David is working on garage upgrade to make it more habitable in the winter months.

Murder, She Gamed

David geeks out about Brindlewood Bay.

From the DriveThru RPG blurb: "A roleplaying game about a group of elderly women—members of the local Murder Mavens mystery book club—who frequently find themselves investigating (and solving!) real-life murder mysteries."

Playing Role-Playing Games Virtually vs. the Real World

How is gaming remotely different than in person?

Opportunities to play shift.

Makes it easier for some people to join the game. Others (understandably) don’t want Yet Another Online meeting or lack gear/internet connection to make it work.

Overall, feels like there’s a small benefit, scheduling-wise

What extra considerations do you need when gaming remotely?

Battle Map Prep

If playing with maps, more time is needed to find and/or make the maps. Stockpiling maps (and pre-loading them into your tabletop) can be helpful.

Same goes for tokens. Investing time up front to have player tokens, common NPC tokens, and monster tokens is worthwhile.

Mapping sites:

https://watabou.itch.io/one-page-dungeon

https://donjon.bin.sh/5e/dungeon/

https://dungen.app/dungen/

Visuals

Even with theatre-of-the-mind style play, it’s helpful to pull together photos/videos/etc that show off campaign elements and then load them into the virtual tabletop. Pinterest is also good for this.

Mechanics

Mainstream games are easier to run because virtual table tops do a better job of supporting their mechanics. Theatre of the mind works well too.

Even simple mechanics, like Savage Worlds’ initiative card deck, can trip you up.

There’s a learning curve with whatever platform you use. Sometimes it feels like a learning ciff that you run smack into (or fall off of)

Technology

Finding a video conferencing platform everyone likes is hard. A little easier now though.

Uneven skill levels and technology among players (e.g. some people have headsets, some don’t).

Phones can be a great equalizer here, and avoid the software/driver upgrade cycle of heck.

How does virtual play affect personal interactions?

Difficult to “read the room” as a GM, especially if no one is using cameras.

No side conversations

Do you need more breaks?

Yes

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A few of Ken's bullet journals. The light blue one is a general RPG bullet journal; the yellow one is for the Scales of Truth campaign, and the royal blue one is a daily bullet journal.

Welcome to the Lair of Secrets podcast! The podcast about gaming and being a geek by two forty-something geek dads. David is a father, coder, gamer, woodworker, and guy with too many hobbies he likes to pursue. Ken is an IT guy who never seems to have enough time to read comic books, but refuses to stop collecting them.

Colorful Forges of WordsDavid finished Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett - very abrupt ending, the novel felt like a series of short stories strung together, not his best work but still enjoyableForging Hephaestus by Drew Hayes by - reading - Superhero/villain story, the main character is a villain in air quotes who is learning to use her powers and being introduced to the social structure behind the scenes at a villain guildReads like a story based on role-playing done in Champions Online or City of Heroes, which is to say it’s pretty good, but won’t be for everyoneInteresting worldbuilding on how new metas come into beingA Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine - on deck nextOn the Agenda of GodsDavid's Local game group was partially able to get together this weekend after the long hiatusPlayed a game of the new edition of Godsend Agenda that is being developed by Khepera Publishing with the GM being Jerry Grayson. It’ll be released on the Babies With Knives and Cowboy Dracula YouTube channels at some point.Was a lot of fun, and David was reminded about how long DnD and Pathfinder combats can take.We did several combats and a fair amount of investigation and role-playing in the four-ish hours of gaming. I’ve had DnD and Pathfinder games where it was nearly four hours of combat.Picked up Take 5 / 6 Nimmt and have had fun with the games of it so farOn Miscellaneous Topics of NoteZoe is doing very wellTorn down pretty much everything in the garage woodshop to rearrange it and make improvementsVenturing forth with a new Day Pack of HoldingKen is finally replacing his grungy old day pack with a spiffy new Osprey one.A day pack is a lightweight backpack meant for shorter hikes, overnight backpacking trips, and trips.Also: Game conventions?Ken bought the Osprey Stratos 24 pack24 liter pack.Dual zippered panel access to main compartmentFront panel vertical zip pocket; front panel zip stash pocket; front panel storage pocket; large top panel zip stash pocket; side stretch-mesh pockets; zip hipbelt pocketsIce-tool loop with bungee tie-offIntegrated raincoverInternal hydration reservoir sleeve (hydration reservoir sold separately)By way of comparison, Ken's main backpack is an 85L pack (it’s a lot bigger)To Boldly Go ... and ReadKen bought all the Star Trek Adventures books via Humble BundleSooooo much content.Ken may need to take a day off just to read Star Trek.More D&D with kidsKen's daughter (17) wants him to run a game of D&D for her and her friends.Looks like that new D&D starter set is going to get a lot of use this fall...The Theatre of Infinite StreamsThe Old Guard (movie)Charlize Theron "Andy"… one of a handful of immortal warriors who try to make the world a better place. They find a new immortal … and a conspiracy that wants to harness their immortality.If you liked Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road or Atomic Blonde, you’ll love this.Umbrella Academy, Season 2Based on the comic books of the same name.Children with powers adopted and raised by a stern father (and an intelligent ape).In Season 1, one of them nearly destroyed the world. In Season 2, the apocalypse is still looming large … but it’s a nuclear war in 1963.Baseball!Finally … Ken's Mets are back. Watching games is surreal though.The BoysWhere we go off on a Karl Urban sidetrack of how he makes any movie he is in better

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Artwork from the Star Trek Adventures game by Modiphius.