I used to enjoy playing the game, "If you could cast a movie, what movie and what cast?" I was thinking about a Scooby-Doo movie. Julie and I have been streaming "Two Broke Girls" and I was thinking that Kat Dennings would make a great Velma Dinkley.
(I know that there's already a Scooby-Doo live action movie, but I think that it's about time for another.)
So, let's play ...
My Dream Scooby-Doo (2024) Movie!
Starring:
Kat Dennings as Velma Dinkley
So, if you "Google" Kat Dennings as Velma Dinkley, you get a lotof hits. I'm not the only person who thinks she would be perfect in the role.
Kit Harington as Fred Jones
Jon Snow from Game of Thrones might not be the popular choice as Fred Jones, but I just had to have "Kit" and "Kat" in my cast. Plus, he looks totally different without the beard.
Rose McIver as Daphne Blake
I love Rose on Ghosts and iZombie. She has to be my Daphne.
Wyatt Russell as Shaggy Rogers
I loved him in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and think that he would make an awesome Shaggy. Plus, I really think that he looks the part.
Wil Wheaton as the voice of Scooby-Doo
I can't have a dream movie without Wil. I know that he prefers voice work, and I bet that he would love doing this.
What's Your Dream Movie?
If you could cast any movie that you wanted, what would be your movie and who would you cast?
Join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and geekdom!
This "genre" specifically encompasses the works of producer William Dozier. These include the Batman and Green Hornet TV series as well as never aired Batgirl and Dick Tracy pilots. I would also include Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (1976) by Sid and Marty Krofft, as well as classic Doctor Who into the mix of TV shows that I believe would fit BIF! BAM! KAPOW! very well.
Unlike other games by Spectrum that I mentioned (for me) BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! seems to finally get the mix of storytelling emulation and RPG crunch just right. I've read Cartoon Action Hour many times. I really want to like it. It's an awesome game to read, but all the rules about series creation and genre emulation drag it down.
Maybe this is because Cartoon Action Hour tries to cover too wide a cross section of television? All the dials and tropes rules just get in my way every time that I try to imagine what it would be like at my table.
BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! is much more focused. It really only wants to tell one kind of story, and that is to it's benefit. I would much rather have a game that gives me a solid foundation that I can work with (including changing it to whatever I might want) than a game with a soft foundation that's trying to cover too much ground.
Art by Christopher Martinez
The book is beautifully illustrated and the third page is a tribute to artist Christopher Martinez who passed away while BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! was still in production. His artwork here is stunning. The pages of the book are all square which feels like a weird choice to me. I guess the intent is for the book to be shaped like the old TV sets on which the shows used to air?
The book jumps straight into explaining the basics and what it's trying to do. They can't actually claim to be Batman '66 (or the Green Hornet) TV show RPG. So, we get an original TV show, "The Adventures of Hoot Owl." Everything is concise and easy to grok. There are a few typos here and there that caused me momentary confusion, but I figured everything out.
Character creation is straight forward with characters having four attributes:
Action (A character’s overall physicality.)
Thought (A character’s general brainpower.)
Drama (A character’s ability to interact with others.)
Pluck (A character’s heart and willpower.)
These range from -1 to 3, but most will fall between 0-2.
Characters can have skills which provide bonuses and gadgets which provide powers. In these shows the characters were all normal people with advanced training and technology. (There is an optional rule for including actual "super powers" in the game, and I'll use that when I get a chance to play this.)
Use of "powers" in these shows required costly special effects. To reflect this, players have budget tokens that they must spend when they want to perform a stunt or use a power. It's a mechanical limiter that's good for game balance, but also thematic. I also like the idea of keeping the use of powers and big explosions and dangerous stunts as "high points" in a game rather than common place.
The Intention System
Task resolution is based on an "intention" system. I remember this system from Retrostar, and I really liked it there. It's made even better here. Basically, the player frames an intended outcome from a course of action. Note that I say, "course of action" here and not just "action." This is a game where broad strokes are going to be so much better than micro managing every little detail.
A number of dice are rolled based on your attributes and skills, but only two of the dice are added together. High totals are better. A result of 2-6 is a BIFF! A result of 7-9 is a BAM! And a result of 10 or more is a KAPOW!
BIFF! is a negative result. The showrunner (what BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! calls its GM) always narrates these results, and it means something not good for the heroes.
BAM! is a neutral result. It means that something good AND something bad happens. The player can choose to either succeed at what they are doing at the cost of gaining some new troublesome complication, or fail at what they are doing, but gain some other unexpected benefit.
BAM! results are normally narrated by the showrunner, but the player can take control of this narrative if they wish by spending a script token. (See KAPOW! below.)
KAPOW! results are unconditional successes. The player gets to narrrate the results, and they gain a script token to use later.
The Combat System
Perhaps the best way that BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! captures the spirit of the shows that it's designed to emulate is in its combat rules. Combats in BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! are called, "Climatic Fight Scenes."
I have gone on record many times saying how tired I am of typical RPG combat, but this isn't typical RPG combat.
BIFF! BAM! KAPOW!'s Climatic Fight Scene mechanics are a game changer! They're brilliant. They make the combats a narrative part of the story, and I love that.
Climatic Fight Scenes are the big fights at the end of each episode. Initially, the heroes are going to lose this fight. That's okay. They're supposed to. In this world, the heroes will get knocked out and then deposited into somekind of death trap only to escape at the start of the next episode.
BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! sets this up perfectly, and the thing is, I don't understand why no one has done this kind of thing before. Comics always end with the seeming demise of the hero. The combat rules should support this idea.
It's a "cliffhanger" mechanism, and it's a mainstay of so many forms of adventure fiction. It's the reason that I said BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! would be perfect for emulating classic Doctor Who. It's just such a good idea.
BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! accomplishes this by adding two decks of cards to help facilitate the combat process. One deck is the "Climactic Fight Scene A" deck, and the other is the "Climatic Fight Scene B" deck. The A deck is weighted against the heroes and the B deck is weighted against the villains.
Characters don't have hit points. This isn't a tactical battle of attrition or elimination. It's a story. It's Jackie Chan. When the heroes succeed, they gain momentum. When the heroes fail, they lose momentum. Heroes and villains both bounce back and keep fighting until five rounds have passed, then the heroes win or lose together.
It's the clubhouse fight in Rumble In The Bronx when Jackie fights an endless hoard of thugs to a standstill ending in a moral scolding. It's the duel between Inigo Montoya and the Dread Pirate Roberts that's as much about the banter as it is the fencing, and yes, it's the battle between Batman and Robin and the Penguin and his henchmen.
The heroes must conclude the combat at the end of the fifth round with four momentum in order to win. As mentioned, the fight decks are weighted. Combat outcomes aren't guaranteed, but they are designed to follow an arch.
If the heroes win the really tough Fight-A when the odds are against them, that's cool. Maybe this episode is a one-shot? If they lose after surviving the villain's death trap at the end of Fight-B when they were supposed to save the day, that's okay too. Maybe this story is a three parter?
Nice feature about the '66 Batman TV series.
Too Campy?
The campy nature of BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! might be a major turn off to some, but I think it's brilliant, and probably a lot more versatile than it might appear at first glance. There are so many levels of camp.
Doctor Who is camp. Rumble In The Bronx is camp. The Princess Bride, Galaxy Quest ... the list goes on. Yes, the rules of BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! encourage you to play it for the "cheese" but if that's going to get in your way, then forget 60's Batman and just play it.
BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! follows a strict story structure that assumes that the heroes will go after a villain, be defeated and left at the brink of death and then recover to defeat the villain in the end. Follow that. Use it. That's good stuff. That feels like most of the comics that I read growing up. There's a reason all the Batman TV series was structured that way.
Don't let the campy keep you away from this game.
Players who really don't like the Dozier formula can shuffle the A & B Climactic Combat decks together and get all the benefits of BIFF! BAM! KAPOW!'s narrative combat system without the predictability. At that point, you're playing a different game, but I think these rules still work.
And if you like the Dozier formula? If you embrace the campy? You'll not find a better game for you than BIFF! BAM! KAPOW!
I love the campy.
Because you need more Electra Woman & Dyna Girl.
Join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and geekdom!
Nerds like to debate their preferences within their various milieus of fandom. I am no different. I like Star Trek more than Star Wars, and Godzilla more than King Kong, and I like Superman more than Batman. I have my own reasons for these things, but relevant to this post is the Superman versus Batman debate.
Batman wears a mask to strike fear into the cowardly hearts of villains in order to defeat them. In his story, Batman is the core identity and crime fighting is the core mission. When Batman removes the mask to become Bruce Wayne, the Batman identity remains. Bruce Wayne is the facade, he is just another tool in Batman's arsenal. Batman's primary motivation is to punish evil doers and maintain his army in his war against crime.
Superman wears glasses to fit in among a world of humans in the hopes that he won't frighten them. In his story, Clark Kent is the core identity and his love for Lois and his friends is at the core of his being. When Clark removes the glasses to become Superman, the Clark Kent identity remains. The love remains, and his primary motivation is to help others and protect those that he loves.
And, yeah ... I know that this debate could be pushed in either direction, but my point is that Clark just wants to be normal. He wants to live a normal life, but is hindered by his differences. I can relate to that. Batman has given up on living a normal life. There will never be a time when all crime will be abolished and he can settle down with a nice family. He has resigned himself to that fate. I can't relate to that.
Superman has hope. Batman doesn't. Batman is darker and not optimistic, and because of that, for me he's less relatable and less fun.
Recently, I discovered an RPG called: BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! What does this have to do with my Superman versus Batman debate? Kind of ... everything.
There was a time when Batman was fun. That time was 1966.
This video contains fun facts not "dark secrets."
Yeah, it was campy and silly and a lot of comic book fans say that they hate it, but the 1966 Batman TV series was awesome, and Batmania gave comic book sales a needed boost at the time. (Also, Barbara Gordon's Batgirl was created specifically for the series. Without Batman '66, Batgirl as we know her wouldn't exist.)
This Batman is not dark and brooding. He works with the police in a way that feels more like a job than his life's calling, and he has his ward: Robin. The relationship between Bruce and Dick as depicted in the 1966 TV series humanizes the Batman character in a way that I haven't seen equaled. I love everything about it!
BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! is written by Cynthia Celeste Miller and published by her company Spectrum Games. I've been following Spectrum Games for awhile, but somehow BIFF! BAM! KAPOW! has evaded my notice despite being released in 2021.
The first RPG that I read written by Cynthia Celeste Miller was Four Colors back in 2001. She was one of those amazing creators making RPG content and providing it for free on the internet. We were doing this at about the same time. (Xerospace was shared on Unclebear in 1999.) I still have a copy of Four Colors and I cherish it. (It and the free site that hosted it are long gone.)
Recently, I was watching a reviewer on YouTube and he mentioned a game called, Four Color Heroics. It seemed like Spectrum Games might be releasing the original Four Colors and that excited me very much.
Cynthia Celeste Miller is awesome. She is clearly a huge superhero fan. She wrote Four Colors, and her company Spectrum Games released another ground breaking superhero RPG called, "Capes, Cowls, and Villains Foul" written by Barak Blackburn in 2012.
Capes does what most of Spectrum Games' catalog does. It emulates a genre rather than simulating an effect. It doesn't ask, "How can an RPG emulate superpowers?" It asks, "How do comic books tell stories, and how can an RPG tell the same stories?"
Cartoon Action Hour does much the same with Saturday Morning Cartoons of the 70's and 80's. Retrostar takes a stab at 70's and 80's Science Fiction Television.
I love what Spectrum Games is doing in theory. However, in practice I have never gotten any of these games to my table. For me, there seems to be too much "crunch" for the kind of games these games seem to want to be.
Four Colors was different. It was streamlined. (Some might say, "raw." I think that it was Cynthia's first RPG.) I had been meaning to run a game of Four Colors for a long time, but never managed it. So, I was super excited about Four Color Heroics. It seemed like Cynthia had gone back to her roots.
Four Color Heroics is good. It isn't the same game that Cynthia shared all those years ago, but it's got a lot of good going on between the covers.
However ...
That's not why I started this post. I started this post because when I visited Spectrum Games' website, I discovered something that I wasn't actually looking for ... something that I never knew that I wanted.
I'm going to talk briefly about an RPG product on DriveThru called: The Alchemist's Fire. It's a scenario and small campaign setting written for use with Dragonbane. I'm not going to go into much detail here because I don't want to spoil things for those who might play through the adventure. That includes my own play group.
Travis presents The Alchemist's Fire as part one of the "Sisters Three" campaign. This campaign focuses on a area consisting of three small hamlets surrounding a lake. Each hamlet was constructed around a mysterious statue. These statues are each one of the "Sisters Three." No one knows the true origins of the statues.
The Alchemist's Fire scenario focuses on one of the three hamlets, Lapis. The small community is described and NPCs included. There's good stuff here around which to begin a campaign. The book is written for use with Dragonbane, but I imagine that I could use it with any game system of my choosing with very little effort.
Among those things that really stood out for me with Alchemist's Fire is the overall presentation, pacing and look of the book. This was a pleasant read, and the art is beautiful. I will be following this campaign and the works of its author Travis Galloway in the future. Alchemist's Fire really impressed me and I can't wait to see more.
Julie is away at a business meeting, Kaylee is back at CMU, and I am home by myself, and it's storming outside. I mean it's really storming. It's dark. There's thunder, lightning, the whole thing.
It's storming, and I suddenly realize that I'm a little bit scared. At first, the thought of that seemed silly, but then I remembered that I haven't been alone, not really alone, in over 30 years.
I will talk about this in my memoir, but after Platt College, I will pretty much always live with someone else. I can't remember the last time that I was alone in the house in a thunderstorm.
It's not like I am cowering in the corner or anything. It's just this weird feeling of insecurity. Even when it was just me and Kaylee, I was there to comfort her, and that act comforted me. It made me feel strong.
So, alone, in a storm, for the first time in over 30 years. It feels weird.
I'm feeling a bit like Marvin the Robot from Hitchhikers' Guide these days.
Life ... Don't talk to me about life.
I've hit a point where I'm struggling with motivation to write. I worry that I talk about the same things over and over. I do still have new RPG's that I could talk about. I'm reading a two player only RPG called Pit Crawler that I am interested in trying out with my friend Dave. So, that review may be coming soon.
Work continues on Little Colony. I'm still very excited about that project and the kinds of stories it will tell. Originally, I planned to release it for ZineQuest in 2025. I may or may not adhere to that plan. Honestly, the financial responsibility of managing a Kickstarter terrifies me.
The point of forcing myself to write here everyday was to develop the "habit" of writing. I suppose that I have accomplished this, but sadly, the act of writing in and of itself hasn't gotten any easier. Plus, right now, life is busy.
We just took my daughter back to college. My stepson gets married in less than 2 weeks. We will be flying to Austin for the wedding. I am excited about the wedding, but I am dreading the travel. I'm still using a walker, and that makes any kind of travel more challenging.
My knee isn't better following a surgery in early February. After months of physical therapy, I still can't walk without holding onto something. Now, I am looking ahead at the prospect of a second surgery. That's not gotten me feeling the most optimistic.
All of this to say, that I'm kicking myself for not dragging myself in front of the keyboard a few days last week, but maybe I should recognize that I've been doing very well in my pledge and that maybe I should give myself permission to take a break ... just every once in awhile.
I'm going to rewind just a little. I had not yet quit my job at Platt College (but would very soon) and I believe we had just completed our first read through of the Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia. A few of us decided to go out for a celebratory drink. I had just gotten paid, and I had another reason to celebrate. I had sold some art.
I had two art instructors at Platt College. Both of them had a background as sports illustrators. One was Dayne Duddley and the other Jack Bender. I excelled in the "illustration" aspects of art class and made no secret that my dream was to become a comic book artist. I was originally in Dayne's class, but he knew that Jack had a passion for comic art and recommended that I move to Jack's class, which I did.
Jack and I became good friends and that rekindled his interest in comic book illustration. In fact he told me when he took the job as ghost illustrator for Alley Oop that he probably wouldn't have applied for the job if not for the renewed interest in comic illustration that he had fostered as part of our friendship. Jack taught me so much. He is one of the great influential figures in my life.
Our friendship continued as I moved from student to staff at Platt College. He recommended me for a job for a greeting card company that was looking for illustrations for seasonal greeting cards. I did a watercolor painting of a cartoon Easter bunny painting Easter eggs. It was super colorful with lots of pastels. They bought the painting for $400.
At this time, I did all of my banking via ATM. I would deposit my check and pull out the cash. I carried cash because we had not yet reached the point where businesses were expected to accept plastic. This brings me back to our night out at the bar. I had just been to the ATM and I had cashed not only my paycheck from work but also the $400 check from the greeting card company. My wallet was fat with twenty dollar bills.
Four of us had gone out. There was myself and George the director. There was another actor named Ken and the stage manager named Claire. I was high on my success and bought the first round, loudly declaring my triumph as I displayed way too much cash at the bar when I ordered the drinks.
Seven And Seven
Ken, Claire and George had beers. I ordered a Seven And Seven which was my drink of choice for years. Because of Chuck it was a long time before I could drink beer, and even now I will only drink dark stouts, not the nasty yellow stuff that Chuck drank. Anyway, I sat down to drink with my friends, when a beer (the kind I just said I won't drink) arrived at my table courtesy of two attractive young women across the bar.
Some girls had bought me a drink. This had never happened before in my life (and never will again - until the "Bless you, Jeff" girls, but that's another story.) I was thrilled. I excused myself from the table with my friends to go talk to the two women. I took the beer with me, and I thanked them. They asked me to sit down and introduced themselves. I honestly don't remember their names, but they seemed like nice wholesome girls that my mother would like.
They told me that they were both student nurses. We made small talk. They asked if I liked scary movies, stating that it was fun to get scared and then grab onto someone for protection. I admitted that I didn't like scary movies at all, and that my favorite movie was The Little Mermaid. Despite my obvious faux pas the girls seemed to like me. They asked why I wasn't drinking my beer. I admitted that I didn't like it.
I was doing everything wrong. I was just being myself and being oblivious. Then, one of the girls leaned over and kissed me. This was my first kiss. I was flustered. The girl's friend slid over closer to me as well, and they asked me if I wanted to go home with them. I was beyond flustered.
I explained that I was with some friends and that I should really get back to them. I didn't want to be rude, and I was super flattered, but I really needed to go. The girl who had kissed me gave me her phone number and they said goodbye. The two girls got up and walked out, and I went back to the table with my friends.
Ken welcomed me back and admitted that he was just about to come over to intervene.
"Why?" I had asked him.
"I wasn't going to let you leave with those two prostitutes." He responded firmly.
Sigh, that did make sense. I threw away the phone number when I got home. I was a romantic. I wanted true love. I began to wonder if that was even possible for someone "like me." I couldn't believe that my first kiss was with a prostitute.
Went out to pick up a board game called Harvest at our FLGS. Then out to dinner at our favorite Mexican Restaurant. That was yesterday.
Today, I went out to breakfast with my daughter. She is going back to college on Saturday. So, it was cool to have some father/daughter bonding time. Then home for a nap. I didn't sleep well. Not sure if the late Mexican food from the night before is to blame for that, but it's certainly true that I can't eat like I could when I was young.
Tepache (Mexican Fermented Pineapple Drink)
I tried a new drink made from fermented pineapple juice, which is supposed to be good for you, but I think it gave my stomach some fits. It was very sweet and delicious and fizzy. It's supposedly full of probiotics which are good for gut health, but my gut's not used to being healthy. So, I think it just got confused.
After my nap I had to go to physical therapy, then after that out again to see some old friends who were in from out of town. We had some really good Chinese Food (which is hard to find in western Michigan) and then lots of good conversation. I just got home. No time to blog, so please accept this status report instead.
In Wilderfeast players take the roles of "wilders," heroic monster hunters who are more than human. In the lore of Wilderfeast giant kaiju-like monsters dominate the world. It's not quite clear how, but at some point (a few thousand years ago) humanity arrived in this world. Giant monsters continue to rule this world, but humans struggle to make a life here in the One Land. The wilders help.
A great plague called the "frenzy" is consuming the monster populations of this world, driving them crazy and dangerous. Wilders bring them down in combat and then as a mercy or out of respect they eat them. Yeah, I said, "eat them."
Wilderfeast is a sort of mix between Monster Hunter and Delicious In Dungeon. The cool thing is that this entire game and its systems are built around "the feast." As wilder characters consume the monsters that they defeat, they gain their powers. This is the only way characters "level up."
Wilderfeast's tagline is, "You are what you eat." I backed this RPG project by Horrible Guild on Kickstarter and recently was able to download the PDF. The core book is over 300 pages long. Normally, I'd balk at Wilderfeast's girth, but this is really three books in one. This tome contains the core rules, a bestiary, and a gazetteer between its covers.
I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I am enjoying what's here so far, and I thought that a first impressions review was in order. Firstly, the book is gorgeous to look at. The artwork is beautiful, and the presentation is accessible, welcoming and easy to read. That's so important. I might not have gotten past the massive 500+ page count if the book didn't plead, "read me" with such warmth.
The tight integration of theme with the characters and their world really grabbed me as did the quirkiness of the premise. Wilderfeast understands what it is and has its heart in the right place. Consider this quote.
From the book:
One thing to keep in mind as you explore your take of this world is that it's both serious and silly.
… as wilders, you grapple with the deterioration of the natural world and the human systems responsible for that decline, but at the end of the day you're also wielding oversized cooking utensils to turn kaiju into dinner. The aim is for its two sides to enhance rather than undermine each other …
Oversized cooking utensils? Oh, yeah!
One of the first things players do to create a character for Wilderfeast is select their tool. A character's tool defines their starting role in the game, much like (if not exactly like) a character class. Tools are like weapons in other games, but more useful and far more powerful. They are ancient artifacts forged from arksteel.
From the book:
Arksteel is a regenerating silver metal made by humanity’s lost ancestors. In ages past, the greenkings fashioned enormous arksteel kitchen implements to produce mind-boggling amounts of food. After the greenking civilization fell, the wilders repurposed those artifacts as weapons, though they still come in handy as cooking aids.
The game lists the following tool options. There are six TOOLS in total:
Choose a CLEAVER if you want to make every strike count.
Choose MITTS if you want to get up close and personal.
Choose a PAN if you want to shield your packmates from harm.
Choose a SPIT if you want to always be moving.
Choose a TORCH if you want to control the situation from a distance.
Choose TWINE if you want to invent creative solutions.
That's six character classes. Your choice of tool also determines the starting values of your character's styles and gives them a few starting skills.
Styles are an interesting alternative to ability scores in other games. They speak to "how" a character approaches a problem and they combine with skills to form a sort of action statement. A character's four styles are: mighty, precise, swift and tricky. The book describes them like this:
MIGHTY - Being strong, tough, firm, or blunt
PRECISE - Being calm, methodical, focused, or accurate
SWIFT - Being quick, energetic, alert, or dexterous
TRICKY - Being subtle, deceitful, technical, or shrewd
Your style determines how many dice you can roll when attempting to perform an action. Wilderfeast uses a simple d6 dice pool system where 5's and 6's indicate success. Skills add a bonus that can be applied to dice one at a time. So if you rolled a 3, 4 and 5 on 3 dice and had a skill that gave you a +1, you'd want to add that to the 4 to bring it up to a 5. That would give you two successes for the action.
The use of tool (weapon) to define character class, and the way that bonuses are applied to individual dice in the dice pool reminds me of A+ Fantasy. I'd love to imagine that my game had some influence on the design of Wilderfeast (but nah.)
The list of skills is pretty concise but every skill combines with two different styles to produce unique results. For example, consider these two applications of the "craft" skill.
From the book:
Make a MIGHTY CRAFT (roll) to hammer the fence of a monster enclosure into place. Make a PRECISE CRAFT (roll) to tinker with a delicate, fiddly mechanism.
If you have advantage on a roll, you can treat 4, 5, and 6 as a success. If you have disadvantage on a roll, only 6 is a success.
You also have an "Action die" that measures the degree of your success (like weapon damage for example). By default players roll a d8 as their action die, but if they are tapping into their monstrous natures this changes to a d20!
If you decide to use a d20 as your action die, you must give up 1d6 from your dice pool when rolling your style dice to succeed at the action. So, the action becomes more difficult, but the rewards are greater!
That's a super quick overview of what I have read so far. I'll talk more about the game as I get further through the rules.
Join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and geekdom!
Writing a blog is a good exercise. It gives me an excuse to write, and it keeps my mind active. All good, but one benefit that I might have overlooked is "reading" my blog. Yeah, I mean reading my own blog. I was looking for an old post in order to reference it in one of my more recent entries when I came across a post from January of 2013. I'm going to quote a large section of the post here because I feel all of this bears repeating.
<start>
I want to combine role-playing and game playing in a format that is accessible to casual gamers. I want role-play that works without a GM, where the narrative voice can be shared by all players without prior preparation or diminishing the fun or flow of the game.
In trying to keep the GAME in RPG, but lose the board game / war game influence, I am thinking of making this RPG a card game. I know this has been done before, but I am not sure to what extent. I do not want to use cards as a substitute for dice. I do not want to emulate war-game battles. I do not want miniatures or those kinds of trappings that are common to war game inspired RPG's.
Instead, I want card game trappings. Each player will hold cards in their hand. A 'hand' will be dealt and played. Like in poker, stakes will be set, the hand will be played out, then the player to the left will become the dealer.
I see the dealer as holding some manner of narrative control and this moving with the deal as each hand is played. I see a game where cards are played as a scene unfolds and each scene completes as each hand is finished.
I don't know yet how all of this is going to work ... But here are some thoughts:
I have been really into Japanese Anime of late, especially those anime stories about high-school students and their various antics. (I loved 'School Rumble' on Netflix) I want to start there. This will give the system a foundation, and anime is versatile enough that once everything has been said and done, playing in other genres should be possible with little trouble.
So, starting there I have decided that characters are defined by RESOURCES. These resources provide the tools a character can use to complete a task. There are four Resources.
SPADES: a spade is a tool used in gardening. As a resource this represents 'skill use' for the character.
HEARTS: the heart is classically associated with love and passion. As a resource this represents 'emotional drive' for the character.
DIAMONDS: diamonds are a sign of wealth. As a resource this represents 'material possessions' for the character.
CLUBS: a common aspect of Japanese school-age anime is the participation in extra-curricular activities in the form of clubs. As a resource this represents 'social contacts' for the character.
USING RESOURCES:
Imagine that a player wants their character to do well on a math test.
Perhaps the character has studied very hard. This may represent the use of their SPADES resource.
Perhaps the character has a crush on their teacher and wants to do well on the test to impress their teacher. This may represent the use of the HEARTS resource.
Perhaps the character means to purchase a fancy scientific calculator to help them to do well on the test. This may represent use of the DIAMONDS resource.
Maybe the character has convinced a friend to let them look at their answers during the test and copy from their paper. This may represent use of the CLUBS resource.
Not sure yet what all of this will really look like during play. But this is what I have bouncing in my head.
<end>
So, I have been struggling in my head to create a non-combat focused, accessible RPG for over 10 years. I completely forgot about this idea. These are some good and interesting ideas. I mean seriously, why didn't I take this any further?
Recently, there has been a huge influx of trick taking card and board games. These games explore a variety of different innovations using the trick taking mechanic. Trick taking is more versatile than I ever imagined, and these innovations were not something that I was aware of 10 years ago. But, looking at this now, the first thing that I thought was, "This is a trick taking RPG."
I'm thinking that game play might look something like this:
The GM proposes an obstacle and then plays a card representing that obstacle's difficulty. Players must then play in suit if they can, describing what their action looks like based on the resource being played. However, if a player is out of the led suit, they can play any other card and must describe how their character takes a different approach.
My brain is buzzing.
Join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and geekdom!
Are you looking for an alternative to Dungeons and Dragons that doesn't feel old school, doesn't sacrifice on player options, and doesn't break your bank account?
I backed Nimble 5e at the $39 level. That's 3 softcover books with PDF's included for less than the cost of one D&D book. When these go retail, the books will be $20 a piece. Still cheaper than D&D, but you save $21 by backing on Backerkit.
I don't generally "push" products like this, but Nimble 5e could be the game that will permanently move my gaming table away from D&D and the terrible business practices of Hasbro. I think that's worth an extra plug from me.
I talk more about Nimble 5e here. At the time of writing, there's only about 70 hours left to back Nimble. Act now!
Join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and geekdom!
I preordered the Dragonbane campaign book, "Path of Glory." I did this because I am extremely fond of Dragonbane, and because the other two hardcover books in the line (the Core Rules and the Bestiary) are two of the most beautiful physical books in my entire RPG collection.
That said, I will be happy to own the Path of Glory book because it seems to carry the same high quality aesthetic as the other products in this line. However … There's very little between the covers of this "campaign" that I feel like I can use.
Because I preordered the book from FreeLeague, I got access to the PDF version of the campaign book early. I've been reading through it, and I admit to being a little disappointed.
Path of Glory is a reworking of a classic set of three adventures from Dragonbane's past. It is set around an isolated region known as the Dead Forest. The players are tasked with recovering an ancient artifact and must contend with the machinations of three powers vying for possession of the artifact.
Isolated region? Three factions? Does this sound familiar?
It's just … my initial impressions are that Path of Glory feels a lot like the Secret of the Dragon Emperor campaign included in the core box set.
So, what if you didn't own the boxed set and just wanted to start your campaign with Path of Glory? That would work, right?
Sadly, no. The Path of Glory campaign is meant to be played by an experienced group of adventurers. It is designed to be played after the Secret of the Dragon Emperor. Maybe I am reading too much into the "similarities" between the two campaigns. I don't know. Their structures feel very "samey" to me.
My other issue is that Path of Glory doesn't seem to offer me anything beyond its function as a set of adventure modules. I didn't find any neat new things in here to steal and transplant into a homebrew campaign.
Your mileage may vary, but personally, I was underwhelmed by Path of Glory. It reads like just another adventure with nothing new or interesting to distinguish it from the Secret of the Dragon Emperor which I already own. I will probably be looking to 3rd party offerings in the future for more variety and innovation.
Join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and geekdom!
Working two jobs and rehearsing every night was wearing me out. I thought that working just one job full time would be better than 2 jobs part time. So, I decided to do something about it.
I told my boss at TU that I wanted to go full time. I told him that I would be telling this to my other employer as well and that the first one to hire me full time would get me. I felt that both of my employers valued my work. So, I hoped one of them might take me up on this offer. My boss at TU said that he would get back to me.
I made the same offer to my boss at the Center. They too said that they would get back to me. And they did, before the end of my work day they told me that I was hired full time and would start in that position on Monday. (I think it was a Wednesday.)
When I got to TU the next morning, my boss there told me that I was hired as full time in the computer department at TU. The TU job carried a lot of perks, good insurance, the ability to attend classes for free ... a lot. I should have taken that job. But, that wasn't the deal. I had promised to go to work full time for the first employer who offered me a position. The Center offered first. I took that job and turned down the opportunity at TU.
I have often wondered about this decision. In many ways, it wasn't the wisest choice. But, I stood by my promise and went to work for the Center. If I had not done that, I would not have married my first wife. I would not have adopted my wonderful daughter Kaylee. I would never have met Julie, because my life would have been completely different.
I don't regret the path that I took or the choices that I have made. I am happily married. I have my fantastic daughter who is just getting ready to begin her sophomore year in college. I live in a beautiful house in Michigan with my beautiful wife and our 2 cats. And when I think back on things as I write about them here, I can smile. I can smile because I am pleased by a life well lived.
I was doing well in both of my jobs despite the hectic pace. I even managed to impress my boss at TU with my knowledge of computers. It was over something silly. He didn't know why the light on his floppy disc drive changed colors. I explained that on some models of 5 ¼" floppy disc drives, the light on the front of the drive would shine red for single density discs and green for double density discs, and that when he first put a disc into the drive, the light would alternate as the drive was testing the disc to figure out which one it was. He was really impressed with this. Apparently, he had asked folks in the IT department and they didn't have an answer for him. Saying something like, "It just does that."
I was also doing well at the Center. I would answer the phones with a cheerful enthusiasm that apparently was rather uncommon. The director of the Center got positive reviews regarding my performance from members of the board of directors, which was apparently uncommon. So, that felt good too. It was also pretty exhausting. I had a little time to myself between working the phones in the afternoon and starting rehearsals in the evening, but I didn't have time to go home in between.
The Innocent Heiress (1977) Courtesy of Tulsa Historical Society & Museum George Addison is far right under Melanie Fry (the woman with the umbrella).
I had about an hour and a half. I used that time practicing and memorizing my lines. I was in a play called, "The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia." The titular group was basically the Ku Klux Klan. My character was a fresh young inductee who had no idea what he was getting himself into. The meeting is the last meeting of course because the group destroys itself by virtue of its own bigotry and ignorance. Themes of bigotry and exclusivity resonated well with members of the Center. The disabled remaining one of those minority groups that continues to be dismissed, ignored and victimized.
The director of Knights was a man named George Addison. George was a professional stage actor and a member of Actor's Equity (the stage equivalent of the Screen Actor's Guild.) George had a stroke about two years before. His right arm hung limply at his side and he could only speak maybe a dozen words, almost all of those were curse words. He was an absolute brilliant director, and one of the best people that I have ever worked with.
The Center gave George a chance to return to the theater and do the thing that he loved. Every production had to include the disclaimer, "George Addison appears courtesy of Actor's Equity." Cyndi called for permission for every show in which George had a hand, and every time they were thrilled to agree. They were amazed that George was able to do theater again. They should have been. George was amazing.
He communicated to actors giving directions physically and speaking in "beats." I can hear him now, "Buh, buh ... Bum bum!" And it all made sense. And when we did something right, he gave us an encouraging, "God damn!" God, I loved that man.
Knights was only one of many productions that George and I would do together. In fact, very soon, George would become my roommate.
Colostle is a solo journaling RPG. It is very highly regarded in the solo RPG community. I imagine that the reason for this is largely because of the game's setting. Colostle is a mash-up of the words: colossus and castle. In Colostle the entire world is a huge castle. Rooms contain mountains and rivers and span dozens or even hundreds of miles. Walls create barriers that disappear into the sky.
This setting is amazing. The descriptive text and the beautiful illustrations combine to create a vision of a place that ... it made my jaw drop.
I had heard about this in other reviews and the scope of it ... the potential of it ... just didn't sink in. After reading it for myself, my first thought was, "Wow!" My second thought was, "I want to run this game at my table for my players."
But, I can't. The game is designed for solo play. I don't think I could even adapt another game to work within this setting. The character classes are tied to the setting in a significant way. This is the way to design a role-playing game. The character options and the world work together and cannot be separated. Here's why.
In the world of Colostle the only "monster" threats are giant stone automatons called Rooks. These things would seem to be a manifestation of the Colostle itself. They are part of the world. The people of the world are human. They aren't special in anyway, except by virtue of the world that they exist in.
The Rooks have been harvested and used for their parts. One character class attaches a detached stone arm from a defeated Rook to their own body (and the part still works!) Another harnesses mysterious crystals from inside defeated Rooks to gain magical powers. The entire world is based around these Rooks and the strange nature of the Colostle itself. It boggles my mind and is so fascinating.
If I can figure out a way to get this world to my gaming table, I will.
What about the game within Colostle? It uses a deck of standard playing cards and is minimal. Characters are defined by two stats: Exploration and Combat. These stats denote how many cards a player can use during these phases of game play. Combat looks really straight forward and I like it.
Exploration is another story. It wasn't clear to me on my initial read through why having more exploration cards is good. It seems like you get to use however many cards you have for exploration each day. So fewer cards means you'll do less with a "day" of time in the game, but time in the game seems to be of little consequence.
Also, I'm a little worried because the exploration prompts seem like they will be too open ended. The examples that I read make me think that the prompts that I am going to be working from are very minimalist. That said, I don't know this for sure. This is a first impressions review and I want to get Colostle to the table for myself before I make any judgments.
Because I plan to play Colostle, I avoided reading the tables that produce the prompts for exploration. If there are surprises in the text, I don't want this ruined for me. So, my worries may be for nothing. I will revisit this after I have played.
For now, I recommend Colostle. It is a joy to read, and its illustrations are beautiful. Own Colostle just for the pleasure it will give you to look at its pages. Even if you never intend to play it, just get it to read.
It's awesome! Also, it's only about 60 pages. It's a fast read. It does a lot with a little.
Join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and geekdom!
So, yeah. Rolling on tables in Knave 2E to imagine a bit of solo adventuring can work. I enjoyed it pretty well. I will say that I am glad I didn't actually have a combat. The idea of rolling traditional D&D style combat back and forth for myself and a group of monsters doesn't appeal.
I actually think that would be pretty boring. I enjoyed the process of interpreting the narrative prompts to create the things that Piers saw and what they did. Actual rolling to hit and damage over and over ... not so much.
I will say there is a bit of a disconnect between rolling the dice, looking up the results, and then interpreting the results. I got to the point where I would roll several sets of numbers, then look them all up at once, then start writing. It worked out, but I wish the process had felt smoother.
I forgot to look at my character sheet, because it was just one more thing to try to juggle. That's not Knave's fault. The game isn't designed specifically for solo play. All the tables are meant to help a GM to prepare to run a guided adventure. For that, this game is perfect. I think you can use it to help prep for any dungeon crawling fantasy adventure game.
Am I going to do more solo adventures?
Probably not with Knave. I don't like the inventory restrictions for solo, but they are pretty ingrained into the game's systems. (As I said, the game isn't really meant for solo play.) Also, I know I wouldn't want to try to run a combat. Although if I did, Knave would probably be one of the easiest to handle.
It might be time to try a game that's designed for solo play and comes highly recommended by the community at large. I don't want combat, so I think I may enjoy playing a "journaling" style game. I have read some really good things about Colostle by Nich Angell. I think I may give that one a try.
Join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and geekdom!
I'm taking a moment to assess and do some "clean up" concerning what has happened in Piers' adventures so far.
Knave 2E's travel rules read as follows:
Watches: Most significant travel actions take one watch (4 hours). At the end of each watch, roll the Travel Hazard Die.
Travel Speed: PCs can move one six-mile hex per watch, up to three times per day. Each watch they travel after the third deals 1 direct damage to each PC unless they succeed at a CON check. Speed is halved in darkness, difficult terrain, or severe weather and doubled when riding.
I said that I spent 1 watch to get to the mountains and 1 watch to explore. That's just too quick. If this treasure existed so close to town, it would already have been discovered, and there's no way that a Pegasus would have nested there.
I'm going to retroactively rule that Piers traveled two whole days and then reached the mountains at the beginning of the third day. Also, the mountains would be difficult terrain. So it probably took another day to reach the Forgotten Dwarf Infirmary.
Piers would have foraged for food. So, let's simply assume that happened, and that any food stuffs that Piers had left over from his foraging is what he left for the Pegasus. Now, it's time to head back and Piers needs to forage for food again.
Without pushing itself, an adventuring party can travel 3 hexes in a day. So, if Piers traveled for two days and discovered the Infirmary on the third day, let's say that Piers is currently 7 hexes from town and that the mountain hex that he is currently in is difficult terrain.
It would be late on the third day. Piers isn't going to try to traverse the mountains at night. So instead he stays inside the shelter of the Infirmary and makes camp. No fire because he doesn't want to disturb the Pegasus. He moves far enough away that he hopes the Pegasus won't see him as a threat, but stays close enough that any potential predators will stay clear out of respect for the Pegasus' territory.
Piers beds down and tries to get some sleep for the night.
I roll on the Dungeon Hazard die because I'm still inside the dungeon (the Infirmary.) I roll a 5. Sign: PCs find a sign of a nearby encounter or a clue to a secret. Signs (page 10) d% 47: Lair scent.
Okay, easy peasy.
Piers beds down within the Infirmary walls. He can smell the Pegasus lair nearby. The odor is strong enough that it makes it difficult to sleep, but it is also somehow comforting. Piers feels confident that no other creatures will invade the Pegasus home and that his own human scent will be hidden. With this small reassurance, Piers is somehow able to sleep.
In the morning, Piers makes his way out of the mountains by midday. His stomach is rumbling. He needs to find food. Once he makes it out of the rough mountain terrain he sets himself to the task of finding food. (Perhaps giving his rations to the wounded Pegasus was a mistake.)
Foraging: Spend a watch and make a WIS check to collect d6 rations.
Difficulty is 16 and Piers has +2 on WIS checks. I rolled a 5+2 is 7. No luck. That's 8 hours to get out of the mountains (one watch doubled because of difficult terrain) and another 4 hours foraging (rules state that I must spend a watch). Piers is out of time and must go to bed hungry.
Piers no longer has the benefit of the Infirmary for safety. He camps under the stars and hopes for the best. Also, going without food means that Piers suffers 1 wound. A wound takes up an inventory slot.
Okay, hit the pause button.
I totally should have been keeping my eyes on my character sheet this whole time. Piers is a horse groomer. He has Oats and a horse brush. I am fine with saying that he is now out of rations, but he would have left the Oats for the Pegasus. And of course he would have tried to get close to it based on his background. (This makes so much more sense now. I should have looked at my character sheet. I think I was too much in "GM mode.") Isn't it funny how these things work out?
So, no oats and no rations means that I do have room to write in the wound without losing anything.
Piers' Inventory now looks like this:
Sword (1 hand, melee, 1d6 dmg)
Cage
10 Rat Traps
Dwarven Apothecary Notes
Horse Brush
Blanket
50 Coins
50' rope
1 torch
Wound: going hungry
I'm foraging again first thing. I'm giving myself an advantage bonus for hunting the same area (because Piers is getting familiar with it) and for being extra motivated. That gives me a total of +7 to the roll.
I roll 11+7 for an 18. Piers gets d6 rations. 6! awesome. He eats 1. This won't get rid of his wound. He needs to get back to town for that. But it should prevent further damage.
I have to drop something to carry the rations. I lose the Cage. Two days travel back to town drops me down to 3 rations. Spending the night safe in a warm bed with some real food will get rid of my wound, and Piers ends his first outing successfully.
I'm going to say that the Dwarven Apothecary notes have a value of 2000 gold with regards to XP so that I can push Piers up to the next level. I get to add +1 to three different stats. I choose CON because I really need it. WIS because I actually used it, and CHA because that will let Piers gain a companion on his next adventure, which he desperately needs.
After resting at home and improving his CON, Piers' Inventory looks like this:
Sword (1 hand, melee, 1d6 dmg)
3 Rations
10 Rat Traps
Dwarven Apothecary Notes
Horse Brush
Blanket
50 Coins
50' rope
1 torch
This concludes Piers first session. Will he be able to find someone to translate the Dwarven Apothecary notes? Will he return to the mountains to try to tame the Pegassus? What can he do to stop the war? Will he win the hand of the woman he loves?
Only time will tell.
Join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and geekdom!
Before I pick up the dice to roll for this encounter, I make a few decisions. I decide that Piers is about to walk in on an epic battle between two monsters. I decide that I want to roll one of the monsters on the MONSTERS table on page 61, and that I want to create the other monster as an amalgamation of two animals, Avatar: the Last Airbender style, by rolling twice on the ANIMALS table on page 64.
I make three d% rolls, then I consult the tables.
MONSTERS (page 61) d% 75 = Pegasus
ANIMALS (page 64) d% 36 = Falcon
ANIMALS (page 64) d% 92 = Turtle
What!? A Pegasus vs. a Falconturtle! This is awesome!!
It's clear (in my mind, at least) that these two fantastic winged titans are fighting over THE NEST. This has to be the "nest room" as defined when I rolled for the type of dungeon this would be. I try to imagine what this would look like.
I envision a large operating theater with stadium style seating (made of stone) all around and the operating room in the center ... which is now the home to a large nest.
The monsters are in the center over the nest. They are locked in combat. Piers watches cautiously from his vantage point above at the top of what once would have been the top most seating area surrounding the theater.
I decide that the two creatures are equally matched. I'll roll a die. Odd: the Pegasus wins. Even: the Falconturtle wins. (I roll odd. The Pegasus wins.)
Too curious for his own good, Piers cautiously approaches the magnificent wounded beast. I roll NPC Reaction on page 19. (I should adjust this negatively given the situation, but I don't want to.)
The roll is a 7 - Ignore the PC.
As Piers slowly approaches, the Pegasus sees him but doesn't seem to react. Perhaps it is too wounded to be able to do anything.
Piers reaches into his pack and extracts his last ration. Dumping the contents near the beast, but careful not to get too close.
Making a new roll. Adding +2 for the rations.
I roll a 3 + 2 is 5 = Insult, threaten or command the PC's.
The Pegasus growls menacingly.
Piers doesn't need to be told twice and backs carefully away. He has found what he came for. He should make his way back to town.
Heading back home.
Getting rid of the last of my rations means I won't have to make room in my inventory for the apothecary notes. But since I gave my rations to the Pegasus, I will need to forage for food on the way back or go hungry.
(Well, I didn't find a Griffin.)
Join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and geekdom!
Continuing my Knave Solo adventure, Piers explores deeper into the Forgotten Dwarf Infirmary. Let's see what he finds in the next room he enters.
Room (page 14) d% roll 17 - Brewery
Wow! Okay, lots to unpack here. A brewery? Now we are getting somewhere! If this is an old hospital, then a brewery would actually translate to the place where the Dwarven apothecaries made various medicines and tinctures.
Room Details (page 15) d% roll 54 - Message
A Message? How about the apothecary's notes on the making of various medicines? At least that's what Piers believes the parchments that he found are (based on various diagrams within the notes.) He can't read Dwarven. He's not sure that anyone can. No one has seen a dwarf in hundreds of years.
I LOVE how the lore for a world is evolving in my mind as I play and roll on these tables.
Nest as a dungeon theme made me think of a large nesting creature like a Griffin.
This lead me to placing my "hospital" in the mountains, and mountains put me in mind of Dwarves.
Knave doesn't actually have any rules for character race or species. It is assumed that every character is human. That's the latest bit of detail that feeds into my lore. There are currently no Dwarves to be found. They all vanished long ago. How? Why? No idea! But, it will be fun to find out.
Also, Piers has found a potentially valuable treasure, but unlocking its secrets may prove to be a quest unto itself. (That's the best kind of treasure!)
Now it's time to roll on the Dungeon Delving table to see what happens during Piers' search of the apothecary lab.
Delving (page 13) 1d6 roll 5 - Sign
Piers found droppings indicating that something "large" has broken into the infirmary from above. The rules suggest that a sign should inform what the players find when they roll an encounter. I am a little worried about trying to deal with conflicting signs, although that might be interesting to adjudicate.
Signs (page 10) d% roll 31 - Fighting Sounds
Whoa! Fighting Sounds! My "something big" has encountered a threat and they are going at it!
Awesome! I'm going to override my next Delving roll to reveal an encounter as Piers goes to investigate. This should be exciting!
(I hope it's not a Griffin.)
Join my Facebook Group to discuss this post and anything related to RPG's and geekdom!
Quitting a job without having another one lined up was beyond foolish. This is compounded by the fact that I still had several months left on a lease for a two bedroom apartment, that I really couldn't afford, even when I still had my job. Ah, the impulsive idiocy of youth. Fortunately, the Center For The Physically Limited was still looking out for me.
The same job placement program (which closed its doors permanently due to lack of funding shortly after helping me one last time) knew of a job that could help me. Tulsa University was looking for someone to do basic data entry part time in the mornings. They sent me out to interview for the job and I got it. My experience in running the computer labs at Platt College would have made me over qualified for the job, but this was offset by the fact that aside from the art certificate that I had earned at Platt College, my highest level of education was still just a GED.
It was only a few hours each morning at minimum wage, but I was happy to be working. It wasn't enough, but I had been doing theater with the Center all this time and I was both known and liked there. The director of the Center hired me to work the phones part time in the afternoons. So, I worked the two part-time jobs. I ate once a day at the Center (a free meal) and kept my self satisfied the rest of the time by drinking complimentary coffee at both jobs that I loaded with sugar and powdered creamer.
I also helped Doug at the comic shop late (like 3 AM) Wednesday night / Thursday mornings. A truck would drop comics at the shop and we would sort them and put them on the shelves, ready for Thursday, which was, "comic book day." (The day the store got all the new comics.) Doug couldn't afford to pay me "officially", but I got free comics, and he always bought me dinner/breakfast out at Village Inn or Waffle House. I got by. I paid my rent, and I persevered, but I was wearing myself out fast. (I was still doing theater with the Center Stage Players as well.)
The lift program allowed me to ride a cab for a dollar, but I couldn't afford that. My lift card allowed me to ride the city bus for free. I used that to get from my apartment to my first job, and from my first job to my second job. After that, I would hang out at the Center until rehearsal, and then Cyndi would give me a ride home. I did this for quite awhile, but I couldn't keep up the pace.
.jpg)
