Awoke from a nightmare

"The basis of all true cosmic horror is violation of the order of nature, and the profoundest violations are always the least concrete and describable." 
~ H.P. Lovecraft

Early this morning, I had this really weird dream.  It was kind of neat, but also unsettling.  That's why I classify it as a nightmare. 

My wife asked what it was about after breakfast, but it was difficult to put into words.  So, I thought I'd blog about it...

In the dream, I was watching (but also not watching, it was real) an episode of The Twilight Zone.  Now, in the dream I had the same memories and experiences as my waking self.  I've seen all The Twilight Zone episodes.

But somehow what I was watching or experiencing knew that and decided to change things, going off-script.  It was aware of me and had an intelligence and will.  There was definitely a force beyond what I would call objective reality.

It gets fuzzy here, but I think there were things behind masks and efforts to turn animate objects (such as myself) into inanimate objects.  The imagery was surreal and scary; I was fascinated as I was frightened.  It was all very "cosmic horror".

And then I woke up.  Not really much to tell besides that.  Maybe, after some thinking, I can turn some of those esoteric feelings into RPG inspiration.  We'll see...

VS

p.s. Sadly, I decided to let go of Draconic Magazine.  It was a fun place to post ideas before they made their way into my scenarios.  But now, it's gone.

Born Again Noob

Back in the day... this must have been the late 80's / early 90's, I was kind of into Warhammer 40K on and off.  Buying, assembling, and painting miniatures that would then be used in various tabletop wargaming skirmishes. 

Didn't do a lot of actual wargaming, but there was a fair amount of miniature preparation.  To be honest, I sucked at it.  I was impatient, undisciplined, and resentful (you mean I have to remove and glue all these pieces myself?!?).  So, that phase of gaming never really took and I drifted away towards the end of high school.

Well, my magnum opus Cha'alt is basically finished.  It's just going through layout hell, but all the heavy lifting has been over with for a couple weeks now. 

I need a break from writing RPG material.  I'm on the verge of burn-out, and so this seems like the perfect time to stretch some gaming muscles that never get used. 

Last week, I bought the latest box set of Warhammer 40K called Shadowspear.  I finally got all the little dudes put together.  It was mildly challenging like putting together a puzzle.  The three flying guys on that transparent stalk was a bitch, until I realized I needed to prop the miniatures on something so the glue had a chance to dry.  Also, one of the space marine's hands got mangled when I cut it out of the sprue.  So, maybe I can find something to take its place... find a hook or something.

Should be ready to prime them tomorrow.  After that, the painting begins!

Being in my 40's, I'm not in any rush to get these miniatures painted.  I'm after quality rather than quantity (but quantity is nice, too).  So, I intend to take my time and make sure these paint jobs are actually decent.  When I get something worthy, I'll take photos and post them here on the old blog.

Once they're finished, I will host a game with those wanting to try it out.

VS