I made a video as a sort of response to Prince of Nothing's three-part review of Cha'alt: Chartreuse Shadows.
Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
As I mentioned in the video, I'm friends with PoN. He's an awesome guy. Sometimes, we agree on RPG topics; other times we don't. That's ok.
Rather than relying on Metallica to make my point, in the video, I should have included other examples, some of which would certainly be more relatable. After all, not everyone loves 80s Metallica...
Let's say, we discovered an entire missing season of Tom Baker Doctor Who, somewhere between 1979 and 1980. How glorious might that be? Yes, it would be familiar, even comfortable... dare I say derivative? Of course, it would be totally weird by today's modern standard, but for those who love that style and aesthetic, it would be nothing less than a gift from God!
Not a fan of vintage Doctor Who, either? Who the fuck are you and why are you reading this blog? Lol. How about imagining a "lost" season of your favorite TV show. Even just an episode - it would be amazing to find that and enjoy it here and now, right?
You don't have to be a time traveler, assuming you're the one creating the content. All you have to do is keep making it. But don't do it for the money or fame, do it because that's your passion, because doing what you were put on this Earth to do makes you an instrument, a demon-slaying sword perhaps, of God... even if that sword takes Satanic form.
Well, that's how I feel about expanding on what you love. If you love it and want to explore more of that thing, don't be afraid to do just that, no matter who disagrees. Know thyself! There's an enormous urge to start doing something else or subvert expectations or reboot your vision with a mid-season pivot that goes in an entirely new direction.
New is always better, right? Not always. For me, old school isn't just preserving the ancient ways... it's an appreciation for everything I love from the past (and anachronistic stuff happening in the present) that still seems objectively better than modernity fare.
I don't know if you'll enjoy Cha'alt: Chartreuse Shadows. A lot of people do, some people don't. If you like the idea of an eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy, post-apocalyptic campaign setting that uses humor, sleaze, and pop-culture references, I think that probably answers your question.
Cha'alt!
VS
p.s. VENGER CON is only 5 weeks away. Madison, WI's throwback "garage days" gaming convention exclusively for old-school, OSR, and traditional RPGs.
Big Finish has a license for the previous Doctors (and even many of the companions), so _some_ of us have been getting our Baker fix (plus they found some actual "lost stories" from back in the day and produced them). Even better, many of the still living cast have signed on, so you can get content from the 1st and 2nd eras to make up for the wholesale destruction of those Doctors by the BBC.
ReplyDeleteThat's true. It is possible to see lost bits and pieces of b/w Doctor Who. But just imagine an entire season of Tom Baker "Who" suddenly manifested...?!?
DeleteThe "Lost Stories" line (some with Tom Baker) are the audio (only) versions a new season just showing up out of thin air. BF tracked down folks who were working on Who back in the day and found stories that were commissioned but not filmed (sometimes due to being impractical from a budgetary standpoint) and similar "not publicly released". Whole range of content ranging from what would be one parters (their "Short Trips" line), the traditional 4 or 6 parters, up to season long arcs. 160ish items with Baker.
DeleteThey've done similar things with other cult sci-fi properties- Space: 1999 (new cast), Avengers (new cast, I think), Blake's 7 (original cast), ... Slew of Dr. Who spinoffs (Sarah Jane, Class, River Song, Rose Tyler, etc.) too.
I'll get off my geek soapbox. :-)
Who are you guys and when were we separated at birth?
ReplyDeleteI finally canceled my BritBox subscription because I realized I was only paying to have classic Who at my fingertips. Now I just watch the streams in Pluto or pull out a DVD or VHS tape (of course it helps that I still have a working VCRs)
The Big Finish audio dramas were great. I've picked a number of Blake's 7 too.
While not cheap, the Classic Who entire season Blurays are pretty nice (and you get your choice of the "as aired" version or extended cuts (rare), better audio, or upgraded SFX (one or two per season).
DeleteI've been buying most of them.
DeleteSo far I've only picked up the complete David Tennant run on Blu-Ray. I saw Tom Baker's set wasn't all the seasons, so I passed on that. Did they finally come out with all of them? The older DVDs I have were pretty cool as you had the option of watching with new effects or the original ones (which I prefer. People worked hard on those models.)
ReplyDeleteI bought Blake's 7 on DVD then Blu-Ray (not the official releases 🤫) I hear rumors they will do a reboot but I cringe at the thought of what BBC would do with it now..
"Classic Who" is being released by season for the Bluray side of things. So far they've not released any of the 1st or 2nd Doctor eras- it looks like they are redoing the lost episodes with animation and those are like the old VHS releases- one story at a time. The 3rd-7th Doctors are being released randomly both as to which Doctor and what season (so Pertwee's and Colin Baker's 1st seasons haven't been released yet, even though they've released other seasons...). At present (for region 1)- Pertwee's 2nd and 4th seasons, Baker's 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 7th, Davison's 1st, Colin Baker's 2nd (the 1st can be preordered and should show up in October), and McCoy's 1st and 3rd have been released. It looks like every 6 months or so a new one is announced, so we've got 4 more years until we get all of the 3rd thru the 7th. Why they aren't doing everyone's 1st season, then 2nd in order (so Pertwee's 1st, then Baker's 1st, ... McCoy's 1st; then back to Pertwee's 2nd, ...) is beyond me. Or getting all the extras in the can before someone else passes (William Russell is 97, Baker is in his 80s and I suspect the remaining Pertwee companions are too; heck Sophie Aldred is about to turn 60) for the future releases. Presumably once they've finished the 3rd - 7th they'll have filled in enough holes in the 1st and 2nd's runs (plus made their money from the individual animated releases) and will issue some of their seasons as box sets.
DeleteB7 I picked up as a region 2 DVD. A reboot could well be a disaster (I'd bet money on it being so, unless it was done by someone with scifi street cred). Some better quality sets would be nice (the SFX were largely "good enough" in my book).
Geez, VS. I read the full review and admit that I haven't read through the whole PDF yet but.. WTF?
ReplyDelete*SPOILER ALERT*
You DIDN'T make a fully-fledged, Tommy Wiseau-inspired encounter?! Talk about missed opportunities. Unless you've already taken that ball and ran with it elsewhere and didn't want to be redundant.
https://youtu.be/pKAwXLVxuZQ
Actually, I did make a full-fledged Tommy Wiseau inspired encounter in Cha'alt: Chartreuse Shadows. I don't know half the things Prince of Nothing was talking about in his review, unfortunately.
DeleteVery cool then. I promise to read it thoroughly. Did he just skim through it? He sounds friendly if a bit critical. Maybe he overdosed on gonzo and needs to cleanse his palate before diving back in.
DeleteA bit of criticism can be a good thing though. Lack of honest feedback let George Lucas defecate on his own legacy.
I love this stuff, but I readily admit I wouldn't want to read through it constantly and play it to the exclusion of other things.
I used bits from your Girls Gone Rogue book for part of an Orbital Blues adventure. Some of the tables proved to be just enough spice for the pot when the PCs were trying to locate a runaway aboard a space station with a booming prostitution trade. They felt significantly sullied and stained by the experience. One character may need some kind of penicillin shot. We need to roll for that.
I do find that your books have golden nuggets that can be used a la carte, even if I'm not using all of it. I come up with plenty of stuff on my own, but go-to tables can be clutch. I've also changed up whole adventures by veteran game designers to fit a campaign. I'll never trash a whole book unless it's garbage through and through. Much of your work seems pretty cohesive though. You can't always appeal to everyone's tastes. Just keep trucking with what you like to create and roll with any criticism. It will only push you to make greater things (and/or get locked in a shed.)
Each man must judge for himself.
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