Very Strange Indeed

Interdimensional heroes tend to come and go over the years but its worth mentally noting in the background where they actually appear from and where do they disappear off to next ? It's a narrative that underpins all sorts of adventures and characters such as Quantum Leap, The Matrix, Sapphire and Steel, Dr Manhattan, Rick and Morty and Mr Benn to name but a few.

It is a brave GM that stretches themselves across several universes but providing that the detailing is in order than a party can be afforded some scope to follow their whims. Bearing in mind that some environments are a life's work, Tolkeinesque commitment isn't necessarily required to deliver an immersive experience; just make sure your party are kept busy. But sometimes you can get away with sheer shock value, at least for a while and GM Alexi has initiated his first dimensional jump of The Strange into Tellytubby land. This shocked me and I'm not even playing in it.

The sheer impact of the reality does start to give way to logistics as of course Tubby language is very primitive but I understand from the players that more complex communications can be achieved using ones built in monitor. Given of course that the entire universe consists of a small green hill, I trust their dilamma will be short lived. Where they will jump to next will be anyone's guess, though if I were to guess....

Slings and Arrows of Outrageous fortune

Not entirely inappropriate for a Star Trek rpg, we are indeed quoting Shakespeare now. However I actually refer to last weeks Exalted antics and it was a relief to have back at it after our GM returned from his holiday to put another chapter of the adventure on the table. The quandary of last session was to devise a plan to steal some rare and magical tree petals from the walled and patrolled garden of an influential town chief.

Planning is usually an excruciating and mostly irrelevant pastime in role playing but whether it was by the alignment of the planets or just that no one felt like arguing the toss we concocted an elaborate plan off the bat which comprised shooting at some branches from the other side of the wall and collecting the shavings downstream from a small brook running through the property. A sort or covert remote tactical topiary siege. All that would be needed for the house guard was a small distraction which I was very happy to provide by way of a conga involving as many bar flies as possible.

Problem is that how do you prune a tree from a hundred feet away. Well oddly enough, swiss army arrows have been around for centuries for all sorts of tasks from fire cage heads to rope cutters and as much as I try not to learn new things it was quite interesting to discover what our ancients did with their bow skills. History aside we did appear to be completely successful but the amount of personal mana I had to use in order to manipulate several guards and a long line of drunk people did mean I finished the session with the glowing head of a powerful deity...oh well, perhaps no one will notice..

Balance and Bloopers

Actually I sit slightly corrected as the Warhammer did have an extra wind up session last week. Not sure what GM Max does to wind up his players but I would say its fair enough after a few months arguing over whether anyone brought the rope or not. For more modern media it would also be appropriate to have a blooper reel I think or even director's commentary at the end of the show but I am unsure as how you would recap all of your fumbles after a game is over; perhaps rerunning a scene with just a D1. This week should now see the start of The Strange from GM Alexi.

We have had some new blood in briefly and big credit has to go to GM Jon for squeezing in the guest players at the absolute last minute but the Star Trek does afford the opportunity to beam in a redshirt at any given moment. I know that two weeks ago Vic triumphantly sacrificed his security character in true Trek style, and last week I very much suspect Dave had a similar dilemma, tho I haven't yet caught up with the rest of the crew for that particular log entry. I am sure I will hear all about it.

Part Time Gods and the Exalted are somewhat sporadic at the moment due to real life issues; as fun as they are when they can be run, there was always going to be the eternal problem with running games alternatively and as much as we have tried to include GMs who express enjoyment in running certain projects, they have, at the end of the day got to be there. Not for want of trying though, I think we can close on the idea in future really as I think we can say we have thoroughly experimented with sharing GM slots and it doesn't work. We will see what happens this week but as always 'if we run it they will come..'

Strange

Last week saw the Dramatic conclusion of GM Max Warhammer adventure and whilst there may well be more chapters to come, everyone left on a high at the end of the evening. When I say high, I got the impression that it was a bit of a bloodthirsty buzz. Before the session began, I did think the players were a little presumptuous as they were beginning to discuss possible rewards at the end of the session; one I think wanted a Griffin for some reason.. perhaps for laying eggs for breakfast.. whilst it never a bad thing to be ambitious it can also be embarrassing to decide who gets the bad guys magic items particularly whilst he is standing in front of you still wearing them. Basically, rule 243, don't count your Griffins before they hatch.

As the games are all slightly out of sync GM Alexi has offered to run something Strange in the meantime. When I say Strange I think I mean Strange. Not a game I know even after having a beard for many years but it sounds fascinating. From what I could tell its set in a number of parallel universes that diverge more and more as you hop from one to the next; the farther you jump from your original universe then the more difficult it gets to find your way back. In this RPG though your narrative changes with you as inter dimensional jumping does mean you begin to take on the aspects of your new world in terms of your environment but you may of course inherit a different past as well. Sounds like a classic case of multidimensional schizophrenia to me.

GM Jon's Star Trek is about half way through at present so perhaps best described as a classic double episode and the Exalted and Part Time Gods have still a ways to go yet in both of their murder mysteries, but we do now have a suspect for the PTG as people who use spreadsheets shouldn't be able to immolate and teleport. Despite my best as a Rat Catcher, it seems our prey is somewhat more devious... fly paper is not what it used to be I can tell you that.

Sea Quest

  

So we are a Brighton based club and whilst we inhabit many universes its important to keep it real regarding fish and chips and bank holidays by the sea; apologies if that comes across as too alt right but you are always welcome to jump into a portable hole if you need a safe space.

Interestingly I don't ever recall playing an adventure set underwater and it doesn't particularly seem like a popular choice for GMs. For my own part, I also feel that its not something I would be  interested in doing either; I wonder if its something hidden deep in our genetics akin to a fear of spiders and snakes. I suppose there are significantly more logistics involved in things getting wet tho and to while away the hours arguing over damp waybread doesn't make for the most exciting interactions. I don't suppose the latest incarnation of Aquaman helps much either.

It may be that the days of the Victorian lido and bracing undercliff walks are behind us but the great promenades and seafront arches of Brighton still come alive over the warmer months and something is stirring down there.

Seems that there may be another gaming venue opening its doors as I have heard from a friend of a friend who knows someone who went for a coffee who encountered a roleplaying party. I suspect that along the lines of a coffee shop plus experience the ambience does lean towards the board gamer if the shelves in the pictures are anything to go by. 

So welcome to C:\Side Quest

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Barely a stone giants throw away from the pier - do pop in if you are out looking for adventure.