2026 plans

Firstly, a recap

So last year I said I would learn Pathfinder 2e and/or Warhammer Imperium Maledictum. Well that didn’t happen (although I did buy stuff and played through the PF beginner box solo scenario).
I also said I would finish my reading pile before starting anything else, which lasted around 3 months and then I just bought loads more books.

I did run some modern-setting horror-related sessions, except it was Brindlewood Bay which was not in my plans at all at the start of the year.

So seein as though my 2025 plans were so accurate (cough) it’s time to talk some plans for this year.

Gaming

Most anticipated game is Warhammer The Old World. Unlike last year’s game, it should actually arrive this year (I’ve already preordered the books). Will it finally be the wfrp game that’s actually got good (as opposed to sort of ok) rules?

Other games of interest include The Lands Remaining, which is Jason Cordova’s Carved from Brindlewood version of Elden Ring. An idea so mad it might just work…

There’s also Cörk Børd, the scandi-noir game from Just Crunch, which, if I recall correctly, has a “what kind of knitwear does your detective wear” table.

As to what I’ll play - probably the same as last year. I may run some more Brindlewood Bay but might try something else… but probably not 5e. 

I do have ideas percolating… I keep looking from the pile of pathfinder books to the pile of Enemy Within books and pondering… can it be done? Should it be done? Can I be arsed to do it?

Other stuff

I’ve already started my first book of the year (Mercy aka The Keeper of List Causes aka Dept Q off of Netflix by Jussi Adler-Olsen). I’m not going to keep count but hope to make a decent dent in the reading pile that is and the reading pile that will be.

Podcasts I’m looking forward to include The Lovecraft Investigation’s Crowley kickstarter which I’m assuming will appear this year (it’s most been recorded) and also Our Wars have Ended by the Silt Verses people.

As to everything else? Who knows. Any recommendations welcome.

May Ramblings

Just an update on what’s been happening lately

Gaming

So I’m back to being a player now.

My Monday online group has been playing 5e - I’m a Firbolg Nature Paladin. We’ve been fighting demon cultist nobles. We’ve sorted them out so we’ll be back to Doctor Who and Hero System Space 1888 for a bit. Then maybe Starfinder.

On Fridays I’m playing pathfinder 1e - specifically a half-orc fire oracle called Keef. After some encounters with some elves and kobolds he’s decided he really hates elves.

Current plans - try to persuade one of my groups to play Brindlewood Bay. Possibly try to run some Pathfinder 2e. 

Good News

I was lucky enough to win a box of technical paints from Moonhopper games!

As a thank you here’s a plug for them… they do a wide range of basing materials, paints, minis… loads of useful stuff if miniature games are your thing.

Willow inspecting the paints

https://moonhopper-games.com/products/big-box-of-technical-paints

Bad news: now I’ll have to paint something.

Kickstarters

So a few kickstarter things have arrived in the past month or so (drivethru links are affiliate ones, sorry)

Darkened Hill and Dale. A great collection of system-neutral English folk horror scenarios.

Outgunned Adventures, the Yahtzee pulp game from Two Little Mice (and Free League).

Bit odd init - a one-dice game from Cakebread and Walton. A game about teens living in a weird English village.

Chill air by Blue Fox Comics, I heard about this via Julian Simpson’s Cartoon Gravity/Pleasant Green community. This one surprised me with how rapidly it delivered. I ordered a load of other stuff as part of this and have read Clodagh (a dark fantasy series) and the mountains of madness so far - good stuff.

I’ve also have a huge pile of preview pdfs from other things: Shadowlands games CoC scenarios, Handiworks game 5evil, Lemurian Chronicles, sanction…

Reading

After deciding earlier this year that I would not buy any books until I finished off my too read pile… I decided to sign up to a subscription to the British Library’s Tales of the Weird. So far I’ve read Medusa, which is 18th century sea-faring tentacle-y horror adventure that was originally published in the same year as Call of Cthulhu, and also ploughed my way through Return of the Ancients, which is a collection of stories about ancient gods and myths breaking their way into the 19th-20th century. 

Conventions

I managed to spend a couple of hours at Portsmouth Comic-Con at the start of May. Lots of people seemed to be having a good time and I picked up a few interesting bits and pieces.

I would like to get to a RPG convention later in the year but it looks like I won’t be free when any are on so maybe next year…

2025: Plans and what-not

Gronda Gronda, 2025! Sorry about the mess….

What’s going to happen next? Who knows but here’s the plan…

In the wonderful world of titterpigs, my Night’s Dark Terror game should reach a conclusion at some point. After that, something else… possibly pathfinder or 4e but I’ll probably be a player.

If my Monday group continue playing Space 1887 until April, we’ll have been playing the campaign for 10 years. However, we are likely to switch to Starfinder before then. Dr Who is likely to restart again (the GM has been recovering from an op since the summer).

If we can fit it in on Mondays then I’m going to try to run some more modern day horror stuff. Because that’s what the world needs at the moment, more horror. Anyway inspirations will include some, all or none of: Call/trail of Cthulhu, the esoterrorists, delta green, the avengers (the good 1960s avengers), pleasant green, sanction/the Cthulhu hack and folk horror such as https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/patchworkfez/this-blighted-isle-darkened-hill-and-dale. Other suggestions welcome.

My most anticipated upcoming ttrpg product is the Pleasant Green sourcebook for Trail of Cthulhu although I’m not holding my breath for it. 

I’m going to try to learn some crunchy games this year: pathfinder 2e and Warhammer 40k Imperium Maledictum with a view to possibly running them if I ever get time and a group willing to play them.

Other things to look forward to. Well my sister gave us a year subscription to National Theatre Live so I might actually get round to binning Netflix once Stranger Things is done.

I’ve got one of those birthdays with a zero at the end coming up. Lucky me… I’ve tried cancelling it but apparently it doesn’t work like that.

Depending upon my mental state, I may resume my OU maths degree in the autumn.

My New Year’s resolution is to read all the novels I’ve already got before buying any more. Yes… hilarious, I know. Caveat: I preordered at least one a while ago so that doesn’t count.

As for this blog, well after Night’s Dark Terror ends then I’ll probably not be posting so much (don’t cheer so loudly). I’ll try to post some more reviews - maybe some player-based reviews of things I’ve played.

Right then, that’s it for now: happy new year to everyone who isn’t a billionaire.

NDT session 14: Babushka, Babushka, ya, ya

A battle with a shadow.

 Wolfskull Lair.

Present: Namfoodle, Bait and Glimmer.

The party finished exploring the lair and found some treasure including magic arrows.

Then they took Babushka back to Sukiskyn. Along the way she explained some of the plot and revealed the hobgoblins were looking for a ‘great map’ and there was someone known as ‘ole skinny legs’ at Xitaqa.

The residents of Sukiskyn didn’t know anything about Xitaqa but Stellios and Kuzma suggested they ask the Horse Lord in the hills. He could be summoned near some ancient tombs by standing on one leg and whistling at midnight for 3 nights running.

The party travelled to the tombs with the intention of travelling in to see the gnomes. The tombs turned out to be 3 burial mounds of scorched barren earth. The camped out and at midnight Glimmer did as suggested. The next day the party decided to explore the ruins. After losing a race to the bottom of the mound, Glimmer had to go and lead the party into the first tomb.

 As soon as she stepped onto the mound darkness surrounded her. This was not apparent to those still outside the mound. 

Worse was to follow as 5 shadows emerged and attacked Glimmer draining strength as well as causing significant wounds. A desperate battle followed as the shadows wrecked havoc on the part. However the battle finally started to go the way of the party when Bait turned the undead.

To be continued…

DM notes: I let the party level up after finishing the wolf skull lair, which probably saved them from a near TPK by the shadows, which are nasty.

2023 and the Year Ahead

A somewhat late retrospective

2023 saw the continuation of our long-running Space 1889 campaign using the Hero rule system. Our plans continue to thwart the evil masters of Mars from invading Earth by… erm... invading Mars plus various shenanigans involving nuclear reactors in Africa. This campaign has been running since 2015 but moved online when COVID struck.

I also play Doctor Who with this group – the continuing adventures through the time streams of The Custodian, his Office, a cat and a bunch of motley companions.

For the first half of the year, I also played with another group online. We played though the The One Ring Starter set and some of The Children of Fear for Call of Cthulhu. Both are highly recommended by me.

Sadly, circumstances meant that I had to stop playing with that group but on the upside, I was able to rejoin another group where we play face-to-face.  So, I’m currently playing a monk in the Curse of Strahd.

Plans for the year ahead

Doctor Who and Space 1889 continue. That group is going o try playing D&D face-to-face as well (we are spread across the south coast now) but unfortunately, I won’t be able to join them for now.

Hopefully, we should deal with Strahd soon (or he’ll deal with us) so we will move onto something else. There was not much enthusiasm for anything too different, so I have offered to run a 5e campaign. However, I would be converting the old Basic/Expert adventure Night’s Dark Terror. I intend to post more about this. Alternatively, someone else has offered to run Pathfinder.