All posts by Rodney

Hi there, I'm Rodney. Writer, Game Designer, Editor, Kitbasher, Skateboarder, and Ork 'Ed Banga. But Nothing Without Christ!

Excitement and Nerves

(written 26 June 2011)

I’m sitting on our warm South African stoep (porch) on a cold Sunday Morning, after a sleepless night. Cappchino was probably not a good idea before bed, being a none-coffee drinker, but the real reason for my restlessness is that I’m just so excited. Less than a month till Japan and yesterday we had a Q&A session at the Embassy of Japan in preparation for the trip, so it’s all feeling very real now. In less than a month we’ll be living and working in Japan.

Culture Shock Already?

After dinner with Julia’s folks we went book shopping and I picked up a copy of the Lonely Planet’s Discover Japan. Flipping through the pictures just brings home how different it is in Japan compared to SA. Obviously, the publishers will choose pictures that are striking, but Japan truly is as far removed as east from west. That, and fully appreciating that communication, both visually and verbally, is going to be so different, is feeling quite daunting. Is it possible to expriance culture shock before arriving in a new country? We’re in for a big change, and that’s starting to dawn on me.

Nerves

Adding to all of this is the stress of  the unknown, such as where we’ll be placed and will we be staying together, as well as what age group we’ll be teaching. Also, the long to do list of things we need to sort out looms over us like a dark tower. These all fray the nerves a little, and the only solution is to get to work clearing the list and trusting in God for the rest. We’re jumping into ice cold water here, and all we can do is hold our breath and leap.

Winning the Battle of the Mind

The trick, as we figure it, is to channel all our excitement and nervous energy into preparing. Can’t sleep? Figure out your packing list. Fed up? Stuff some clothes into boxes. Just keep that ball rolling.

We also need to keep a positive attitude, something that will be even more critically in Japan. Understanding that our attitude colours our perception will help us deal with culture shock, and makes all the difference in how much we enjoy the experience. In my opinion, we’re going over to work, but it’s still a holiday, every moment an opportunity for adventure and experiences. After all, a change is as good as a holiday.

Lastly, I really believe in setting goals and staying focused on them. Easily achievable goals are rewarding and let you implement a long term plan. Going to Japan is the result of such goals.

I’ve decided to write down twelve goals for Japan, sort of an objectives list. I’ll change it as I go along, because I believe goals need to be adaptable and reflect changes in your own life. Still, this list of goals does reflect why I want to go to Japan. They are in no particular order:

1. Get my shodan (1st rank) in Iaido.
2. Get a certification in Japanese.
3. Write for 20 minutes every day.
4. Train at Esaka Dojo.
5. Meet the head of Esaka dojo.
6. Meet with Iaido sensei’s from Japan.
7. Meet friends from the Japanese embassy who are now in Japan.
8. Visit Mt. Fuji.
9. Meet with friends who are already on the JET program.
10. Learn more about Musashi and visit some related sites.
11. Take a hike.
12. Be active in the local Christian community.

Flag of Gunma Prefecture

Yata! (Yay!)

It’s so exciting that we’re heading to Japan, and despite all the stress, we’re just getting more and more amped for the trip over.

Word of the Day

Hashi: You’ll know them as chopsticks. These are eating utensils, commonly made of wood or plastic. Like western cutlery, etiquette when using hashi is very important, for example, you don’t pass food between hashi, as this is how bones are passed in Japanese funeral rites.


Site of the Day

Today’s site is our very own kanjiFlipper. This site uses flash cards to help you learn hiragana, katakana and kanji. While it’s still a work in progress, it’s already quite useful, and new updates are being made on a weekly basis. Check it out here: http://www.risingphoenixgames.com/japanese/

Run For Japan – Fun Run Event

In aid of raising funds for those affected by the tsunami and quake in Japan this year, Pray For Japan From South Africa is hosting a fun run at the Pretoria Botanical Gardens. It’s this weekend, and a great chance for all you otaku to make a difference. You can download the file here.

Run For Japan – Fun Run Event

In aid of raising funds for those affected by the tsunami and quake in Japan this year, Pray For Japan From South Africa is hosting a fun run at the Pretoria Botanical Gardens. It’s this weekend, and a great chance for all you otaku to make a difference. You can download the file here.

GUNMA!!!

We’ve finally learnt about our placement in Japan. While we don’t yet know exactly where we’ll be, we do know that we’ve been placed in Gunma prefecture with the Gunma Board of Education. This is great news and an answer to prayer, because Gunma is part of the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo. That’s excellent news for my Iaido, since I’ll be able to visit, if not train, with Esaka-dojo, with which our dojo in South Africa, Katsujinken Kai, is associated.

Gunma is roughly a 3rd of the size of Gauteng, with a population of around 2 million (compared to 10 million in Gauteng). It’s also home to Subaru, so hopefully I can pick one of those up and practice some of my rally driving skills in the mountains. And speaking of mountains, Gunma is known for its hot springs and ski resorts, so we’ll really have to give those a go.

LINK OF THE DAY

I’ve got a few links today, thanks to my contact in Japan:
Gunma Living Guide
Gunma Jets
Gunma Prefecture Site (Japanese)
Wikipedia

WORD OF THE DAY

Hajime: beginning, begin, start. We often use it in Iaido when we are practising our footwork (ashi-sabaki), whoever is leading the practice will shout “Hajime” to start us off.

And why is it the word for the day? Because it has begun!

Meet the Cast

Campaign Journal

Follow our Pathfinder campaign as we face monsters, dungeons and the insanity of the Wednesday night gaming group. See the first part of the series here.

The First Session

Funnily enough, our first session was scrapped as far as its placement in the whole campaign. I can’t actually remember why, but I think we spent some time going over the town and campaign setting, as well as introducing our characters. The result was that what actual story developed was insubstantial and easily discarded. So, without any further ado, we’ll have a look at the characters and a little about the players too.

 

The Setting

We are using the Dungeons and Dragons town of Fallcrest (3D Model), a town with a river running through it and a series of caves beneath it. Some of the characters have lived in the town or in the area for some time, while others are new arrivals.

 

Thorn Ravengrin

A tiefling rogue with red skin who likes to show off his white tattoos by wearing only leather pants and a cape. He carries a longsword into battle, which he wields in his right hand, since his left hand was lost in a dungeon trap, where he had to cut it off to escape. His infernal heritage is interesting, as Thorn’s father, Yawldaw Ravengrin, was a Half-Fiend with babau ancestry.

As the campaign has progressed, Thorn has shown an obsession for anatomy and wishes to re-construct the hand he lost. To this end, he has collected several hands from dead foes and studies them in intricate detail.

Thorn is played by Little Johan, who recently became a father and thus owns his very own hobbit.

 

Rapid Wind

An Elven monk wearing peasant clothing and carrying a long spear and sling. Because he’s mute, Rapid Wind keeps a chalk board around his neck (a nifty little prop to role-play with). It is apparent that something terrible happened in Rapid Winds past, which is why he can’t speak. Rapid Wind practices an elven form of unarmed combat known in the common tongue as Leaping Foot, a bastardised description derived from the elvish name for a style that looks more like a dance than a fighting form.

As the campaign has progressed, Rapid Wind has become very fast, reaching a speed of 55′ at level 3 (at level 4 he can use his ki to move at 75′). He has an old horse companion, Gunthar, that he has saved several times from near disaster during our sessions.

Rapid Wind is played by me, and is probably the most difficult character I’ve ever played. I’ve never played an elf before, except as a GM, and found it challenging to think like an elf, but luckily there’s the Lord of the Rings trilogy to help out. Also, as an introvert, playing a character who can’t speak means that I say very little at the table. Still, it’s been fun playing Rapid Wind, and not being able to speak is worth a load of laughs.

 

Stander Vrok

A half-giant cleric of the church of Torm. Raised by dwarves, Stander was the first character to have his own theme song, which was “Stander Struck” to the tune of “Thunder Struck” by AC/DC. So far the church of Torm has been an important element in the story, even though Fallcrest has only a small congregation.

Stander has had recurring visions and his focus on his quest is unswerving. Despite his size, Stander is not very strong and has often found himself in need of healing, even though he is the party cleric.

Stander is played by Willem, recently married, at who’s wedding reception we all sang along to “Stander Struck” like there was no tomorrow.  I’ll also mention that he and his lovely wife walked in to the Darth Vader theme song, so you have to give him props for that! Willem was the GM for the first few sessions.

 

Densharr Tailchaser

Densharr is a Catfolk who loves to sing (practically all the time). Our party bard, and composer of the epic ballads “Stunder Struck” and “You can’t stop the rod”. Densharr comes from nobility within his clan and is rather well off, and thus supports most of the party. He is often seen taking notes which he hopes to use in composing a major saga.

Densharr has often exhibited the cunning of his kin, and although he seldom gets directly involved in fighting, he has directly influenced the course of many battles and bolstered the resolve of the rest of the team.

Densharr is enthusiastically played by Francois, who I hope will be releasing a sound track of the campaign near the end of the year. Francois keeps track of our wealth and maps out any locations that need mapping, thanks to the power of grid paper!

 

Gimp

The Blue wizard, this little goblin kin is small for his race, making him quite hard to spot. He focuses his magical skills on support magic rather than combat spells and creates many of the items the party uses.

Gimp is the most learned member of the party, and often knows something on any given subject. He has recently been spotted talking to  something over his shoulder.

Gimp is played by Big Johan, who is also the current GM at the time of writing. Johan also GM’s another campaign that Francois and I play in, a D&D 4th Edition game, which is why let Johan get away with more than any GM really should.

 

Serisia

Serisia is also a tiefling and an assassin in the making. She is the only female in the group, and possibly one of the most level headed. Not much else is know about her, but that’s what you get when dealing with these shady types.

Serisia loves her sneaking about, and her acquisition of a magical ring of invisibility means she’s pretty good at it.

Serisia is played by Andries, the local mathamagician. The force is strong with this one, or else he just knows a lot about Star Wars.

 

Conclusion

Other players brought their characters into the game at different times, I’ll introduce them during the relevant parts of the story.

Icon 2011 is around the corner.

Icon 2011 is booked from the 15th to the 17th of July. More information at http://www.rpg.co.za/.

I’ve written a D&D 4th Edition module for the con, called Storm of Souls:

In an age forgotten, seven exquisite weapons known as the Soul Blades were forged. Legend says that the weapons were lost for a time, until a wise magus sought to reunite the weapons. For a long age he sought the weapons, but only managed to recovered six. The seventh weapon, it was said, had a will of its own and strove to flee the magus, leaving death and sorrow in its wake. Now rumours of the Seventh Blade’s return are being whispered in fear. Can the six sister blades be found? Can heroes be found to wield the weapons in this time of need? What secrets lie within the weapons themselves?

 

This is Dungeons and Dragons with a special twist that will have you wanting more. Be part of the six heroes that take up the mythical Soul Blades in the quest to destroy the Seventh Blade.

 

Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition for six players and a GM.

 

See you there!

Imagination Gaming

I love PC games, they are easy to get into and the level of immersion is huge. But, like TV we are fed so much visual and audio stimulus that little is left to the imagination. That is the sad thing to me, and why I love role-playing games and boardgames so much. Yes, I know, I’m an idealist, but bare with me. “Analogue games” let us exercise that important skill that is so often neglected by adults: the imagination.

 

A little experiment

Let’s try a little experiment. I’ll describe someone to you, and you try and imagine him in your mind:

A sullen looking dwarf stands before you, his long dust coloured beard hanging to the knees of his short, stumpy legs. His dark eyes seem to stare out into space, chasing some distant thought. The helm on his head is painted blue and gold, with a horn attached to either side. Over a blue tunic he wears a coat of scale mail, well polished but battered by many battles. He leans on a large axe with his right hand, and the thumb of his left hand is slung through his belt.

Now, once you have that image in your mind, skip to the end of this post and see the image I’m describing. Which image was better, the one in your mind or the one below?

With the imagination, anything is possible and anything can be experienced. This is an important tool for the GM as well as the player. When you build your world, your NPC, even your magical items, take a moment to imagine your creation. Not only does it help you describe what you see more vividly, but it helps you spot obvious flaws in your creation and gives you more ideas to work with. Let’s go ahead and try it (yeah, we’re getting really practical in this post).

Take a moment to imagine one of your major NPC’s, or a character you’re playing if you’re not a GM. Imagine what he or she is wearing, what they are doing and how they feel. Also think about where they are and the things that are influencing them. In my mind, my character is taking a moment to watch the birds (there are birds outside my window now) and he’s feeling the weariness of the day, and the weight of his armour. It’s an unusual moment of peace for this battle weary veteran, and he’s even put his prized maul aside, he’s not thinking of war and monsters right now.

 

Visualisation

Visualising something with your imagination lets you practice or rehears something in your mind. Visualisation helps you achieve your goals by letting you see the steps you need to complete to get there. It’s not only useful for role-playing, athletes use it too, like the race car driver memorising the track before he sets out. When I do martial arts, I sometime just stand still and imagine what  I’ll be doing next. It lets me practice quickly. I think this is a vital skill for any GM.

When we were children, how much easier was it for us to use our imagination. Sometimes a box was the best toy, or a stick. I think we are slowly losing our imagination, outside of role-playing and fiction writing, it’s practically unfashionable to use your imagine. I’d like to get your feedback, what do you think?

Getting the most out of any game, for me, is all about imagination. From PC games to boardgames and role-playing games, I’m the commander, or the spy, or the assassin, and I’m living the game. All games are essentially about escapism, and your imagination is the key to breaking the bonds of earth.

Dwarf
A dwarf warrior, not quite as you imagined him.

 

I’d love to hear from you, so tell us what you think and share some of your experiences.