A good actor has left us

Greetings from somewhere in the Tabletop Multiverse.

Today's post will be a short one, unfortunately. But I will hopefully return soon with more.

As many of you probably know, Bill Paxton passed away yesterday, at the age of 61.

Why am I bringing this up here? Well, because Private First Class William L. Hudson is one of my favourite characters of all time, in one of my favourite movies of all time. I am a big Alien fan, and the second movie 'Aliens' is my favourite movie of the bunch. One of best things about it was Bill Paxton's portrayal of Hudson.

So many memorable quotes and scenes came from that character.

I've even made a couple of characters for tabletop RPGs that were directly inspired by that character. In fact I am about to play a Hudson-inspired character in a few weeks time. Should be fun! :) Though I had no idea this would happen when I first created the character, I am now even more determined to try and make it justice.

I know that Bill directed and played in other movies as well, and I have loved his roles in those too, but being the big Alien fan that I am, and considering that the second movie 'Aliens' is one of my favourite movies of all time, the role of Hudson is one that I will always associate with Bill Paxton, and it is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the actor.

He also remains one of only two actors to have been killed by an Alien, a Predator and a Terminator. The other one being Lance Henriksen.

So, I salute you Bill Paxton. Thanks for giving the world William L Hudson and many other memorable roles and movies. You will be missed.

Until next time.

Kickstarter for Lex Occultum (formerly Götterdämmerung)

Greetings travellers, and welcome to another entry from somewhere in the Tabletop Multiverse!

This time I have turned my attention to a Kickstarter from Swedish tabletop game developer RiotMinds (link goes to the Swedish website). They are running a Kickstarter for their new game Lex Occultum, which as far as I have been able to find out is a new version of their old game Götterdämmerung.

The game has won the "Game of the Year" award in Sweden, and this Kickstarter aims to fund an english version of the game as well. So far, they have already beaten their goal, with 26 days to go, so hopefully they can get enough to reach some of the stretch goals. :)

As for the game itself, it takes place in the 18th century, and deals with the occult and supernatural. You get to fight against supernatural creatures with your flintlock and lantern. Originally this game was going to precede the company's other major game Trudvang Chronicles for an english translation and release, but the company swapped them around. Now however, they are getting around to Lex Occultum again, and it should be one to look forward to! :) It is a really good game game, full of flintlocks, mysteries, secret societies, occultism, magic, and much much more. All taking place in the 18th century, as I said. This is a dark game, with a dark atmosphere.

This is from the game's Kickstarter page:

"Europe, 18th century. The church is losing its grip on men struggling with old beliefs and dogmas. Alchemists, occultists and secret societies dig deep into old mysteries and ancient obscurities. Enlightenment is not only about breaking free from old institutions and structures, but also about discovering what has been hidden for hundreds of years, even millenniums. Illuminati, Freemasons, the old Templars and other secret societies hide in dark chambers plotting for a new world order, or to just uncover the dark arts and ancient wisdoms.

The nobles and aristocrats is a dying breed living in full decadence and excess while the common people suffer in poverty. This is the era of Enlightment, but also ignorance. Few know anything about the growing darkness; the vampires and offspring of the devil, and while conspiracies grow under the surface, kings and priests preach about submission and obedience. But who is to save men from the twilight of the gods, from falling into the darkness and be consumed by evil? Is it true that the apocalypse is soon to come?

LexOccultum takes place in a fictive historical 18th century, where the occult and supernatural is real but not yet in full bloom.

This is a game about flintlock pistols, filthy grave diggers, lanterns, werewolves, wine and decadence, secret societies, conspiracies and mysteries too dangerous to uncover. It’s a game about explorers battling the raging seas, the truth about the Templars, holy bloodlines, a quiet war between men and beast. Discover the corrupt Paris, the smoke filled London, "gin craze" and alchemists search for the Philosopher's stone. Dig deep into the cabbala system and ancient mysteries of old Egypt."

 As I mentioned earlier there are 26 days to go on the Kickstarter. If what you've read above sounds interesting to you then you should definitely go check it out!

Until we meet again, somewhere on the long and winding paths of the Tabletop Multiverse.

The Norsemen Cometh

Ah. I'm glad you could all join me around my campfire. Traversing the many paths of the Tabletop Multiverse, one needs to set up camp from time to time and hope that the warmth and light of a well-lit campfire will bring other travelers to it. Shared merriment and good company is invaluable, in my opinion.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the Norse-inspired part of the world I am creating. And, more precisely, the pantheon, mythologies, and traditions that shaped that society into what it is. I have come to the conclusion that I want to choose my path once an for all, when it comes to that. So far I have had three distinct paths I could have taken with it (in no particular order, really):

A) Go with the actual pantheon (as far as we know and understand it today) and mythology that existed. Granted, we don't have a 100% complete picture or understanding of it, but you can probably fill in the 'blanks' with stuff that at least seem to fit. And if not, then just remember that this is a fantasy world so things might have evolved slightly differently anyway.

B) Take what we know about the gods from the post-Ragnarok world - essentially those few who survived Ragnarok - and use that as a basis for creating something new. This is a very interesting option as well, and not one I believe I have seen done very often, if at all. It probably has been done but in that case I either haven't seen it or can't remember seeing it. Anyway, I find this to be an interesting option as well as it gives me more freedom compared to option 'A'. If we know little about the Norse pantheon, we know even less about their beliefs about the world post-Ragnarok. 

C) Ignore everything and start over. Basically this is about creating a whole new pantheon and mythology that could work in a Norse-inspired fantasy setting. Or at least for the part of the world that actually IS Norse-inspired.

I've always had a big interest in the Norse era. I hesitate to call it the viking age as that is a very limited time-frame framed between two events that took place on British soil - essentially the time between the first and last 'viking' raid on British soil. However the culture was around before and after that as well, in one form or another. Sure, they were Christianized around the end of the viking age, but still. Anyway, I am not here to discuss the Norsemen of old in any great detail. Just to say that I enjoy learning about them - how their society works, the lives of the everyday people, the mythology, their traditions and culture, etc. 

Now, what I am trying to create with the Norse-inspired part of my world-building isn't a faithful re-creation of Norse society and beliefs, because frankly I can't and it wouldn't fit into the world as a whole anyway. What I have done instead is something that is based on Norse society and their way of life. Granted, I know I am far from being the only person in history that has done something like this. Still, it is a fun little project and I have been enjoying it very much. 

No, my norsemen don't wear winged or horned helmets, other than possibly for ritual purposes (possible if I go with option 'C' above. We shall see).

No, I'm not calling them "Barbarians".

As for the options listed above, I have lately been working on options 'B' and 'C'. There's still much work to do, followed by a lot of thinking and tweaking. But as it stands one of those options will most likely be the one I will end up going with.

Well then, I see a new sun rise above the infinite horizon of the Tabletop Multiverse. Time to put the campfire out for this time, and continue on my travels. Well met travelers, and until we meet again I wish you all happy journeys.

Until next time!