Zorro Means Fox

Sci Fi RPG Musings

2006-10-20T21:42:00.000+10:00

So whatever the case, for a space RPG you need some way to get multiple places within close reach. It's no good going Bladerunner since that only gets you two planets/moons to work with. No, you need many. There are a few options here.

1. Many Planets and Moons

Which is totally possible if you fulfill certain circumstances. You need planets close to the star so that they are multiple and many. You need planets with roughly the same orbits as each other, which is the difficult part. Otherwise travel is seasonal dependent. You also need powerful engines and cheap, reusable fuel sources. I'd go with Solar Energy on this one. Though I have been thinking about one other energy source no one has thought up. Say in the future, solar energy becomes incredibly efficient, thanks to... let's make it a global disaster like oil running out. This isn't actually so much of a stretch these days.

Now with that kind of efficient solar energy converter, why not alter it to work with Cosmic Background Radiation (which is everywhere. It's like the static your tv picks up when you're tuned out. And it's the remainder of the Big Bang.) That would work as an efficient energy source. But it takes an important consideration from the world, fighting for fuel. There's no dilemma when you aren't using something you need to buy.

So you have a solar system with multiple planets and moons, all terraformed to be green and lush and oxygen/nitrogen balanced. And so these planets need to be slightly volcanically active and warm in their cores. It took a billion years for our planet to cool enough for life. And it's still cooling. Now if those planets are stationary, you have multiple platforms from which to start your RPG. And the ships to move around it.

2. FTL Travel

Whether using flash drives, dimension dipping, real or abstract faster than light travel, this allows for the moving around to all the planets, etc. Small problems here. It takes light around 4 years to reach our nearest stellar neighbour. Of course, who says we need to start in Earth. But still, that's 4 years. Going twice the speed of light still takes you 2 years to travel between solar systems. I'm thinking it should take around a month between systems, or better yet, two weeks. That means you're going... 64 times the speed of light. And then slowing down before you smash into the star. 64 times is quite a substantial number, considering you could escape from a Black Hole using that speed.

What about different methods? Flash Drives that teleport the entire ship instantly short distances overcomes the problem with FTL, but then how does this teleportation work? Does it send radio signals? Oh wait, it has to be FTL. Dimension dipping involves different things. One is piercing through the fabric of the universe and reappearing somewhere else. Plausible in a strange sort of way perhaps? Or not. The other is to shift into a different dimension and 'pop' out again in your proper one. Assuming that being in another dimension causes so much 'wrongness' the universes try to reset themselves by sending you back with enourmous force. With string theory, this is more and more possible.

The most efficient way perhaps, is Wormholes. Travelling through one to reach the other. This one, I think might work best in conjunction with 1. since it allows for only a relatively small number of places to go. Wormholes, as I've thought of them, appear when incredibly strong shockwaves tear through the time-space continuum. This could happen with the first humans in a war of some kind perhaps? I'm thinking that the humans in my RPG would originate from a ship which fell through a wormhole in some kind of battle. This allows for a greatly theatrical beginning, as a lone battleship and its crew struggles to find somewhere to live. (Hmm, rather Battlestar Galactica really.) But of course, that's just the beginnings to the creation myth for the humans in the RPG and explains how they got to where they are.

3. Starslip?

Something from Starslip Crisis, a drive which searches through all possible dimensions, and finds one where a copy of you and your ship exist where you want to be, and they want to be where you are. So the two of you 'switch' dimensions. Problem here is like said in the comic. The computer has to round off, since there are infinite dimensions. So there are always discrepencies, and those aren't good at all for RPGs.

Conclusion

So that's all for now, really. That's a new origin idea for humans. A battleship, complete with crew and a temporary downloaded data of every technology Earth had. And some heroic figures in the form of Engineers, Pilots, Officers, Doctors, etc. A huge battle near Earth using concussion torpedoes causes a tear in the fabric of space, and the ship activates a certain drive or something that causes it to teleport, causing everyone to go, "wait, wtf happened to the war?" They all moan, and wander for generations, and Earth becomes a myth. They approach a star in the distance, and watch it get closer for another seven generations. Then they go populate on the closest planet there. Then spread from there. Some split off into a section in the darkness of a meteor belt and separate from the government.

I'm aiming to make this RPG a mix of all the different Space genre Sci Fi things. So as I can see it... Firefly, Star Trek, Star Wars, Zap!, Battlestar Galactica, Red Dwarf, Dr Who, Saga of Seven Suns... thinking of more later, or when I see them crop up in my reading.

MMORPG Musings

2006-09-23T14:19:00.000+10:00

I find this to be far more important to me than the other things ANYWHERE in an MMO. Plus it is incredibly orignal.

Looking at the description of Guild Wars, it says that the thing that matters is "skill, not hours spent playing". I want something like this. I wondered for ages about how to do this without putting on a max level cap. I came up with this:

Combos
Any Soul Caliber fan knows a lot about combos. They win you the games in fighting games. What I love about SC is that the combos can lead onto more combos and there are things which you need to do (eg. Stances, soulcharge) to do certain combos.
What MMO's have been missing is COMBOS. Integrate fighting games with MMO's and you can have an original system which can hopefully spawn a whole range of Fighting/Arcade MMO's.
I don't mean to set it up like an arcade game. What I am suggesting is that you move like you normally do, such as in GW or WoW. You choose first person or third person.

Normally when you level up, you can put points into a skill. The more points the better. What about if, when you level, you get skill points, and can spend them with Skill Trainers, like in GW. However, you can have unlimited skills at one time, and there is no 'super skill' which you can only get at level 99 or something. Instead, there are a range of skill-trees which eventually reach a really good skill at the end.

To use skills, you must do a combo on the keyboard (eg. Q, W, E, R gets you ready to cast Fireball). This loads up a skill in a little box in the top right of the screen (from now on called the CURRENT SKILL box.) After a few seconds, (this time window is smaller for higher level skills) the skill disappears and you need to do the combo again to load it back up (from now on called the SKILL WINDOW.)

To 'cast' the skill, you click a button (eg. Shift) which is chosen in the Options menu. This 'casts' the spell in the CURRENT SKILL box.

I mentioned before that there were skill trees to get higher level skills. There is no level limit on skills by the way. To use these higher level skills, you must have the one above it on the skill tree on the CURRENT SKILL box to use it. For example, one string on the skill tree goes as such:

Fireball (Q, W, E, R)
V
Firebomb (T, Y, Up, F)
V
Vortex (G, H, D, J)
V
Inferno [really powerful] (K, T, V, M, Up, Left, T, M)

So you click Q, W, E, R to load up a fireball. Lets say the SKILL WINDOW is 30 seconds. You therefore have 30 seconds to either hit Shift to cast it, or type T, Y, Up, F to load up firebomb. This repeats for the other skills with a smaller SKILL WINDOW each time.

I really like this system because it means that:
Wizards - makes sense. They spend more time chanting to cast a better spell, or they can rapidfire the lower level skills.
Priests - same
Warriors - this stops them from spamming super skills. They can use the normal Attack key, or spam low level combos, or if they see an opening, they can use a combo and do some serious damage.
Rangers - more concentration = takes more time, pulling back further = more time
Thieves - more concentration, more complex abilities.
Mana - this removes the need for mana as it requires skill to use rather than large amounts of mana.

Overall, I think that this is a great system. Not only does it remove the need for mana, as well as making sense, it:
- stops the higher levels from spamming their high level skills
- gives newbies with skill some advantage over oldies who have been away from the game for a year
- adds more enjoyment to the game as it is not only spamming the Q button to cast spells but it also is challenging
- will look great
- will encourage people to use their high level skills only as a finishing attack or to start the combat
- means that every skill is useful and remains useful. eg. Fireball will still be useful to spam, even at level 99.
- means that skill rather than time spent will give you a better character. Although time spent in the game will increase your experience with it and thus this will not alienate gamers who love to powerlevel and be the highest level
- means that, due to the different skill levels of people (eg. a highly skilled typist could use Firebomb as often as someone else using Fireball) there would be no 'Super Build' which everyone uses. Instead, each build would be original to the skill level of the user.

Most people tend to use the WASD movement system rather than point-click (morrowind anyone?) and this is taking it to the next level. As far as I can see, it isn't that complicated, and if you supplied numerous skill trees, than the people who are used to hotkey-madness can just spam the lower level skills quickly. Who knows, it could be a tactic, like how in Jedi Academy you can have a fast style or a slow, powerful style and each are as good as each other.

You can have one spamming, dodging 'build' whilst someone else gets a slow 'tanking type' build. The idea behind it is that each character is tailor-made to its user and that anyone else using the character wouldn't be able to use it as well as the person who created it. I feel that this will encourage originality in skill set ups as well as making sure that no newbies just end up following someone else's build, which is no fun. Originality is the way of the future.

And you know how, after a certain time with an MMO, you know where your hot keyed spells are on the keyboard, the more time you spend playing, the better you remember the keys? This just pushes it to the next level.

If you don't feel like you can do it, you can simply use the weaker 'attack' button instead of combos. The point of combos is that you see an opening in the enemies attack where you have time to use a combo, you can use one. The combo stuns the enemy, long enough to let off another one. Etc.

Yes, it appeals to the hardcore gamers, but it means that instead of having a skill trainer who says...

"You learned: Fireball"

you may actually have to learn the spell, and maybe pass a test at the end to learn it properly. And there would be no time wait after pressing the keys, it would instantly load it into the CURRENT SKILL box. This means that for two spells that are: QWER and TYUI as combos, you can either spam QWER or spam QWERTYUI and take that extra time to cast a bigger spell.

The more times you pull off the spell, the more 'experience' the spell gets. Eventually it levels up, with a max level of 10 or so.
But a level 10 fireball will never be as powerful as a level 5 firebomb for instance. This way, not only is skill tested in terms of remembering the combo, but people who do spend ridiculous amounts of time leveling up are rewarded.

Situation:
You have just chosen to become a mage/wizard/whatever. To become one and start the game you must choose an elemental spell. Fireball, Shard, Lightning. Then, you can either, go through a course to learn movement/attack, or skip it. Then you go into another place where you must learn the combo on your chosen skill.

For example, you choose Shard, an ice spell. You are taught the combo: S, E, D. You must then go through a mock course where you use it. Eventually you pass the course and you are able to enter the world. If you fail, you can rechoose your element and try again. But you really shouldn't fail.

The same thing would happen with other skills. To use them in the real game you must go to a skill trainer and actually be taught how to use them.

Situation 2:
You begin as a warrior. You then must choose Vertical Slash, Horizontal Slash or Counter. Same thing as above, you choose Vertical Slash. They teach the combo 5, T, G, B. You must pass a course where you can use ATTACK or 5TGB. At the end, you can pass and go into Anathema.

Warriors are given the option to attack or use combos. Mages must use spell combos. Maybe give them a weak long distance Magic Spark or something to use.

This gives the players an option between a quick "Q W E R T Y A S D F H" and the much more complicated "Q W E R T Y H N J I K L 7 U J M".
Follow those combos on the keyboard with your fingers. They make sense. It kinda replicates the Nintendo DS in casting. You could summon a box by casting: "Q W E R T Y H N B V C X Z A Q".

And what about not telling the players that some spells exist, and let them figure them out by experimenting? Of course, some of those spells are like, Self Destruct or something.

Black Abyss #1

2006-09-16T20:42:00.000+10:00

Started working on my own forum, a sci fi version of Galadoria. The working title is Black Abyss Online, but there are a few games already out called Black Abyss (and a band. Go figure.), so I might need to change the name. Note that anything I point out in this is a working title or name, and some of them are just there to help me remember stuff. Like the Faeros are fire guys, but that's not their final name. (Faeros are a species which live in stars in Saga of Seven Suns.)

So, I might as well track this in my journal. It's meant to give me something practical to apply learning php to. Follow this journal for more info or for when the Beta comes out. (A long time away yet.)

Humans
Humans - come from Earth or a planet like it. They are slightly curious but most adept at ingenuity. Jack of all trades and masters of none. Humans gain wormhole gate travel on Earth after a planetary war. The weapons detonated in space ruptured certain parts of the spatial web. To repair itself, the web linked with other ruptured sections across the universe. The humans found a way to make a jump through these wormholes, using vast amounts of energy. However, because of this, they only had enough energy to send ships one way through the wormholes, hoping the ships would emerge safely on the other side. The energy is expelled on the entrance to the wormhole, and is often collected and reused. So when humans establish a wormhole on a planet, they are able to move back and forth between wormholes. They also developed a system where they could 'dial' a wormhole, much like a stargate.

The humans we are interested in came on Pioneer Ship Olympia long before the story starts. They were on a one-way flight, since even if they found energy on the other side, there was little chance they would be able to find the right wormhole exit again. They appeared around the Hector System in the Olympia Galaxy. But they arrived in the midst of a battle. Luckily for them, their crippled ship was picked up by the Faeros, who soon became their allies. The Faeros and Arboreals (the Tillian Alliance) took humans and settled them on a safe planet, Pollux IV.

Now we are many years down the track and the humans are a staunch ally for the Tillian Alliance. They have their own system, a battle fleet, colonies scattered, and have perfected their wormhole technology to the point where they can now travel throughout the system perfectly.

Human classes:

Fighter - adept at boarding parties, the fighter is best with powerswords, but he can use guns if he needs to. He is strong in DEX and STR. (Stats and their equivalents are works in progress.)

Soldier - adept at using all forms of guns, but useless when caught in melee. Can use all types of guns. These are either foot soldiers or they board after the fighters. Strong in INT and DEX.

Pilot - can't use guns, but can use powerswords in a tight spot. They are best used in their fighter craft, and a crossclassed Pilot-soldier is an ideal dogfighter. Pilots also pilot and work the computer systems of Battleships and other ships in the fleet. Strong in DEX and AGI.

Mechanic - uses guns and blunt weapons. They can repair stuff, and MacGyver up something in a tight spot. Strong in STR and VIT.

Scientist - Like the mechanics are the scientists, and technicians who operate the Wormhole Gates. They carry experimental weapons, which are prone to exploding but fairly effective. Strong in INT and AGI.

Medic - Heals people, and rarely uses weapons. Medics keep people healthy as long as they don't get hit. They can use weak guns, but are generally frail. Strong in INT and SPR.

And a shot of the banner:

Magic - Part 4

2006-08-30T19:19:00.000+10:00

Sirus searched through the bodies on the ground, retrieving his knives and tucking them back into their sheaths. There wasn't of course much time that night before Sirus' target got back into to the safety of his house. In fact there was a pretty small time gap between when the target left one house to enter his own, and Sirus intended to be there.

A wolf howled in the distance and Sirus shivered. He'd hoped there wouldn't be any werewolves around town. He looked warily to the full moon, ever conscious that he couldn't outfight or outrun one of those. Well it looked like he had less time tonight than he'd hoped for. And the longer Sirus, or 'William Damasque', stayed in town, the better chance his target had to discover that. Two good reasons to hurry up.

Doubtlessly the footpads would be robbed blind by the time the night was up. Served them right though, robbing innocent people, even girls, even if she is a neko. Sirus knew he should have felt guilty for killing them. The followers at least were no guilty than a dog ordered to hunt down a thief. Still, he couldn't help feel nothing but contempt for them. He'd dealt with thugs like them for years: they preyed on the weak. Nothing like assassins. Assassins went after anyone, and that was what made them special. Sirus occasionally took a job that required him to kill someone. It was a simple fact that any bounty hunter had to face at some point.

Sirus was on his way to pick up his target, the son of an elderly lord in the oligarchic council of Taria. The boy was a 'regular' of bounty hunters. He'd run away uncounted times from his duties as heir-apparent on various missions of peace keeping or conservation. Sirus himself had had the honour of carrying the kid back to his folks twice. They knew each other almost by first name by now. And now Sirus had to find and collect him again.

The night hadn't changed at all, and another wolf's howl broke the silence. In the distance Sirus could hear the faint sounds of a tavern brawl, laughing, the occasional broken glass or yelp. He set out, his long cloak sweeping back in a chance breeze channeled down a nearby alleyway.

------------

Huh... for some reason I can't exactly get my mind around writing.

Sirus is basically a character who I've been tossing up for a while. He's a kitsune with no skill in illusions at all. This is pretty weird, since very few high kitsune can't use it. A high kitsune is basically a pure-bred kitsune, normally the purest strains are royalty. They come from the land of Tamryn. Sirus instead concentrated on fast movements and agility, becoming a soldier and following his father's footsteps. With no particular patriotism, Sirus left the army during a stay for a diplomatic mission in Taria. He joined the police force, hoping for a better career in a less crowded job.

Gah, I can't concentrate on this.

Anyhow, Sirus quit the police force after reaching the position of Detective Investigator. He found that working in a group wasn't to his style. So Sirus became a Private Investigator, working only on cases that interested him. He was mildly succesful, though eventually he got into some trouble with some cultists, owed more money than he was earning, and ended up taking on jobs a little less savoury to earn it. With a backing in the police force he knew how to avoid them and leave no trace. He adopted a pseudonym of Darius Lacrain and lived a double life, Darian the assassin and Sirus the P.I. He was even asked to take on a few cases where he was the suspect.

Anyhow, that's enough for now.

Magic - Part 3

2006-08-11T21:34:00.000+10:00

"I don't have time for this," Sirus sighed. First I get sidetracked to rescue a maiden in distress, now I find out she was less than distressed. Gah, I always do this! He was absentmindedly chiding himself. Every time he was set to work on a serious mission a good looking girl came along and distracted him. It was just his bad luck this time that the girl happened to be of a race which his own actively despised.

Sirus caught a hold of himself to see Siarra leaning over to take the purse from the fallen bandit leader. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"No sense letting this money go to waste," she said with a grin, dropping the formal accent. Sirus tried not to notice her feline ears or her fine curves under her cloak. Her hood had fallen to around her neck, looking like a scarf in the night. Strange eyes peered out from under long bangs: purple and gold irises blended roughly together. "It's not as if this man will need the money. Indeed, most fortuitous it is that it should fall into my possession, owing to the fact that I require such prizes." As she 'aquired' the bandit's posessions, Sirus caught sight of the twinkle of a green gem in the dark. Siarra seemed intent particularly on this prize, studying it in the moonlight before pocketing it in a deep fold.

"I have to go," he said, turning his back on the neko. "I trust you can find your way back home safely?" He didn't know much about magic, especially destructive magic. But from what he did know, it was obvious that she wouldn't have any power left to cast more spells. But she had other ways to survive; sneaking for one.

Siarra looked guilty for a second, then looked about to argue but decided differently. "If you want it that way," she said, kicking the bandit leader before taking off into the night. Sirus shook his head. A strange encounter, but that night he had more to do than contemplate meetings.

Magic - Part 2

2006-07-25T21:24:00.000+10:00

Sirus took care to lock the door before he chose his equipment. It was almost night and the sun was falling fast, but he had to be careful not to be spotted that night. His target would surely have friends who would seek to follow the kidnapper and do harm if they knew who it was. Also, the foxtailed man knew his target would be 'home' by the time the sun lost its battle and was swallowed up by the horizon. He waited the appropriate amount of time in contemplation of the evening. His horse, and a second mare, were stabled below in the inn's stables. Sirus had paid the stableboy a visit, and knew the horses would be fully saddled and ready to go by midnight. When the sun finally dropped and darkness decended, Sirus unlocked his window and opened it. The cool evening wind washed through the room, blowing back the blinds. It was a refreshing breeze, erasing memories of the previous night, a hot, sticky evening completely at logical odds with the geography of the area.

Sirus paused to open the drawer below the table then quickly changed from his imperial robes into more comfortable attire. The number of knives on the table had doubled to twenty four knives now resting within arm's reach. Donning his tight leather boots, more appropriate for a trapeze artist or theif than a bounty hunter, Sirus began fitting his knives into various hiding spots on his body. One fit easily below each wrist, two in each boot, two on each thigh, six sat in two careful rows on the right side of his belt. Six he tied spaced out to the strings on the base of his cloak. They hung down like feathers while the cloak lay on the back of a chair. The kitsune was ever mindful of his tail, and he made certain to tie the last two knives to his tail, making it more a weapon than a distraction. He fastened the two swords to his left side, wrapped the face mask around his mouth and over the arc of his nose, through a wound rope over his shoulder, picked up the hand crossbow in one hand, the javelin-like spear in his other hand, and departed through the open window into the black night.

Darkness would have been his friend in such a position as he now found himself in, but the moon had decided that the night would be a good time to shine like a bloody demon. It was one of those nights of magic, when the Wild Hunt would ride out through the lands, scaring peasants and reaffirming that yes, fairies still existed. Stories like that were just legends up north, but where Sirus came from in the south, they were fact. He marvelled silently at how quickly fact became legend when it seemed too extraordinary to contemplate. Not only was the night almost as bright as day, but the moon rose in all of its proud glory, a full moon. On a distant building a cat stood admiring the scene. Sirus scowled at it, his kitsune instincts kicking in. He didn't like cats or neko anymore than any others of his race. But eager to be on his way, and with the full moon in mind, he silently hoped, as he dropped from the rooftop, that there were no werewolves this far north.

He dropped his spear before he hit the ground, letting his cloak act to slow him and his knees crumple to absorb the fall. Kneeling, the kitsune looked back and forth to make sure no one had spotted him before picking up his spear and sprinting down the length of the street. This late at night, no one was out. They would be eating dinner, dicing in the taverns, maybe even frolicking with one of the maids, but wouldn't be on the streets. Only a madman or a brave man went walking the streets on a full mooned night like this. Thanks to superstition, people wouldn't even look outside their windows that night, afraid they might somehow attract evil's attention. Sirus couldn't have timed his strike better. Yet always when a character starts thinking thoughts such as these, something comes along to spoil it and prove them wrong.

Sirus caught the noise of a gang around the next corner, and the moonlight glinted blue-toned from a series of violent looking weapons. This won't do, Sirus thought unhappily. His plans had been spoiled for the night and he would be late thanks to this. It appeared, upon putting his head around the corner, that a group of ruffians had cornered a cloaked figure, a girl probably no older than Sirus himself. They were proposing rather indecent suggestions, as well as your standard run-of-the-mill, "Give us yer money, girl, or we'll cut yer throat!" speech. There was an easy way to deal with the men, then there was a theatrical way. Sirus had always been fond of theatrics though.

He stepped into the light. "Now now, gentlemen. That is no way to treat a lady." The villains turned as they heard the courtly accent. All that faced them seemed to be a shadow, a black clothed kitsune as they could spot from his ears.

"Haha, son," the oldest of the group said. Scarred and crop-cut, he looked like the leader. "You're goin' to want to back away nice an' easy. We don' want no trouble from folk like you. An' you don't want no trouble from us." The others grunted in a form of gutteral laughter, or snickering. Sirus wasn't sure which. Another of the bandits had snuck up close to the back of the kitsune, thinking himself hidden from view. He obviously wanted trouble from 'folk like Sirus', though the leader had specified otherwise.

Tipping his head to the side, the kitsune cocked his eyebrow, "alright then, have it your way." He spun on his left heel, cloak and tail spinning out and slashing the closest bandit in the shin. The other criminals were slow to react, yet moved immediately out to encircle their attacker. Still using the momentum of his spin, Sirus threw his spear straight and true, impaling one of the bandits before stepping close to another and slashing at its throat. The bandit let out a low gurgling sound and fell to the ground, suitably chastised. Sirus flicked out his arms and two throwing knives spun through his fingers before being launched at the throats of another two bandits. Now there were four left. The leader drew a hand crossbow from his cloak, aiming it not at the bounty hunter, but rather at their victim. The girl stood perfectly still as the bolt trained on her.

Crossbow in hand, the bandit leader smiled though Sirus was poised to throw a knife at another bandit. "Well, well, well, looks like we've got ourselves at an impasse." He spoke the last word slowly, sounding out each syllable. Sirus guessed that the leader may have been a scholar, driven out by hard times, resorting to street gangs. Or of course, he could just be a bandit leader who picked up the word by chance, probably from an 'impasse' with a now dead noble.

It was a dilemma certainly. Sirus had no want to kill the leader, though he would undoubtedly prove trouble later on. But he also wished to save the girl, who was not in the most fortuitous of circumstances at that moment. Ironically enough, it was the girl who broke the stalemate, saving herself and Sirus. While the bandit leader was busy concentrating on Sirus, the girl had been working her hands in the air. It looked as if she was scribbling, or drawing, or something. Sirus had barely half a second's warning as the place the girl was scribbling grew bright as the sun and shot out, blowing the bandit leader into the stone wall of the building behind him. Fine mortar powder trickled onto his head as he coughed up blood and fell in a heap. Sirus was stunned. The girl is a mage? And of destruction magic too? She's more rare than she looks. Though of course he couldn't see her face, hidden as it was by a heavy hood. From the rest of what he could see though, she cut a fine figure, especially in skin-tight cloths. Silk perhaps?

The other bandits were not so 'rooted to the spot stunned' as Sirus was. With frantic calls of "Witch!", "Devil spawn!" and "Demon!" they ran screaming down the street, turned the corner and were soon gone. The girl turned back to Sirus. He half expected her to destroy him where he stood. Instead she laughed. "Thank you stranger." Her voice had a strange, musical quality to it. "You saved my hide just then. I'd run out of power and those men happened to think it would be a good time to take advantage of the situation." She pushed back her hood, revealing the most beautiful face Sirus had ever seen. He almost felt enchanted by her beauty, and he was wary not to fall into any trap she might have laid, using the bandits as bait. He still had enough enemies to occasion a look over his shoulder every so often. "My name is Siarra," she said, "and yours?" She pushed the hood off of her head and Sirus couldn't, wouldn't believe what he saw. Couldn't believe his bad luck.

Siarra was a neko.

Magic - Part 1

2006-07-24T19:47:00.000+10:00

Sirus chuckled gaily to himself as he flicked through the papers in his hands. Each was an 'official' document, 'signed' by the Lord Imperior himself, stamped with a small wax blob holding the image of a well forged signet ring. They were papers naming Sirus as William Damasque, a wealthy noble on a diplomatic mission to the Hawk Aeries in the mountains of Niral.

The guards looked warily at Sirus as he left the council chambers. He didn't blame them. He was about medium height, with green eyes, a sharp nose and high cheeks. His eyes were constantly moving, reassessing the area. And his most prominent features marked him out as a kitsune. Two fox ears poked out of his ruffled hair, their orange, white-tipped fur in contrast to his black, unkept hair while a single fox tail swept nervously behind him. He was dressed in an imperial uniform: a close-cut black robe buttoned on the side, sweeping in the street below him. Gold trims raised the shoulders, and a single sword was fastened to his left side. The collar on the robe was high enough to brush his chin when he turned his head, a perfect imitation of this season's 'in fashion' clothing.

Yet though he was dressed as a noble or imperial agent, the guards remained wary. Sirus knew it was because he was a kitsune. Though they were not a rare sight, there was a certain amount of racism towards them. They were considered sneaky, cunning, and untrustworthy. A generalisation to be sure, but then again, Sirus had always believed in perpetuating stereotypes. Further, the guards were wary because of the power 'William Damasque' might hold with the local council. Who knew what he was doing in town besides himself.

Tail turning, Sirus flicked a gold coin from his sleeve towards the guardsmen. They blinked in surprise before dropping to the ground to fish the coin from the mud, cleaning and examining it. Probably that was a week's wages to them. To Sirus, it meant the guards would be less likely to stop him and more likely to side with him were events to turn against him in the future. He grinned at the guards happily clucking and cooing over their coin and continued his way down the street. By the position of the sun, he guessed it was late afternoon and he was heading in a northwards direction. His aim was a house in the north-eastern quadrant of Callan, but first he had to go back to the inn to change.

The streets were clearer now than an hour ago. Merchants with precious cargo who could afford to pack up did so and went home to their wives and strongboxes though Sirus wasn't sure which of the two they loved the most. Many of the town labourers had gone home, replaced by their evening-shift counterparts. To the east, the council had decreed a new bridge be built over the Kinnean River, and its construction was putting Callan into an economic boom. On the sides of the streets the beggars left, knowing they would get no more charity now that the visitors in town had returned to the inns and taverns. The homeless would head to the inns for handouts after dinner, or to the back alleys looking for prime real estate: a nice, warm place to sleep. Others would head back to the Beggar's Guild to pay tribute. They shared what little they had; communism working in practice.

Sirus ducked to the side as an inflated pig's bladder wooshed over his shoulder, kicked towards him accidentally by a child playing. Laughing, they scattered to their hideaway spots. Hoping to curry favour with them, Sirus kicked the ball back to where it came from. A young kitsune jumped out to stop it from heading too far the other direction, staring at wonder at the lone adult who had inadvertantly joined their game. The kid scooped the bladder into the air and kicked it towards his companion, a young human girl. The game it seemed was simple: the aim was to kick the bladder into the face of another player. There was enough water within the primitive ball to give it weight, though it wouldn't hurt on contact. Sirus, his child years long passed, smiled sadly in nostalgia and continued walking.

Three blocks down was the inn, The Troubled Fox. Lit up by torches within metal casings, the inn was one of the richer establishments in town. Before the heavy oak door was a stone archway flanked by ionic columns. Hanging by a chain on either end, the sign showed a comic looking fox struggling vainly to grab a grape from a vine high above it. Appropriately, The Troubled Fox catered rooms for the largest number of kitsune in town. Neko, people with similar attributes to kitsune, but cats rather than foxes, rarely visited the inn due to the rivalry between the two race's gods. But though The Troubled Fox held many kitsune, it held fewer foxfolk than it did humans, who outnumbered every other species in the city. Sirus stayed there not because he was in need of the company of his own race; he was used to being alone. No, he slept there because he needed to be unnoticed, and more importantly because it was the closest inn to the house he was to find that night.

Sirus pushed open the heavy doors and immediately his ears were met by laughter and polite talking. The inns and taverns differed in many respects, and Sirus normally preferred to stay in taverns. The raucous boasting and swearing, shouting and catcalling, were all familiar noises to him. Taverns were noisy places full of drunks, pickpockets, hardened veterans and whores. By comparison, an inn was almost like a tea party. Besides, inns didn't serve Oapos, the hallucination-inducing kiwifruit wine. Instead they only had sour wine, the 'drink of the gentleman'. Sirus didn't know how courtiers and imperial agents managed to survive on that.

He walked through the waiting chamber to the stairs, heading to the second floor, down the hall and through another side passage to his own room. There was nothing of great interest in the clean wooden hallways. Though kept meticulously clean, the inn usually held a great number of mice. Maybe the lack of cats in the establishment allowed them a certain amount of freedom. There were no rats in the inn. As far as he knew, there hadn't been a rat in Callan in over a century. He'd heard fragments of stories of the Pied Piper variety, though thankfully the townsfolk had taken warning from the previous stories and actually paid the fellow. Rats were no more and the town had managed to keep a firm hold on their children. But that was before Callan became the main merchant city where the Silk Paths from the east crossed the Kinnean River coming down from the mountains to the north. Since then it had tripled in size, and not a single rat.

Sirus had reached his room. He drew a key from inside his left sleeve, fitting it into the well oiled lock and twisting. The lock clicked and the door swung open slightly to admit the kitsune. He swept the room with his eyes, then stepped in. On the table lay his collection of weapons: a hand-sized repeater crossbow with five shots, twelve spare throwing knives that wouldn't have fit into the clothes he was wearing, a spare sword, a polearm and a scythe. Inside the cupboard he found his other clothes, a close fitting black leather outfit and a large, thick, black, hooded robe. He didn't travel light. One couldn't afford to travel light when one was a bounty hunter.

Magic - Prologue

2006-07-21T23:11:00.000+10:00

As so many fantastical stories seem to begin, this one began with a pact. Normally, it is the story rather than the plot which begins with a pact. You usually don't find out until further into the book, probably halfway through, that it was indeed a pact which began said book. You wind through many a page of hopeless dialogue, red herring love stories, insane villainy and even more daring heroes before you even get a glimpse at the idea that there may have actually been a pact through which the events of the remainder of the story have unfolded and will then unfold.

But this isn't a normal fantasy story like most. The pact it begins with is just as important to the story to know about, it is no form of dramatic irony, though it happened in a secret meeting. What kind of pact is it? One of those 'I'm the demon, give me your soul I'll give you anything' sort of pacts.

In the deep, dark corners of every castle lies a villain. He may not be exactly the kind of villain you'd guess would be lying in the deep dark corners of a very drafty castle. Unless you normally have thoughts about mice being the villains in stories. Well actually, I lied. This mouse wasn't even a villain. He just liked to tell himself he was because it was the only way he could ever get a feeling of self importance. I mean, come on, he lives in a giant, drafty castle with deep, dark corners. Who wouldn't start to feel a little insecure after a while?

But this mouse was luckier than your common mouse who lived in deep, dark, drafty castles. He happened to live in a fantasy realm filled with magic. And sooner or later magic will cause animals to gain some kind of self-awareness. Apart from the mind-jarring realisation of his life wasted, this mouse then found he failed at communicating with the other people in the castle. Mice ceased to be interested in his mindless consideration of politics and philosophy, humans and their ilk understood little.

So that was why he was standing in a pentacle inscribed on the stone floor chanting a summoning spell on another larger symbol before him. The symbol was a pentacle incased within a circle, small tildas and doodles surrounding it. Magic was a complex affair, especially summoning Greater Demons. The mouse was stupid to try something like this copied from a scratching on a bit of leather he happened to come across whilst wandering the halls. But this mouse happened to be unnaturally lucky. Normally, failing to draw the etching properly ended in horrible things which varied from losing one's spleen to a simple Armageddon disaster. Thankfully it didn't do anything like that.

"Why are you summoning me?!" The large entity spoke finally, summoned by the persistent squeeking. "Ah, a mouse..." it seemed puzzled, searching in its vast memory for any time where a mouse had summoned a demon. He vaguely remembered a fox doing this centuries before, and that was when the kitsune were formed. But a mouse gaining any kind of intellect was curious. The demon had already found a weakness in the pentacle; he could, if he wanted, escape and vaporise the castle and its occupants. But something held it back. A thought in the back of its mind which questioned, what would a mouse possibly want from a demon?

But then came the even more difficult, and slightly embarassing moment. How was one to communicate with a mouse? The demon conjured up a chair and sat contemplating, watching the squeaking and dancing of the summoner. He couldn't make sense of it. Eventually, from concentrating on the frantic gestures of the tiny rodent, the Greater Demon understood what he wanted.

"Ohhh, you wish to speak? Why did you not ask so in the first place?" The irony struck him as funny enough to comment. It seemed the mouse could understand what was spoken, but had little ability to form the sounds for itself. Since he was bound only by a faulty pentacle, the demon was free to do as he wished. Unfortunately, he could not touch the mouse as it sat within its own pentacle, perfectly formed. The protective symbol stopped the demon from attacking the mouse, but also stopped the summoned creature from gifting his master with speech. He tried an old trick, "Step outside of the pentacle and I shall bestow it upon you." Any summoner with brains would identify a trick like this and stay the hell inside their symbol. As long as the symbol was unbroken the demon was bound. The mouse was innocent though, ignorant of the tricks played by any demon to achieve freedom.

It stepped outside of the pentacle and instantly was given the power to speak rather than just squeak. The demon chuckled to itself. It was free now. No symbols contained it, no summoner could send him back without high-level magics, there was nothing left to do but run before the mouse got smart and sent him back. With a pop, the Greater Demon vanished. Most likely he headed straight to Bermuda or Hawaii, or whatever the tropical paradise was called in this world. I know I would if I were a newly free demon. Within days, the demon would begin to lose the ability to freely shapeshift and settle into whatever form he chose. Most likely the demon would choose a human. They always went for the cliche 'tall, dark and handsome' figures.

And he left the mouse standing quite unsure of itself outside of a pentacle. The mouse looked around. He seemed to see things with a new light. The mouse was grey, with brown wings hinting around his ears. He had dark, black beetles of eyes, and now a voice to match his blossoming mind. He looked younger, and felt stronger. Whatever the demon had done, it had done more than asked.

"Bloody hell, what've I done now?" He asked himself, wondering what mischief the Greater Demon would get up to.

Winternest Part 2

2006-07-03T22:16:00.000+10:00

The guildhouse door burst open as the young kitsune barreled his way in shoulder-first. He spun on the handle, using his weight to push the heavy door closed again. Sirus' feet strained as he pushed against the floor. He held the pot out with one hand while the other pulled the heavy bar into place.

He slid to the door with a sigh. The guildhouse appeared silent, but behind each wall was a trained assassin, a guard of the highest eschelon of the Theives Guild. They each carried a chained knife, a hand crossbow and enough poison to knock out an entire city. Hopefully it would be enough to stop whatever was chasing him, though how long he might live after this was over he wasn't sure. But the Theives Guild prized the ability to turn invisible and it looked like Sirus would have to do just that.

He moved slowly through the lobby to a side door. Through the door was a long, beige coloured carpetted hallway leading to a second door. Behind the door was a staircase leading downwards to the city's underground. The guild was like any Theives Guild; it put on a simple exterior, a pretty gameface, and the promise of a deep, dark secret.

Down the staircase was another room: a lobby where the entry level thieves gathered, where the leader of their section had his offices. It was well hierarchically set out, probably, ironically the most organised in the city. Sirus walked down the corridor holding onto his prize. This was his goal, the item he had to steal to rise to the next level in the guild. He'd been told to find a piece of pottery from a rich man's home, and he had the bad luck to pick something that murderers were out for too.

Winternest Part 1

2006-07-01T23:14:00.000+10:00

The city was asleep at this time of night, even the lanterns had burned low. Guards rarely walked the streets anymore and it was anybody's game. The occasional cloud passed over the moon, extending the shadows between the buildings until nothing could be seen of the murky dirt road, patched by pavers, riddled with wagonholes.

Sirus kept running.

The ten year old kitsune boy ran flat out, tail and robes swinging behind freely. He gasped as his robes caught on a wagon spoke, tearing and making a noise ill-fitting in the dark. He sucked his breath in and tried not to yell from fright though some kind of monster was on his trail. Every loud noise grew to his ears, every small crack of sticks in the path he'd clearly blazed with heavy footfalls shook his nerves. Goodness knew what would happen if he were caught.

The half-fox boy kept a tight hold on his prize: a blue pot, red rimmed and covered in gold decorations. He had no idea what was in it; all he'd done was take what he'd been told to take. That was before the man helping him was killed.

It seemed whomever these monsters were, they were after the same pot. And they didn't even flinch at killing to get it. Sirus knew he'd been lucky to get away. He briefly considered dropping it, leaving his troubles behind. But he knew that whatever was chasing him wouldn't stop with the pot. It would want him dead. It was a simple rule of the underground that no one saw you take anything, and if Sirus knew who had the pot he could tell someone. That and Sirus had been witness to a murder. That sort of thing doesn't bode well when one is running from the killer.

No, it was best to hold onto that container harder, keep running faster, and never stop. Once he got to the guild house he would be safe. Safe from whoever, whatever, was chasing him.

Suspend your disbelief

2006-06-23T20:43:00.000+10:00

Hmmm... I've been playing some RPGs lately that put no effort into their realism. I mean, sure I'm prepared to suspend my disbelief on some issues like ninjas jumping thirty feet into the air, or the existence of magic or telekinesis. However, there are some problems that don't stem from a suspension of disbelief. They are the little problems that no one really brings up. When they are, the developers sweep them under the rug with a simple statement: "It's magic." Which is bullshit. I mean, seriously magic is a nice enough addition to a game or plotline, but when you start throwing it around like they do you mess up the very basics of it. It ceases to be special, and the books cease to be thought out. So I'm just going to take apart some of these myths of belief suspension and magic.

Lava Men - Seen in Ragnarok Online
Alright, a few facts. Lava flows really slowly, however it only conserves heat because it is in bunches and is rock. Even then, the lava on the top usually solidifies. This happens so much so that you get underground lava tunnels covered in thin, thin ledges made of hardened lava.

Standing with such a barrier between you and the lava, you'd be okay, though it's between 45-60 degrees Celsius.

However, because the ground is so fragile, there have been cases where people have actually fallen through and either gotten trapped in the lava, or a meter or so above it, since lava flow has died down. Regardless, if you are within 1 meter of lava, the intense heat is somewhere between 200-500 degrees Celsius. You get third degree burns in about a second, second degree burns in about a minute, and first degree burns in about two minutes, depending on the heat of the lava. Your clothes burn to ashes either way.

Lava men should thus have the ability to burn anything that comes within 1 meter of them. A problem for those using wooden arrows, or for melee fighters who will get burned attacking them. Also, because the lava men are out in the open, a quick Freeze spell should solidify them, and they will eventually grow lethargic and turn to statues anyways. But it isn't that easy!

Infact these guys are a piece of cake if you're able to survive the rest of the dungeon. Not only that, but they can shoot fireballs, which do not at all make them smaller.

Now the residual heat of striking such a body would kill an average person and melt their weapons. Rock thankfully has a higher melting temperature than metals, so steel swords will not fare well in lavamen. Arrows seem kinda pointless. Infact the only way you could possibly defeat such a monster is with a Frost spell, a fuckload of icecubes, or a nice, cool breeze. Because knocking its head off won't help, it can reconstruct itself.

Windships/Airships - Seen in numerous RPGs and fantasy
For the most part, some fantasy authors (Dart-Thornton for one) have dealt with airships easily. Others (Final Fantasy series for another) seem to skirt around and bring out their 'Magicpunk' (alike to Steampunk, but magic is the excuse for everything) excuses and move on. Yes I am being petty, but if no one points out these they're likely to get more and more insane. Consider the size and bulk of these ships for a second. These are a size from that of a medium sailing ship to a massive Titanic-sized transport that Lord Xenu would be proud of. Sailing on the winds, although Dart-Thornton has some kind of rock that repels the ground. Unlikely I think, but easier to imagine than magic.

Hmmm, I got sidetracked there for a second looking up Scientology stuff, and managed to injure my finger, so I might lay off the typing for tonight.

Dating Attempt #1

2006-06-22T21:26:00.000+10:00

I've been tracking the data, and it appears that a rift is going to open up in three days. I'll still be able to access the internet, after all, wireless laptops seem to work over on the other side. I'm not too sure what it's called over there, but needless to say I have been there once or twice.

So what have I learned from my week? I've learned that women go for the guys who don't treat them right. I've learned that buses are a great place for picking up women, especially hot uni girls. I've learned that forgetting a gals name is never a good start for asking them out, and I've also learned that I'm no good under pressure, and should have given her my phone to put her number and name in.

So much for the 'charming' me. It was like I could hear running commentary going on in my mind.

"And I think he's going to get her number... and he's going for it and... oooooooh ouch he's forgotten her name! Abort! Abort! I repeat, do not ask for number."

So another unsuccesful day in the life of dating.

Hmmm... looking back to the beginning of this entry, it seems no surprise to me suddenly that this is so difficult for me.

Reality Revolution

2006-06-21T19:35:00.000+10:00

Massive influx of reality tv these days. It seems to have thrown Sitcoms from the top of the hill of dominant genres. And they come in every style and every brand nowadays. I guess the tempest began with game shows, and our voyeuristic tendencies just got more and more powerful as they went along. And now we're stuck in the Reality Trap.

Recently people have gotten obsessed with celebrity television and competitions. Dancing with the Stars, It Takes Two, so many other things which are basically just people laughing at their favorite celebrity's mistakes. We've also gotten more lewd, more dangerous and heading more in the direction of the Japanese game shows so satirised by The Simpsons. "Next up, 'Why I hate scorpions!'"

We can do better than that though! There are so many unexplored television show ideas, especially reality. So I thought it might be a good idea to list some.

Celebrity Gladiators
Remember Gladiators? That show where people came along to watch some busty babes and muscled men beat each other with foam weapons, wearing football armour. For years we were entertained as people were knocked from their high platforms into a pit of foam blocks from a well-timed pole blow. Swatted off like flies. But who wants to see some random people take the foam up for a bang? We want to see celebrities up there! I think it would go down very well with viewers if Fox tv put up a grudge match between our favorite celebs. Keifer Sutherland takes on the might of Dick Cheney in an all out deathmatch.

How I Became a Rocket Scientist
From the minds who brought you Jamie's Kitchen comes this all out struggle. Ten random people are taken off the dole for a second chance. They have been put under the wing of a top rocket scientist with NASA. These ten people have six months to learn the basics of rocket science and aerodynamics, then build their own plane. After the six months, five of them will be hired by NASA for the junior division of their rocket building division.

LARPing with the Stars
That's right! Your favorite stars (fifteen) get their gear into shape as they dress like fantasy characters, pull out their beanbag lightning bolts, grab their foam swords and go out learning from the best. Each is partnered with a well trained LARPer to learn how to swing a sword, fight using a bow and cast their spells. Every night they play DnD. The entire show is a 'highlights of the week' type thing. Each week, a set of judges from a range of RPG and LARPing tournaments judge the celebrities on their performance and believability. The home viewers vote on their favorites and each celebrity is kicked off each week. At the final episode, every celebrity is brought back for a camping and LARPing trip.

Boxing with the Stars
Flying with the Stars
Racing with the Stars
Making Movies with the Stars

Acting with the Stars
Here's an interesting one, because some actors really need believability here and there are numberless actors who never made it big and are just looking for a job. So you get ten of the worst actors ever, or the ones who think they're good, but really suck. Then you get some acting teachers and it goes on the same working system as Dancing with the Stars.

Candid Hospital
Shoot someone with a tranquiliser gun, bring them into a fake hospital, and tell them they're dying. I'm pretty sure this is illegal, but it's bound to show up eventually.

Open Day Madness

2006-06-20T23:27:00.000+10:00

Right, so I was working over a weekend volunteering at the Australian Museum for International Museum Day and the museum's Open Day. What it means basically is that the floodgates of cost are removed and people pour in. Each person is like a tiny grain of sand, grinding away on the eternal milestone on one's soul. And each of us once the day was out were dead tired of smiling to people's dumb questions.

So there are a few extraordinarily amazing events which even astounded me, and I've seen Big Brother. And the people on that are like the most standard people from the most standard cave man dwelling in the Stone Age.

Pearls you say? - Here's the situation: it's Open Day, and the museum is concurrently holding a Pearls exhibition. So the really big dinosaur out front (a Giganotosaurus to be exact) has jokingly gotten up in the morning to a headache from last night's partying and accidentally donned his wife's pearls. Yes, the dinosaur is wearing his family jewels. Though really the museum has decided it would be 'themey' to dress the dinosaur in pearls. These pearls are actually little styrofoam balls, sprayed silver.

So I was standing out front in the lobby, looking around, helping people out with finding things (where's the bathroom? where's the lobby? where's the floor? help me, I can't find my nose.) And a certain Ms. Stupid comes up. Now she doesn't look like any Ms. Stupid. Her hair is brushed, she's wearing glasses, a fairly short skirt, blonde. She actually looks smart, like someone I could actually have a conversation with. She begins to pass me by like so many other beautiful women that day. Then stops, asks her question. My heart soars high with hope. "Excuse me," she says, deadly serious, "did they dig those dinosaur bones from the ground?" I reply in the affirmative, to which she smiles. "Yes! So they found those pearls with the bones?" Oh gods no...

Butterflies in my stomache - So some smart person had decided, oh, I know what would be cool: We'll put butterflies on the brochures, even though we have no butterfly exibit. Good one, Einstein. You work where now? Museum of Natural History you say? So in total (and I actually began to tally this) six people asked me where the butterflies were. Now these bugs are labelled nowhere on the form, nowhere at all. They simply do not exist aside from being fancy decorations. So the first time I pointed people in the direction of the bugs exhibit. The second time I pointed them towards the bathrooms. Third, fourth and fifth times I just explained they didn't exist. Number four actually got angry at me, as if it was my fault the museum chose not to stock up on 'rare sapphire Brazilian butterflies' or something of the like. So I pointed him in the direction of the Aboriginal Exhibit. Number six (I was getting annoyed and it was the end of my shift in the lobby) I pointed to the entrance and said "the butterflies are that way." In my defence, there was a garden outside and undoubtedly there would be butterflies.

You look like a scientist - Do I look like a scientist? Well I suppose in my snazzy Aus Mus t-shirt I must have. (Said t-shirt has since shrunken smaller than a doll could fit into, leaving me with a nice souvenier, but a pretty tight looking shirt.) So I got quite a few people asking me questions I honestly have no idea about. But we were told to keep a straight face and either answer to the best of our knowledge, ask for help from security, or refer them to a specialist. 'To the best of my knowledge' was good enough. So in the end, it turns out that Giganotosaurus ate grapefruits, and is actually commonly referred to as "Gigantoroarus" affectionately by geologists. It also turns out that the Flying Spaghetti Monster (praise be to Him) causes volcanism. Gold is just crushed paper, deep fried. Diamonds are crushed bones of the dominant species before dinosaurs. (Could be... you never know.) Did I feel bad about this? Noooo. If a tourist thinks that I look official enough to believe me, then they can be happy going home with false information. It makes sense in a twisted way.

Look at me, I'm riding a skeleton - Some kids just don't learn, and we had a few who were a bit too... 'adventurous'. One can go home claiming that the sucessfully straddled a skeleton horse behind a skeleton man, and only just got off (or were pulled off) when the horse began to sway and almost tumbled. One other kid can now claim rights as having gotten closer to the bones of a Giganotosaurus than any other kid in his class after failing to climb the leg of said dinosaur. Lucky for the museum the bones are fakes. Giant turtles, mummies, mommies, security, guides... they are all fair game for childish exploits. The ironic part is, there's a childrens' playland area which was almost completely deserted when I walked past.

Tourists - Who give me money to take pictures of them in front of my good old pal, Giganotosaurus. Seriously, these guys just hope for the best that a guy in an Aus Mus t-shirt was legit, and not only give me possession of their camera (must've cost them like...$4000) for a time, but also tipped me! Hell yes. This is what volunteer work is all about.

But it's nice to know I made such a difference to people's lives. And if you ever get the chance to work volunteer or otherwise at a museum, jump at the chance. They're always looking for people to help out, and they'll love you eternally for it. Plus you get to see the museum for free!

Concept Story

2006-06-19T22:19:00.000+10:00

I guess I'll run something by you guys now. It's a bit of a story idea, based on originality. In fact, going by the awesome Zombie Pirate Ninja Dragon (ZPND) Principle, since mashing cliche on cliche results in originality, it can only make sense that it works in reverse. So perhaps by making a story original, and building originality on originality, it will result in something so cliche no publisher would touch it with a ten foot ninja pole. Make that a Zombie Ninja pole. Either way, here it is.

A kitsune, and here starts the originality. Because I know of no story that isn't myth that features a fox-person as a character, much less a main protagonist. He's practically addicted to coffee, chocolate, caffeine.

The world is the present, and thus will include pop culture references, historical references, and other things. If anyone's seen Angel you'd know the situation: a modern world with gothic myths throughout. Demons and Vampires. Normal people have no idea, even though they live in a world surrounded by these things they call legends. The main hero of the series is Angel, a vampire with a soul who runs a detective agency (Angel Investigations) that solves paranormal mysteries. So this world will be similar yet different. I'll go beyond simple vampires and demons and throw in some celtic myths, norse valkyries, mexican chupacabra, werewolves, japanese kami; though of course there'll be the old favorites of some vampyres or demons. So this character runs a small used book dealership. It's really a front for an even smaller supernatural outpost, started as a joke.

The story begins with the smallest of things, increased sightings of a certain myth in an area. It grows in size, and people still don't notice. I'm tossing up between the Antichrist and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. But of course, the Antichrist is apparently one of those horsemen, so there may be no issue. It turns out there's an end to an era coming up and the myths are becoming more and more obvious.

I think the government may try to cover it up to stop mass hysteria, though it will be harder and harder to cover it up. A dragon flyover above a major city (London or NYC or Sydney) will be covered up, but people will start to be quakey. The leaders will call a world conference on it, and will all be killed in some manner at this conference. A false prophet will appear in America and be endorsed by the Roman Catholic church as the second coming. But now we're at the middle of the book. How do we save the day?

Well the Book of Revelations has God save the day, and perhaps He/She will. I'm not entirely sure, but I don't want deus ex machina to win the day. I want the hero to do it. And that's the part of the story I have to work on. All this stuff goes in way above the average person's head. Maybe the hero will try to warn the governments, maybe they'll listen to him. Anyways, I'm tired and I have more of doing nothing tomorrow.

The ZPND Principle

2006-06-18T22:55:00.000+10:00

Two posts in one day?! O_o Woah. The world is collapsing around my ears right now. So in the roleplay I am currently involved in we just encountered something so cliche it was original. It's a fantasy RP, so you might expect there to be cat women or fairies, elves, and of course the most cliche enemy of them all, dragons. But alas for there are many cliches. Legions of ninjas seem to be able to hide in shadows and then spring out of nowhere, until the room clogged with ninjas is invisible to you from all the Sight checks you're failing. Pirates rank pretty close behind the ninjas, raiding into the towns and of course attacking our heroes on their ships. These aren't just any pirates, these are... sky pirates! The new breed of cliche enemy.

With earth, wind, fire and water, our powers combined summon forth captain Elemental. Whether elemental blobs, slimes, atronachs or just plain old elementals, these guys are the moderately more difficult enemies. From small to moderate, undead enemies, most especially zombies rank next on the list. Zombies make every horror movie complete and no horror movie is complete without some form of them. Maybe that's why The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was such a crappy movie. But then again, I doubt even the presence of our flesh flapping friends could have saved that movie. Then you have your slightly more unique forms of undead, from skeletons to wraiths. And finally for the smaller cliche enemies you have the orc/goblin/hobgoblin which really, once you look at the etymology, hobgoblins are actually nice guys prone to playing tricks. They aren't really evil. Orcs on the other hand... Tolkein was the first to use the word "orc", probably from the name for Pluto: Orcus.

And the dragons, demons and gods come in the large section. Dragons exist in almost every fantasy game, story or world. They're the natural boss that people have no feelings for killing. Even in Warcraft where the dragons are sentient and peaceful they're the ones you kill for treasure. Makes you wonder how hard it must be to be a leprechaun or dragon. Everyone's after your gold.

So we went for a more cliche and therefore more original enemy. A zombie dragon. Of course if we'd wanted to go all the way we could have had an Undead Ninja Pirate Dragon. But that'll be for another day. Tolkein would be turning in his grave. He's probably wishing he invested in some net connection down there too.

A bit of history

2006-06-18T00:37:00.000+10:00

I planned to do one of these per day, but it seems it's already 12:40am on the next day, so I guess that fell through. So how are these holidays going now? I have to find some kind of work. It will probably be either one of the many retail places I whored my resume out to, or I'll advertise for tutoring.

I guess if I want to be a writer I'll have to start actually writing into newspapers, competitions, magazines, and things like that. I mean, I'm an alright editor. I have passable grammar. And my writing is good bordering on melodramatic. Starting a blog should help. I find that practicing writing really helps improve it. For example, within three months of joining Galadoria I'd almost doubled my writing skills. And my editing skills. Hell, now I'm a mod on that forum and one of the best RPers. I even won a Tournament on it.

So why haven't I spread my stories around? Problem is, I can't seem to come up with anything original. Back when I used to program games in Multimedia Fusion they'd be excellent platformers, but all based on Commander Keen (bless you, Keen). My art is best when it is an adaptation of something existing already. My stories, likewise, incorporate elements from a range of sources.

Yet I do have some plans for a story. I was thinking... a mix of sci fi and fantasy, perhaps with a bit of crime fiction mixed in there. Although, now that I think of it, adding in the sci fi wouldn't do much. So probably I'd best stick with the fantasy/crime fiction. I've never seen it done before. And the way people lap up crime fiction. Who knows. A literary agent might just love it.

It will involve many myths and mythical creatures. The main character will be a kitsune, because again, I have never seen this done before. Ever. I've been looking through Celia Dart-Thornton's Bitterbynde series (sorry if I didn't get the name right) for some old Celtic myths, looking through Greek myths (Ovid's Metamorphoses), some Egyptian ones. But I have yet to settle on a crime. I'll tell you guys when I find one though.

That's all for now. Please excuse any grammatical mistakes and the overuse of commas and full stops. I wanted to finish this tonight/this morning so I could go to bed.

The Mystery Revolution

2006-06-16T20:44:00.000+10:00

English exam today. It was funny, I was scared it would bite me, or like... they'd gas us when we went into the exam room. And on the other hand, I was excited, because it would be the final exam I would have to do for months, until the next cursed exam period showed its dirty face on my side of town again. I was also excited because I had no idea what they'd test us on, and there was that small chance that they'd test me on exactly what I'd been frantically reviewing in my last few seconds of free air.

Then I got into the exam and was completely disappointed. The exam was mundane and my mind had built up some kind of magical super-exam that I was to be taken. It's like when you watch a murder mystery and in the end the butler did it. Like... totally not expected.

And there's a thought. Why is everything a mystery or crime fiction these days? What was it before? Of course, I'd rather see a week of CSI: Miami than watch a minute of reality tv like Punk'd or Dancing with the Stars. But it seems people have found a winning set of conventions and have stuck with them forever. There's a little bit of change, but for the most part it comes down to some very specific generic conventions. So here are the conventions of the Mystery Revolution:

Firstly, the victim is presented being taken down. This is one of the major themes in the new Law & Order style crime tv. Check it out, we've got your traditional shows like CSI or Law & Order (which by the way I will never forgive them for replacing Goren with Logan in Criminal Intent), but then you have the more abstract ones like House or even Supernatural. The criminal, demon, disease, virus, crim, pickle or alien comes down and kills the victim, or seriously injures them. FLASH!

And we're in the next part of the Crime Fiction. Lately they've been trying to humanise our heroes. We end up getting snapshots, like Denozo in NCIS trying without much luck to hit on his female comrades. No surprise it comes from the director of JAG (the most awesome Crime Fiction/Courtroom Drama until Boston Legal). We used to get the extended story arcs of Harm and Mackenzie, and all our favorites. But this is the section where we get a snapshot of their lives, before they are rudely interrupted by the crime/disease/pickle. They remain above the action, and figure out how to solve the crime/disease/pickle without descending into the madness of the situation.

This next part is optional. Another victim(s) is struck down. This time we don't see it from their perspective, they just arrive at the hospital/morgue/picklejar and the detectives must link the cases together. Then comes the solving of the mystery. This is where it gets interesting. Each show does their investigating differently.

In a show like CSI or NCIS, they go straight to the lab, taking out all the forensics that could be given to them. In shows like Supernatural or House they go to the books, checking out previous cases. I believe this is how it used to work on Angel, Buffy, and a range of that type of drama/mystery. And then you get the really obvious and extreme examples such as Smallville, where you can almost undoubtedly blame either: Kryptonite or Luthercorp. Chloe almost always finds the criminal in this case (bless her heart).

Then you get the real action as they bust some ass. Clark does his thing, Sam and Dean go shoot or exorcise those demons, Gibbs goes and shoots someone, anyone. The theme is pretty solid here. You don't get anyone beating the other at chess. "What about our old friend, House?" you might ask. Well he kicks the most ass, because he basically shoots up random things in their body before the disease dissipates from a last minute risky business.

And then comes the resolution, where the heroes go back to their daily life and the victim's family, friends and fellow pickles are ignored.

And that's Crime Fiction for you.

The Golden Essay

2006-06-15T21:45:00.000+10:00

Linguistics test on today, and I think I killed it. But of course, one can never tell until the results come back. For instance, certain presidential votes, prime ministerial debates... most political debates. Heck, we didn't think the Big Bang theory was real until we found the Cosmic Background Radiation. And if we never found that we'd still have a Heliocentric diskworld on the back of a turtle!

Five questions, each of equal weighting, each given half an hour to finish, and I finished the first two in twenty minutes. Sometimes that's dangerous, the moment you think you've won that's when you lose. It's a trick in some martial art styles, weaker animals play dead to escape from the jaws of death at the last minute, students who you think are the dumbest in the class suddenly get grade A's (and that's not with cheating). But I'm pretty sure I did well enough here, passed the test and that's what counts.

So I'm moving on from Philosophy and onto something more concrete like World Histories. I did well enough on the old ones, handed in the final essay on Tuesday, worked so hard on it I'm surprised it didn't glow with the pure inner power of it. Perhaps the marker will be so temporarily blinded by the pure awesomness of it that it will get full marks without even needing to be read. Yes, this is the essay which we can just post in the mail to North Korea, Israel, Pakistan, and the entire Middle East, and perhaps America as a last go off. They'd be so amazed by it that they'll declare peace on the spot just to promote even more essays like it in the world.

The world will sing the praises of the bountious essay, it will go on show in The Louvre, with a ten-block line up, just to see it. Hah! But then someone will claim they wrote it, I'd dispute it, but only to get the money to live my life in a secret Bat Cave or Fox Den or whatever. They'll get a team of such high class lawyers that I won't stand a chance to win, until I hire James Spader as Alan Shore to fight on my behalf and eventually win because William Shatner as Deni Crane slept with every member of the jury.

And there's the theme again, because they'll think they've won when "Deni Crane!" rings out through the courtroom before they declare it in my favour and with damages paid to every charity in the world.

Then I'll threaten to destroy the essay unless Africa destroys all its guns and drugs, and they'll do it, just to save the essay.

And then I'll wake up.

Grammar Ghosts

2006-06-14T19:49:00.000+10:00

Linguistics tomorrow. The subject I seem to be able to do very well in just by doing nothing. But it's a trap you see, because just as I think I'm flying through the valley of death, avoiding and not seeing all evil, I find my fuel tank will probably cut short, drop me down, and I'll be stuck in the midst of a clan of hobgoblins, all after my grammar-blood.

Grammar-blood I figure is that thing which makes people type properly on the internet. There are a lot of people who seem to have their grammar-blood drawn out, or they'll injure themselves and some incompetant doctor will let it flow out into the void. See... without this blood you tend to overuse ellipses...commas,...sometimesmiss, spaces...,oryoumiss... capitalsorperiodsi am, demonstrating... somethinglike it, right now. dontforget loss of apostraphes, ,doublepunctuation..., orspelingmisteaks,,...soiand u fin'tard,,2readit.

And when people have their grammar-blood bled out, they are grammatically dead. No one can talk to them on the internet and they go off to their own little grammar hell. Occasionally little, scared boys will call on one of them, "I see grammar-dead people, they're everywhere, and they don't know they're dead."

I figure there must be a few ways people become grammar-dead. It's a dangerous affair, being on the internet and using text messages. Hundreds of grammar-ghosts haunt the digital netstreams, trying as hard as they can to assault other's senses with their horrible writing! And sometimes they manage to kill someone with it. Constant stab wounds from their words bleed us all dry.

The dead haunt us still, but some of them have always been that way. Some writers are stillborn, never having known better. Some of them succumb to the constant lolmgxxx!!1one's. And some of them fall victim to the grammar-vampyres. These undead grammarians come out at night and flood the forums, blogs and chatboxes, sucking dry the hopes of us grammar literate. They are characterised by their sneaky ways of beginning with moderately competant grammar, then slowly getting worse and worse. Pretty soon they'll need a victim, so they find someone, chat with them, slowly suck them dry. Then when the victim is completely grammar illiterate, they disappear to another forum, using the temporary burst of grammar-blood to entrap another. You can spot them by looking for misplaced commas, or by trying to make one attachment on a single forum and only hanging onto them. If you become that victim, get your grammar stakes and shovels and get them through the heart, then bury them. Avoid at all costs.

The worst thing that can happen is that they will feed you some of their grammar-blood and you will turn into them.

But there is a small group of elites, holding off against the hoardes of grammar-ghosts. There are a few strongholds left, but each is under assault. The few who go out on forays for supplies never return, but we hold onto a hope: a hope that once all food and grammar has disappeared from this world, we will re-emerge and reclaim the world.

Law Wars Episode I

2006-06-13T22:07:00.000+10:00

I woke in the early morning. It was dark out. My alarm failed me.

It has been dealt with.

I don't tolerate failure from a mechanical robot whose only purpose is to assist me in my waking. So I woke up in darkness half an hour early, listening for the predicted beeping of my alarm, drifting in and out of a comatose sleep. An hour passed before I drifted groggily to look over at the glowing clock on the desk. It shouted out that I was half an hour late.

Wearily I rolled myself out of bed and hit the ground with a thunk. But if I expected sympathy for my pains, all I got was an overenthusiastic dog who spotted a chance to get a few licks in on my face. After I'd managed to fight off the Cerberus, I crawled back to the computer. An assignment I'd left to the last minute and it was due that day. Lucky for me, it wasn't due till 5 and it was only 1000 words.

Now came the race against time as I struggled to: read, comprehend, take notes, and write. All this in six hours. The good news is, I now know the Public/Private divide better than I ever could possibly have known. Bad news is, I'm tired, worn out, and have been going straight out for almost a week.

Yes, the law monster almost got me but I managed to escape. The clamping jaws of the essay tried to bite down on my brain, but with a combination of skill, willpower and caffeine I broke from its clamping vicegrip. It's kinda like that evil enemy that comes in the beginning of the movie and kills the hero's family then comes back at the end of the movie for the final showdown. But it really is more like a serial television show, where the enemy comes back every few episodes for a fight, and one of the two only just manage to escape.

This time I only just got away, but I'll be back, better than ever and for the second showdown.

But I'm sure you guys don't want to read about that.

So anyways, allow me to explain what it means in my About Me section. I claim to be able to shapeshift, transverse dimensions, collect elements, fight evil demons, etc. And you have the right to disbelieve that, or perhaps suspend that disbelief and have a bit of fun reading the stories. Of course, they will be close to real events.

So the first real 'dimension jump' will be sometime this week or next. I'm excited, you're excited, we're all excited. So read on.

The Bill of Bosses

2006-06-13T06:16:00.000+10:00

First post huh? It doesn't feel too special I suppose. So here's basically my life in words, probably greatly novelised. If you find some similarities with daily life: yours or someone else's that you know, let me assure you that any resemblance to actual people or events are purely fictionalised and lies. No one featured in this blog will be a real person and they will all be constructions/fabrications what will you of my mind. That being said, I'd like to point out that the sentence last was actually complete lies. All blogs feature daily lives. That's why the voyeuristic people read them, to get into the mind of someone else, to feel what they feel, read how they write, think, etc, or even (and these are the weird people) because they are bored.

Procrastination is one of the reasons why I made this blog, but also to improve my writing a bit more. So I'm in the midst of this final essay on the normative legal system in Australia. Now you who live in the USA have it easy. You have a Bill of Rights, which is basically like a gigantic wall. Think the final boss in an RPG, or perhaps Colossus from X-Men. He's the guy you try to make some legislation or law, or interpret it to make a judgement. Then BANG! You hit this wall of absoluteness. You can't go past or around it, so the only thing you do is fight it.

This Bill of Rights is kinda like the final boss in Morrowind when you don't have the final items. (To readers not aquainted with this it goes like this: Big enemy guy, looks evil. Only way to kill him is to find two cursed items hidden around the world, hit him a few times with them, then hit his gigantic robot, then finally kill him. Difficult to do. Especially since without the cursed weapons you do nothing at all to him. 0 Damage.)

Abortion for instance, your Supreme Court (kinda like the mini-boss just before the Final Boss Chamber) ruled that "Abortion is legal." Now this is massively different to other countries which had to go through years of painful dungeon-crawling and level-grinding to get to that point. You'd think, "Wooo! Go women's rights!" (Well, some of you would. Others would be shouting, "Murderers!" at the tops of their lungs.) But in ways this is not good. Presidents have based their campaigns on not accepting to the post of Supreme Judge any candidate who does not vote either for or against overturning the law.

This is how it works: Your president and senators (who're like the game designers) have made this awesome game, including a Final Boss (The Bill of Rights). The only way you can defeat this boss is by finding magical items to slay him with (the Supreme Court Judges). Unfortunately due to a miscalculation on their part, the game has gone out of control and the magic items have vanished. So you try to get your customers (voters) to let you bring in some new items to kill off the Final Boss. But of course, you have to be careful. Changing data in the game this late in development risks creating software glitches and bugs. And worst of all, killing the Final Boss ends the game.

And no one wants this game to end.

So what can you as people do? Go for that Bill of Rights, stand up for the Final Boss and join his ranks of evil minions. Fight the hero, because all the hero is interested in doing is slaying the ultimate force in the game and ruining the fun for everyone else.