RogerBW

RogerBW, 1 year ago to random

#FalconGameBooks

Taking the detector tripod, you leave Falcon's Wing, and set it up behind a white adobe house that is adorned with many bright flowers. As the white gem begins to glow brightly you explore its psionic emanations with your mind. You find it is registering the presence of a segment of the Rack. It is lying in one of the buildings near the Great Pyramid. Putting the tripod back in Falcon's Wing, you head towards the pyramid. As you near it the babble of many voices grows louder. Rounding a large stone building you are presented with an awesome sight. You are at the top of a flight of one of the many stone steps leading down to an enormous plaza, surrounding the Great Pyramid. The plaza is filled with thousands upon thousands, a teeming crowd of Aztecs. Most are dressed simply in feathered shirts or robes, others are dressed richly in brightly patterned robes and head- dresses. The stairs that rise up the centre of the bricked pyramid are filled with hundreds of prisoners, almost naked, many covered in white down stuck to their bodies by their own blood. They are formed into a long column marching into the plaza itself. Aztec Eagle Knights, and Jaguar Knights, dressed in the skins of the jaguar from head to foot, are hemming them in. At the top of the pyramid are many black robed priests as well as what must be the Emperor Ahuitzotl, wearing the most incredible finery, with his retinue. The sight of what they are doing fills you with revulsion.

[cont'd]

RogerBW, 1 year ago (edited 1 year ago) to random

#FalconGameBooks

If the flyer hatch doors are fused shut […]

CAIN estimates that it will take you twenty-five minutes with his expert guidance to repair the damaged circuit of the flyer hatch door. Will you:

Leave Falcon's Wing without the flyer?

Spend time repairing the circuit which is located under the com-console?

RogerBW, 10 months ago to random

#FalconGameBooks

Falcon 6: At the End of Time

You are at your desk in the high security wing of the TIME building. As Chief of the Special Agent Section, you should be reading the status and liaison reports from the Monitoring Section, and the heap of paperwork from Research, Admin and so on. But you are gazing into space, thinking about your friend and subordinate. Agent Bloodhound, and the adventures you shared when you were also a field agent.

He has disappeared, vanished without trace just before a mission to find Agidy Yelov began. Not even Po-Ling of the Monitoring Section can offer a clue. Bloodhound was last seen in the Eiger Vault, setting out on a routine time trip to the timehole on Earth 1485 AD.

A loud bleeping sound interrupts your thoughts. It is your secretary, Ameena. 'Lord Jobanque has agreed to see you, Falcon.' Some time later you are seated in Jobanque's office.

'Well, Falcon, what can I do for our renowned Section Chief ?' he asks cheerfully.

'I would like to take the mission to find Bloodhound, Sir,' you state bluntly.

Jobanque frowns, pursing his lips, then he sighs resignedly: 'I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that, Falcon ...' He pauses and then continues quickly, There is to be no attempt to find him.' He puts up his hand in a gesture of appeasement as you start in anger and astonishment. 'Hold on. Let me explain. Skirrow of Research has found something very unusual about the timehole Bloodhound visited. It is not as other holes, Falcon. He wants time to examine it closely - its abnormal nature is almost certainly the cause of Bloodhound's disappearance. Skirrow's theory is that Bloodhound is either trapped for ever in null- space or was simply atomised the moment he engaged the Variac Drive of his Time Machine. For all intents and purposes, we must assume Bloodhound is dead.'

You stare at Jobanque for a moment. 'I cannot believe that,' you reply.

[cont'd]

RogerBW, 10 months ago to random

#FalconGameBooks

[Restarting with a completely new thread in case that was hiding these posts from people…]

You ask your secretary for Chameleon and Blade's report. She tells you Yellowblades is on-line and you ask Ameena to put him through on the holovid. Yellowblades' massive form seems to appear before you. There is a fresh scar on his shoulder. Normally Autodoc treatment leaves no scars - it seems Yellowblades prefers to keep his battlescars - presumably a Rigellian form of battle honours. He looks pleased and begins to tell you what has happened. It appears the agents materialised in a large colony ship without hyperdrive that was filled with colonists frozen in deep sleep to be awakened when the ship reached its destination. Its course had been changed. As they headed for the Control Room of the ship, they were attacked by the Thaccoid, but they were able to kill it. 'It was a magnificent battle. Unfortunately Chameleon was hurt early on, but I was able to slay the beast. It was a formidable opponent,'he says, and then continues: 'Yelov was found at the Control Room but the Symbiont appeared in his Time Machine and they escaped. Apparently Yelov had redirected the Colony ship towards the recently discovered hostile alien sector of the Galaxy. The ship would have alerted them of the Federation's presence 200 years ago and the likely outcome would have been a devastating attack whilst the Federation was still weak. Chameleon and I put the ship back on course.'

'How is Chameleon?' you ask.

'He is recuperating in hospital - only an overnight stay. He is a brave warrior and I was honoured to fight with him.' You commend Blade on his prowess and, visibly, he swells with pride. At least his morale is riding high, you think to yourself as you break holo contact. Yelov has been thwarted, anyway, although you failed to prevent the polybdenum raid.

[cont'd]

RogerBW, 11 months ago to random

#FalconGameBooks

We're back!

In Book 4: Lost in Time Skirrow of the Research Section had come up with a way of travelling into the future - never before attempted successfully. Falcon volunteered. A future trip was made but in attempting to return home Falcon was hopelessly lost amid the myriad timeholes of the space time continuum, cast adrift on the winds of time. After many strange adventures Falcon was able to activate a Stasis Field, thousands of years in the past, and wait, frozen in time, until the 31st century. Upon returning, Falcon was given a holiday on the pleasure dome of Titan - but not for long. Yelov has been seen once more, this time with powerful allies ...

Mission Brief

Rested and revitalised after experiencing the exotic delights of the pleasure dome on Titan, Jobanque's summons to join him in his office for your next mission briefing sends a tingle of excitement through you.

Jobanque's smile, as welcoming as ever, matches the twinkle in his eye as he enquires after your welfare. Your ordeal following the attempt at future travel which lost you in time left you tense and fatigued at your last meeting, but you are able to assure the Lord of TIME that you have regained your enthusiasm for the job. He laughs out loud when you ask, in mock apprehension, whether Section Chief Skirrow of the Technical Section has any new inventions for you to try - it was his addition to the Variac Drive of Falcon's Wing that sent you into a parallel universe.

Jobanque soon becomes serious: 'I expect you'll enjoy this mission, Falcon. Search and Destroy. Your target is your mortal enemy, Yelov. Find him and kill him. We cannot afford to allow him to live. You may use all available agents as long as someone is delegated to police the timelines.'

[cont'd]

RogerBW, 9 months ago to random

#GreyStar

As promised, here is Grey Star the Wizard, the first of the four books that make up the Grey Star side story in the world of Magnamund - contemporary with [#LoneWolf, but far to the south, across the Sadi Desert.]

[As usual only the first post in each block will be Public - others will be Unlisted, so as not to clog up my local server's timeline. If there's more to see, the post will end with "[cont'd]" and you can click on it to get the next.]

Of the Coming of Grey Star

Ancient days they were when first the Shianti set foot upon the land that men call Magnamund. Long had they journeyed through the void, homeless wanderers in search of a place to call their own. And so it was that when the Shianti first looked upon the face of the land, their hearts were raised in wonder. They saw a world of nameless mountains, untamed forests, and lands both wild and free. Here they chose to cease their wanderings and to devote themselves to the study and appreciation of this newfound land.

To the delight of the Shianti, the race of man first emerged at this time and they watched his early struggle towards civilization with eager concern. Like gods the Shianti seemed to the minds of primitive men. Tall and proud, shining with a radiance that spoke of magic and arcane mystery, the Shianti moved among them and with their powers of wizardry, aided man in his development.

[cont'd]

RogerBW, 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago) to debian

Help me lazyelephant. After #Debian upgrade from 11 to 12, the #amdgpu kernel module no longer loads for my Radeon Pro WX5100 ("No such device"). Shows up all right in lspci. firmware-amd-graphics is installed and right version. Thoughts?

[yes, non-free-firmware IS enabled and the files are installed]

RogerBW, 8 months ago to Podcast

Is 1986's Big Trouble in Little China a masterpiece? Could it have been Crouching Tiger fourteen years early? Find out what @lordof1 and I thought in #RibbonOfMemes https://ribbonofmemes.org.uk/archive/2023/Big_Trouble_in_Little_China__1986_.html #Podcast #Film #Movies

RogerBW, 9 months ago to random

#GreyStar

2: The Forbidden City

You are Grey Star, trained in the ancient lore of a Shianti Wizard. For sixteen years you dwelt in safety on the Isle of Lorn, the hidden realm of the magical Shianti race, until Acarya, High Wizard of the Shianti sent you upon a dangerous quest to save your own people, the race of man, from Shasarak, the tyrannical Wytch-king of Shadaki. Held by their ancient vow to the goddess Ishir, the Shianti are unable to leave their island and come to the aid of man themselves. As a human, no such promise prohibits you from leaving the island and you have been sent to recover the Moonstone and use its power to throw down the Wytch-king.

The Moonstone, an artefact possessing the combined force of all Shianti power, is hidden on the Daziarn plane, which can only be entered by finding one of its portals. You seek the Shadow Gate, but it never remains in one place for longer than a day and is invisible to human sight. For this reason you began to search for the ‘Lost Tribe of Lara,' a race of magical, but primitive creatures called the Kundi. They possess the gift of Astral Vision, enabling them to see magic portals and gateways to other planes and dimensions. Once, the Kundi inhabited the forests of the Mountains of Lara. When Shasarak's Shadakine army first invaded the free provinces of the south, they came by way of the Mountains of Lara, through the Morn Pass. The Shadakine armies were constantly ambushed and delayed by the Kundi as they made their way south, and the Kundi always eluded them, disappearing into the dense forest before the Shadakine could retaliate. Finally, in desperation, the Wytch-king burnt down the mountain's forests and the Kundi were forced to flee from his wrath and disappeared. Only the vision and the guidance of a Kundi man will enable you to enter the Daziarn plane and find the Moonstone, and less than a month ago you began your search.

[cont'd]

RogerBW, 11 months ago to random

Is 2020's Promising Young Woman a masterpiece? Just how much fuel does it take to consume a human body? Find out what @lordof1 and I thought in #RibbonOfMemes https://ribbonofmemes.org.uk/archive/2023/Promising_Young_Woman__2020_.html #Podcast #Film #Movies

RogerBW, 7 months ago (edited 7 months ago) to random

#GreyStar

‘Wait here,' you instruct Tanith.

‘Wait?' she retorts, defiantly. ‘Have I not stood by you in the face of terror, fought at your side, matched you, courage for courage, deed for deed?' She sniffs derisively. ‘I'll not stand back now like some feeble girl afraid of her own shadow!'

[Go Tanith!]

You know there is no point in arguing with her, especially when so much of what she says is true. The two of you stride forward, prepared to meet whatever danger awaits you together.

You have travelled for two miles when Tanith stops, peering into the shimmering heat haze and shielding her eyes against the sun with her hand. ‘They come,' she says, dispassionately.

Following the direction of her gaze, you see something stirring in the distance. You notice a low dust haze hanging in the air, a running cloud drifting against the flat expanse of the plain. There are four runners and they are heading straight towards you. As they come closer, you are able to see that they are ghastly, malformed creatures, each deformed in a different way. These are demons, summoned long ago by the Wytch-king, Shasarak, to plague the tribe of the Masbaté, the warrior people that ruled here before Shasarak unleashed the demonic horde that destroyed them. When the demons had fulfilled their purpose, Shasarak left them to roam these plains at will, instead of returning them to the deep hell from which he summoned them. The leading creature has green, shining skin and a tail. Its neckless head bears the features of a toad. With a feral scream it charges towards you. The others follow.

→ Use Sorcery?
→ Use Thaumaturgy?
→ Use Telergy?
→ Attempt a long-range attack with your Wizard's Staff?
→ Wait for them to approach, so that you can engage them in close combat?

["Use Enchantment" is also an option; comment if you want that one.]

RogerBW, 10 months ago to Podcast

#RibbonOfMemes has made it to the present day! How did our film-watching lives get to this point, and what are we going to do next? https://ribbonofmemes.org.uk/archive/2023/Second_Anniversary.html #Podcast #Film #Movies

RogerBW, 9 months ago to Podcast

Are Commando, Predator and The Running Man masterpieces? Well, um. Find out what @lordof1 and I thought in #RibbonOfMemes https://ribbonofmemes.org.uk/archive/2023/Commando__Predator_and_The_Running_Man.html #Podcast #Film #Movies

RogerBW, 1 year ago to random

Is 2019's Uncut Gems a masterpiece? Is it even a film? Find out what @lordof1 and I thought in #RibbonOfMemes https://ribbonofmemes.org.uk/archive/2023/Uncut_Gems__2019_.html #Podcast #Film #Movies

RogerBW, 7 months ago to random

#GreyStar

If Spittlethrift speaks the truth in saying that you cannot leave the Neverness without the aid of the Academicians, then you have little choice. Tanith flashes you a look that says, ‘I do not trust him.' But you can only shrug a reply. You agree to steal the Threnogem from the Elessin of the Singing City.

‘Good, good. Marvellous, in fact,' says Spittlethrift, joyously. ‘Come with me to the laboratory.'

You are led to a high-ceilinged chamber lit by a curious, pulsing light. The room is filled with strange, ornate machines of gleaming metal. Lights flicker and you hear a throbbing hum and a continual, metallic, mechanical ring. Several Academicians tend the machines, pushing buttons and pulling levers, though to what purpose you cannot guess.

‘Grey Star, Tanith—allow me to introduce you to Crabkey, one of our greatest and most ingenious inventors.'

You recognize the shabby man who turns to greet you; he was the man who sat in the armchair when you first entered the chamber of the Academicians. In the strange lurid glow of the laboratory his shadowed, bulging eyes make him appear even more sinister than before. ‘We meet again,' you say uncomfortably.

Crabkey stares at you without speaking. Spittlethrift breaks the silence: ‘Mr Crabkey is the inventor of the machine that will enable you to journey to the Realm of the Singing City, aren't you, Crabkey, old chap?' Crabkey continues to stare at you insolently. With a slow blink of his huge eyes, he makes an unintelligible sound in the back of his throat and nods.

‘Yes, yes,' says Spittlethrift half to himself. ‘Come now, young Wizard and pretty mistress Tanith, come see his wonderful creation.' Mounted on a small dais in the centre of the laboratory is a most unusual machine. ‘This,' says Spittlethrift proudly, ‘is the Ethetron, the flying machine that will carry young Grey Star through the realms of the Daziarn, and to the Singing City to fetch our prize.'

[cont'd]

RogerBW, 11 months ago to random

Are the Toy Story films masterpieces? @lordof1 and I go beyond infinity in #RibbonOfMemes https://ribbonofmemes.org.uk/archive/2023/Toy_Story_4__2019_.html #Podcast #Film #Movies

RogerBW, 7 months ago to random

#GreyStar

The Story So Far…

You are Grey Star, trained in the ancient lore of a Shianti wizard. For sixteen years you have dwelt in safety on the Isle of Lorn, the hidden realm of the magical Shianti race, until Acarya, High Wizard of the Shianti, sent you upon a dangerous quest to save your people, the race of man, from the evil rule of Shasarak, the tyrannical Wytch-king of the Shadakine Empire. Held by their ancient vow to the Goddess Ishir, the Shianti are unable to leave their island and come to the aid of man themselves but no such promise prohibited you from leaving the island and you were sent to recover the Moonstone and use its power to defeat the Wytch-king.

The Moonstone, an artefact that possesses the combined force of all Shianti wisdom and power, was hidden on the Daziarn plane and you first had to find the invisible gateway to the Daziarn, the Shadow Gate. To help you find the Shadow Gate, you sought the Lost Tribe of Lara, a race of magical but primitive creatures called the Kundi, who possess the gift of astral vision, enabling them to see magic portals and gateways to other planes and dimensions. When Shasarak's Shadakine army first invaded the free provinces of the south, they came through the forests of the Mountains of Lara where the Kundi lived, and were constantly ambushed and delayed by the Kundi. The Kundi always eluded them, disappearing into the dense forest before the Shadakine could retaliate and, finally, in wrath, the Wytch-king burnt down the forests and forced the Kundi to flee south. No one knew where they came to rest.

[cont'd]

RogerBW, 11 months ago (edited 11 months ago) to random

Can the PCs survive the Empire? Can the Empire survive the PCs? https://discussion.tekeli.li/t/star-wars-starfall/4886 #TTRPG #ActualPlay #WhartsonHall

RogerBW, 9 months ago (edited 9 months ago) to random

#GreyStar

Urik has routed out a supply of Lianor and hands you three of the blue tubers. Each tuber counts as one Meal and you store them in your Backpack. You set off at once, for the success of your quest depends on haste.

You travel for two days, through the swamp forest, clambering over a jumble of twisted roots. It is a tiring journey.

Growing beside a small pool of murky water, you notice the yellow flowers of a Karmo bush. If you possess an empty Vial, you may squeeze the clear liquid that is contained within the buds of the flower into the Vial. This potion, when taken before combat, will double your ENDURANCE and WILLPOWER point totals for the duration of the combat. However, the side effects of the Karmo potion can be fatal. After taking the potion you must pick a number from the Random Number Table. The number that you pick equals the number of ENDURANCE points that you lose due to the side effects (0 = zero).

The atmosphere is heavy and humid, and it is hard to breathe. The effort of walking causes you to lose 1 ENDURANCE point as your lungs labour against the damp, cloying air. [But I'll use the Laumspur here to get back to 24/25.] The sun begins to set and the exhausted state of your body requires that you stop to rest for the night even though you are still within the confines of the swamp. Urik locates a bare, dry hillock and you stop there for the night. The air is alive with nocturnal insects and among them, to your dismay, you notice the distinct vermilion bodies of winged Blood Nymphs.

Before sleeping, you hunt out a Yabari bush. When pounded into an ointment and smeared into the skin, its roots are a potent protection against insect bites. Eventually, despite the half-light of the gloaming, you find a Yabari and set about making the ointment. When you have finished, you take the ointment back to Urik and you both cover yourselves thoroughly before settling down to sleep.

[cont'd] (also see https://emacs.ch/@RogerBW/110904837632322164)

RogerBW, 6 months ago to Podcast

Is 1999's The 13th Warrior a masterpiece? Or even John McTiernan's last good film? Find out what @lordof1 and I thought in #RibbonOfMemes https://ribbonofmemes.org.uk/archive/2023/The_13th_Warrior__1999_.html #Podcast #Film #Movies

RogerBW, 5 months ago to rust

I've finished #AdventOfCode 2023 day 3 in #Rust. https://codeberg.org/Firedrake/adventofcode2023

RogerBW, 4 months ago to rust

I've finished #AdventOfCode 2023 day 25 in #Rust. https://codeberg.org/Firedrake/adventofcode2023/src/branch/main/25 #RustLang

RogerBW, 4 months ago to boardgames

2023 in boardgames #BoardGames #BlogFiredrakeOrg https://blog.firedrake.org/archive/2024/01/2023_in_boardgames.html

RogerBW, 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago) to orgmode

Help me #LazyWeb. I want to insert something into my #OrgMode documents that will resolve to the current date (ISO8601) when I call org-latex-export-to-pdf—i.e. it will give the PDF document a visible last-edited date. I have some LaTeX that does this in LyX, but I haven't got Org to pass it through…

RogerBW, 23 days ago to books

An Old Friend of the Family, Fred Saberhagen #Books #Horror #BlogFiredrakeOrg https://blog.firedrake.org/archive/2024/04/An_Old_Friend_of_the_Family__Fred_Saberhagen.html