Cthulhus Ruf #1 published

Ever since Pegasus decided to discontinue the "Cthuloide Welten" in Spring last year, there have been discussions about a possible follow-up magazine. Luckily, Pegasus supported the idea, and - even more luckily - the writers of the german Cthulhu blog Cthulhus Ruf took up the challenge. (Guys, you are the Greatest!)
End of last month, the wait was finally over.
Cthulhu's Ruf #1 was published.

And it looks absolutely brilliant.

 It's a fan-made, non-profit magazine. But the authors are the same people that already wrote for the Cthuloide Welten. Layout and editorial work though, are now in the responsibility of new people.

This issue presents three scenarios for the Call of Cthulhu RPG: one for Cthulhu NOW, one for the traditional 1920s setting, and one for the more pulp Cthulhu Pirates. (It should be noted here that the 1920s scenario is set in Germany and is meant as the starting point for a campaign that is going to be further developed in the magazins next issues.)

The issue also features a set of magazine articles:
- a biography of famous German film director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (Nosferatu) which is rounded of by scenario ideas for the 1920s and NOW;
- a short review of China Mieville's works;
- an article about railroading in roleplaying adventures;
- an op-ed article on H.P. Lovecraft (literary figure or dime novel writer);
- Tips on how to use specific buildings as recurring settings within campaigns;
- a presentation of an universally usable NPC - complete with three possible backgrounds for him. (This brings back memories of TUO's Tales of Terror.)

The magazine is only available by mail order through the dedicated website:
http://www.cthulhus-ruf.de

PLEASE NOTE: If you are ordering the magazine from a European country other than Germany, you should get in contact with the responsible publishers by mail first. (Because the postage may vary.)

ALSO: I really shouldn't need to point this out (the cover should have given you the hint already), but here goes anyway: The magazine is written in German.

RPG Stuff 2012

First, let me say that I am horribly sorry for neglecting this blog for so long.

In my defence: I was really busy with coordinating and hosting our local creative writing group. (As anyone who checked my LiveJournal in the last month, will have noticed.) Actually, I have finished a first plot outline for my novel! How cool is that? I'm still astounded by that. Unfortunately it's exactly that: a first draft. And it has already become obvious that I'll have to rewrite the second act completely, but I'm not complaining. It's going forward and if I keep up with it, I'll probably finish writing the novel's first draft during this years Nanowrimo...

That said, I figured it was time to dive back into RPGing. I have only mastered a game once this year, and I feel that this lack of creative self-fulfilment is really bugging me. To be honest, I'm currently suffering of some kind of roleplaying withdrawal. I'm sure most long-time Gamers out there can relate...

So, here is what I am going to do:
Over the next weeks (and probably months) I will, little by little,  post those rpg related things that have accumulated on my desk and harddrive over the last year. Among these are: Summaries of the DWAiTaS Adventures I've already run with my gaming group (we are currently at episode 8 of 14), a small RPG System I created with a friend, recaps of game sessions (mostly regarding Call of Cthulhu), reviews of game books and other products. I have also started to sort through my notes on adventures I've written over the years and I'm planning to put them into proper written form. I plan to do so in German, but I'll still put summaries in English online (got to practise my English :-).

So, stay tuned for more posts soon.

Sherlock Holmes, put on your trousers!

Yes, it is true.
We waited and waited and waited, but finally the time has come - Sherlock is back!

Last Sunday brought us "A Scandal in Belgravia" and Irene Adler. And this Sunday will finally see the reimagening of the "Hound".

For all those who have trouble waiting, check out his nice interview with Mark Gatiss:
It seems, there's a real horror story coming up.

You have no idea how much I have looked forward for this one - or, well, perhaps you have. ;-)
Let's all knock on wood that it will be worth it. *knocks*

Happy new year!

Ein fröhliches Neues an euch alle.

Was sagen eure Neujahrsvorsätze für 2012?
Ich habe mir vorgenommen, in diesem Jahr mehr und vor allem regelmäßiger zu schreiben.

Das ist einer der Gründe für eine grundlegende Veränderung in diesem Blog.

Ab jetzt werde ich mein LiveJournal ( http://tzuzuku.livejournal.com ) dazu benutzen, um meine Kurzgeschichten, Gedichte, und Fanfiction zu veröffnetlichen.
Damit bleibt dieser Blog hier dann außschließlich dem Rollenspiel vorbehalten.

Auf den ersten Blick mag das keine allzu große Veränderung sein. Immerhin habe ich bis dato ja ohnehin nicht so oft oder regelmäßig gepostet. Aber auch das soll sich ändern. :-)

Ich schwöre hiermit:
1) Vor und nach jedem Rollenspiel das ich leite hier im Blog zu posten (sei es mit Überlegungen, Abenteuerideen oder auch Spielberichten).
2) Auf LiveJournal nach und nach alle meine Texte zu veröffentlichen, die ich als fertig erachte. (Darunter auch eine Verschriftlichung unserer Doctor Who Kampagne!)

Also, ich hoffe, ihr bleibt uach trotz dieser Veränderungen treue Leser.
Und schaut gerne mal auf LiveJournal bei mir vorbei.

English readers, please, take note:  
All texts on my LiveJournal account will be in English, while this Blog will mostly switch to German. This is due to my roleplaying groups being all German speaking groups. If you are still inetrested in reading about our Dr. Who Campaign, please, check out my LiveJournal account, where I will be uploading an english language novelization of it starting next month.

See you all in 2012!

Accents?

Out of curiosity I took this test today:

What American accent do you have?
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net

New York City. You are most definitely from New York City. Not New Jersey, not Connecticut. If you are from Jersey then you can probably get into New York City in 10 minutes or less.

Take this quiz now - it's easy!

We're going to start with "cot" and "caught." When you say those words do they sound the same or different?

Same, no wait I mean different, maybe, a little bit different... Different Same

Considering that I actually learned Queens English in school, and have since conversed mostly with people from Britain, I guess this does make sense somehow. At least, comparing my own accent to that of different American guys I spoke with, New York Accent does seem to be the one accent that comes nearest to mine, anyway.  ;-)
However, it made me wonder... why is it, that New York Accent sounds so much more British than all the other American accents? Historical reasons? Migration? So many foreigners, that the accent kinda "evens out"???

Unter den Türmen Lambertis - Rollenspiel im Oldenburg der Zwanziger Jahre

Ich überlege ja nun schon seit einger Zeit an einem RPG-Setting für Oldenburg zur Zeit von Großherzogtum und Freistaat (also ca für die Jahre 1850 bis 1918).

Im Rahmen dessen leitete ich am letzten Monat ein erstes Szenario. Und, um das vorneweg zu schießen, es lief sehr gut. Ich hatte zwei Spieler, einen erfahrenen Rollenspieler und eine absolute Neueinsteigerin. Auf meinen "Einsteiger-"Vorschlag hin, spielte die Anfängerin einen SC, dessen Persönlichkeit ihrer eigenen 180% entgegengesetzt war. Der erfahrene Spieler nahm sich selber sehr zurück, um ihr den Einstieg zu erleichtern, und so spielten sie dann:
- einen sehr starken, aber nicht so ganz kleveren, Fleischer
- dessen jüngeren, schüchternen Bruder (angehender Buchbinder).
Beide hatte sehr viel Spaß.

Das Abenteuer begann unscheinbar am Freitag Abend in der Kneipe, wo man den Geburtstag eines Freundes feierte. Auf dem Weg zurück nach Hause beobachteten die Beiden dann eine geheimnisvolle Gestalt die etwas großes vom Gertrudenkirchhof trug...

My NaNo-Scrapbook 2011

I spend the last days working hard on my scrapbook for this year's Nano. Now, it's nearly finished. All that's left is to add the target wordcounts for each day, but hey, that's basically nothing.

So, take a look: