Steampunk Archaeology Ideas?

[TheAuldGrump]

I put it to an e-mail vote. Gargoyles by a landslide, six to zero, one abstaining. (And I was the one doing the abstaining.)

This means that I will have to do some planning, since I already have material for a year's worth of Fallout, and nothing for steampunk gargoyles.

This game will likely end in the next two to four weeks, most likely in a huge fuster cluck battle. The hard hitters for the team are a wheelman/firebrand with steam powered personal lieutenant and a small mob of union thugs, a soldier, with personal lieutenant that happens to be a lieutenant (ret.), and whoever the team can sucker into joining them. (So far the only ones they can be certain of is a werewolf sea/aerial captain, and the person that they thought was the villain back in the first scenario. They had to do some serious crow eating to get him on board, they did so at an in game meal that I mentioned above. There has been a lot of eating as this campaign wraps.)

Starting a new thread for the new campaign.

The Auld Grump

[TheAuldGrump]

I find it interesting that the players are not fighting the retirement of the campaign, and that having promised myself that it was going to be episodic, with no underlying plot, it did end up having one. And that I started that plot on the first game. 

I guess that I am just not built for running campaigns with no real arc, aside from the Scoobypunk game. It is also strange how I have become happier with that campaign the longer it has been since I ran it. I think some part of me was just annoyed with for it not having an arc or two, but just weekly Saturday afternoon episodes.

Jen hugged me today when I admitted that I was going to run the Gargoyles campaign, I guess she has really been looking forward to this.

The Auld Grump

[TheAuldGrump]

Two hour game tonight. Four hour barbecue. I ate a substantial percentage of the ribcage of a cow.

Going to be the end of June/beginning of July for the wrap.

The Auld Grump

[TheAuldGrump]

Oh, lawzie. One of the girls in my steampunk campaign just propositioned me tonight. Asked if I were working tomorrow, and if not, would I want to spend the night with her. I told her that I am working tomorrow, and I am, and she told me later then, and that there will be a later.

Frankly, I am scared spitless, literally, my mouth went dry. She is almost ten years younger than my girlfriend, eighteen years younger than I am. The difference in our ages is old enough to vote. I am wondering if there was some way I could have noticed this coming, maybe when we played in the Oh, Canada! campaign together, or when she asked me to paint her figures for her. I thought that she was teasing me, but now I just don't know.

I don't know if or what to tell my girlfriend, we didn't do anything, but lords above and below, I just feel this need to confess. Hells, I think I know Jackie's response better than I do about asking her about it. (She'd laugh, she has to pretty much everything else that I have confessed to her.) But I feel like I have this big target painted on my chest. My first thought was 'and things were going so well....'

I really and truly have no desire to be in a soap opera. What I don't understand is that I feel ashamed at having turned her down at the same time I am feeling guilty that she asked me. Thank gods I don't drink much, or I might be tying one on tonight.

The Auld Grump, if I were prone to panic attacks I would be having one now.

[Mister Andersen]

Yes, you absolutely confess the hell out of this. Becuase as sure as its funny when you tell her, it becomes hugely unfunny if she finds out first.

[TheAuldGrump]

Yes, you absolutely confess the hell out of this. Because as sure as its funny when you tell her, it becomes hugely unfunny if she finds out first.

Yeah, I had already come to that conclusion, and sent Jackie an e-mail before I could chicken out, and asked her to call me tomorrow. I really feel the need to talk to her, and hear her voice. Maybe she can come down next weekend (if she can then I am going to blow off the game).

I have known [Name Redacted] for six years, she was in my Changeling LARP and my Pirate LARP, and has been playing in my tabletop game for almost as long. But she is poaching, and she knows that she is poaching. Dammit, I thought she was teasing me, because of the pretty way I turn bright pink when she flirts with me - I didn't think that she meant it.   Hell, I am pretty sure that she does know it. I always sort of assumed that she has somebody.

I have had a bit to drink, most likely a bad idea, but at least it seems to have settled my nerves. About two shots of whiskey, mixed with a quart of lemonade. (I am a short hitter.)

Weird, drinking does not seem to have affected my typing... I always sort of assumed that my typing would be slower, and that my spelling and grammar would go to pot, but I just seem to have become more loquacious than normal. That, and my train of thought seems to be stopping at every station and whistle stop.

The Auld Grump

*EDIT* The current steampunk game ended tonight, in the expected big battle - no PC casualties, but half the team rolled on the Table of Ouch, and one had to roll on the table of Sproing as MOLOCH tried to take over the Christian Magus' mind. (Given that the Christian Magus was using his magic to protect the rest of the team, not a bad idea. Fortunately, it ate up enough time breaking his mind that two turns later the team managed to rupture its boiler. Which, in turn, is why two of the characters had to roll on the Table of Ouch.... Captain Bowdoin said his goodbyes, as did the people that Mr. Siegersen sent with the team. Siegersen is bringing down the organization that funded the building of the MOLOCH Engine.

[TheAuldGrump]

Ah, one short e-mail ('Doooode! You should totally dooooo her!'  ) and one long phone call later, my equilibrium is returning.

Jackie accused me of being 'so Catholic' (which I can't really argue with, a decade or so of parochial school leaves a mark, especially since at one point I was considering going for the collar), with my replying that given my public confessions more of a Northern Baptist. This led to Jackie checking the forums - I found out that Jackie did not know of my online persona as The Auld Grump - we only share one web forum (Mudcat) and neither of us are all that active there. On the flip side, she could tell that I was the one posting, once she read the posts.

She made one major correction - Jackie and I met in 1990, we have known each other for twenty years, and have been seeing each other for sixteen. The girl in my steampunk game is as old as I was when Jackie and I first met. I remember the day and the month clearly, but am a decade off on the year....

Jackie pointed out that while i mentioned that 'if the girl had been ten years older' several times, I never once wished that I was ten years younger - that I am happy and secure in being the older person that I am. She also made some suggestions that I will take under advisement, but most likely not act upon. (Seriously suggesting that I take the girl up on the offer - that I am in a rut, am content in the rut, and this might get me out of the rut. I do not understand Jackie, I agree about the rut, but I am content with just Jackie, thank you ever so.) Part of me wants to give Jackie the girl's phone number, so they can talk it out (i.e. Jackie frightening her off), and part of me is afraid that they would end up comparing notes....

Jackie has a BS in Psych, sometimes it shows... Other times it leads to her setting up a date between me and her sister, leaving two confused people going 'what the Hell was she thinking?!' (This was about fourteen years ago, going by the timeline that Jackie hammered home. Jackie was going to Sterling College in Vermont at the time.) Jackie has an odd and widespread education, nutritional sciences, dendrology, and psychology. Much odder than my focus on history, military history, and religion. (Jackie is actually much more religious than I am, for me religion is a puzzle, for her it is a part of her life.)

In any event, I will be seeing Jackie on Friday, and then doing character generation for the Gargoyles game on Saturday. By then I should be mostly sane again.

The Auld Grump, I really don't deserve Jackie, but I am ever so glad that she is there.

[Mister Andersen]

You know, I'm fairly certain that most everyone of us either knows or is someone who would kill for a Significant Other who's response to this situation is "Go for it!". 

[TheAuldGrump]

Heh - I am firmly of the opinion that at least part of the reason is that I am not at all likely to 'go for it'. I am a fuddy duddy, and proud of it! (Not to mention paranoid - my curmudgeon senses are tingling....) I think that I will chalk this up to 'I don't understand!' and move on from there.

Then again, she did set me up with her sister once, while she was at college. (Dear gods, I have nothing in common with Riley - she seems to have Tank Girl as a lifestyle.... Both of us were left thinking that Jackie was crazy.)

The Auld Grump

[Nepenthe]

Youth is wasted on the young, and all that action on the Auld.

[TheAuldGrump]

Youth is wasted on the young, and all that action on the Auld.

Not so much action as awkward.

A whole lot of awkward.

One of the other players told me today that [name redacted] had broken up with her significant other two weeks ago, messily.   So I was sort of her rebound shot.

I will be sitting down and talking to her, most likely over a meal. (I tend to grasp for the comfort of meals when stressed. It is a wonder that I don't weigh 200 pounds right now.) Then I plan on another long phone call with Jackie. Which reminds me, I need to get in some vegetarian fixings for Friday. I think curried something ought to do. (Actually, curried anything will do, as far as I am concerned. I love curry. ) I don't mind vegetarian chow, I just don't like it when it tries to pretend it is something else. (Soy hot dogs, I am looking at you!) Indian food is good for that, tastes wonderful, and does not try to pretend that it is a hamburger. I will need to ask Jackie if I should cook or if she wants to. We both enjoy cooking, if I cook it will be ready when she gets here, if she cooks, she is a better cook than I am, so we will probably need to hit the store for more spices.

Am I the only person who goes running for his girlfriend when somebody else make a play for me?  

I am feeling much more in control now, my only semi-regret is that somewhere in that semi-drunken addled state I ordered a new laptop online. I had already planned on it, even on that exact model, it just means that it got ordered four days earlier than planned. I have already passed on my old new laptop to my mom, which is why I am currently laptopless. (Used it for the grand finale of the steampunk game, music and sound effects, deleted my documents and sent it off this morning.)

The Auld Grump, so very glad that I am not a teenager right now.

[Nepenthe]

(I tend to grasp for the comfort of meals when stressed. It is a wonder that I don't weigh 200 pounds right now.)

I sympathise with that. And after the past 3-4 months, I weight more than 200 pounds.

[TheAuldGrump]

(I tend to grasp for the comfort of meals when stressed. It is a wonder that I don't weigh 200 pounds right now.)

I sympathise with that. And after the past 3-4 months, I weight more than 200 pounds.

175, and trying not to get much higher. One nice thing about putting on weight though, now I can float! I used to have negative buoyancy, so had to paddle like mad to swim, and couldn't float at all. (Not entirely true - I could float at about 40' down... not so good if you are trying not to drown. Me da was the same way.

The Auld Grump

[RusVal]

Erm, not to sound heartless or anything, but shouldn't you be discussing your, um, "problem" in the off topic forum?  Not to be mean or anything but I'm like "Hey, update in the 2.0 section!" and then I open it and go "Oh, the Auld dude's having romance issues...  ... okay..."

[MilitiaJim]

Don't worry about it.  We go tangential so fast it hurts physics teachers.  Somehow we'll go from my 230 pounds sinking in fresh water back to gargoyles not swimming well or something.