Burlesque Update #9

In my last Update I said that I was taking my solo performance out to shows both here in Wollongong and up in Sydney. A few weeks ago I did the first of these 'independent' shows, at a fundraiser for a local community group. The bill included live music and poetry readings and ... burlesque. One burlesque performance. Mine.

Photographer Aristo Risi captured my few minutes of glory.

A shot from behind the scenes - here I am briefing my daughter on setting up the music, whilst Mrs Kobold, ever the life and soul of a party, reads a book in the background.

It was an interesting, if nerve-wracking, experience doing a performance without either the support of the school or, since it was a 'non-burlesque' event, organisers who were experience in how things work. I made sure they were briefed in how a burlesque performance happens, and it all went smoothly.

My next outing is in a couple of weeks, at the monthly Burlesque In Hand show in Sydney. Here's the poster:

If you're Facebook inclined, I now have a performer page you can Like - Isadora Persano

Scrolling

After playing a couple of games of 'Four Against Darkness' I thought that scrolls could be made a little more interesting (and, by extension, the Treasure Table).

When a scroll is rolled on the Treasure Table, roll a D6

1 - It's a Map! See below.
2-5 - It's a Spell. Determine which one by the normal rules. Ordinarily it will be one of the six in the 4AD game, but maybe on a 5 it could be a new one that a Wizard can add to their repertoire.
6 - It's a Clue. Nice one, Velma!

A map? Yes. Hold on to it. You can use the map once before you enter any area. Instead of rolling a D66 to determine what's there, roll a D6. You can pick any one of the six options that start with that number. So if you roll a '3' you can choose any one of areas 31-36. You then roll on the Room Contents table, but if you don't like the result, you can roll again. The reroll must be made before rolling on any of the other tables though - if you get Minions you have to decide to reroll before you determine what they are.

As Seen On TV

Look! That's me on the telly!

The video of my two minutes of very minor fame back in about 1999 - an appearance on the 'Front Room' magazine programme on the (now defunct) BBC Knowledge channel. I talked about wargaming and my website, and the slot had some very nice shots of my American Civil War figures as a friend and I refought the 1861 Battle of Wilson's Creek.

I was slimmer in those days.

(The video was some kind of rough draft the BBC sent me - hence the time-code along the bottom. The photo was taken in 2006 for a Flickr challenge I used to do in those far-off innocent days.)

Thanks to Jolly Broom Man for triggering this memory.

Into The Darkness

I'm off into the wilds for a couple of weeks, and am travelling (relatively) light, so don't have room for miniatures, terrain or other gaming paraphernalia. So to keep me amused I'm going to try some old-school solo dungeon crawling, courtesy of Ganesha Games.

I have the basic game, plus some variant tables and a paragraph adventure. So I should have plenty to keep me busy.

I'll let you know how I got on when I return.

DBA And Hail Caesar

I was a non-player character last night, as I didn't want to commit to too much gaming on an evening when I was supposed to be packing for our forthcoming trip Up North. But I turned up to be sociable, and enjoyed spectating on a great game of DBA between Ian and Geoff - Carthaginians vs Spanish.

The figures were 25mm, and a delightful mix of old and new, including some veteran Prince August archers.

It was a long game, with no casualties for a lot of it as the Carthaginians plodded slowly forward, and the Spaniards tried to whittle them down. A good portion of both armies ended up fighting over a rocky hill on one flank, but neither commander could put much effort into the action - in DBA steep hills really screw up command and control. Eventually, despite their spearmen being attacked from all sides, the Carthaginians scored a breakthrough, and the lighter Spanish army disintegrated over a couple of turns to give the boys from Africa a win.

On the other table, Vic, Ralph, Caesar and Bryan played Hail Caesar. I'm not sure what the armies were - something Dark Agesish. It looked impressive, though.