Damn I Am Pretty Art Laboratories

Previous Part | Start of the Story | Next Part | More Noir Badarte Stories "You sure?"  Jesha put a hand on his shoulder.  "Noir, you're crying." "Its nothing."  Noir shook her hand off him.  "Please don't-" Noir didn't remember what else he said.  Just ringing from the explosion that knocked him to the ground.  Noir felt broken glass underneath him. It took Noir a moment for his hearing to return.  As the ringing stopped, his ghost senses tingled as Ellie turned toward him.  He could feel the slivers of emotion washing over the ghost, the uncertainty of the situation causing him to feel her nervous curiosity.  Noir tried to resist the apathetic wash of emotions. "What's happening?"  Ellie asked. "Noir, stay down."  Jesha's voice sounded more like a command.  Noir could hear a guttural undertone to it.  "Trouble." Noir looked up at the broken windows.  One of the cops was down, h...

Previous Part | Start of the Story | Next Part | More Noir Badarte Stories "You don't know anything about the afterlife?"  Ellie's eyes darted around. "Sorry, I'm just a guy with a talent for the dead.  Philosophy isn't really my gig."  Noir shrugged. Jesha took another sniff of the air around Ellie.  She still couldn't sense the dead girl, and looked imploringly at Noir.  Noir looked around, noting the odd looks from the cops stuck watching them interact with the corpse. "Why is she...?"  Ellie paused.  "Did she just try to smell me?  Can you smell ghosts?" "She's... well..."  Noir shrugged again.  "Jesha hold on a second.  Close your eyes and let me..." Jesha blinked at him.  "Let you what?" "Just hold still, okay?  You want to see her or not?" "Humph."  Jesha closed her eyes shut.  Noir placed her hand over them, a brief sparkle of purple flame passin...

In character journal entry follows for my groups first session of the " Wrath of the Righteous" AP .  My character is Henric Grafhamir, Paladin and the third noble son of a old Ustalavic Family that has been part of the Mendevian Crusades sense the beginning.  He thinks they are nothing but honorable and glorious stories, and is in for a bit of a problem when he runs into the truth of them... Things are worse than the stories my parents and grandparents had told me.  I had planned to arrive in Kenabres to take my oath as a Crusader, but even Iomedae couldn't predict the horrors this day had in store.  When I woke up in the dark, I didn't understand what happened- I tried to help others, despite the confusion we faced. Then I remembered what happened.  Armasse, the weeklong festival that used to be held for Aroden, was in full swing in Kenabres.  I'd come to Kenabres to say my vows as a Crusader, to finally take my place in the Crusades as the Grafhamirs ...

Previous Part | Start of the Story | Next Part | More Noir Stories "Okay.  Jesha... could you keep people away from me?"  Noir asked. "No interruptions then?"  Jesha asked back. "Yeah... things might get a little weird..."  Noir then began to focus his emotions.  He closed his eyes shut. Noir let his emotions and thoughts whirl in his mind's eye.  They spun into a storm of crackling energy.  Noir focused it more, stoking the storm until it became a fire.  The burning flame of necrokinetic energy bubbled from him. "Can you hear me?"  Noir asked Ellie's corpse.  "Do you want want to come back?" He held onto the spell's fiery form.  Alive, the spell tried to wrestle out of his grasp.  Noir waited, his question powered with a bit of the right amount of energy to get a response from Ellie's spirit. Once he heard the response, Noir's eyes flashed open. The necromancer let the spell go.  Purple fire erupt...

Previous Part | Start of Story | Next Part Blackthunder drove off, leaving the Noir and Jesha outside the crime scene.  A fast food place, police tape closed it off.  Rain continued to drizzle.  Cars drove by on the nearby highway.  A few persons milled about, one or two heads rising to look at the two of them. Noir gulped at the sight of the place.  The windows had been covered in blood.  The blood had been smeared into letters, words stained for the whole world to see.  They formed the words, "Wolf Man Cometh." "Huh."  Jesha commented.  "There's a theme I don't sense here." "You don't like all the wolf language?"  Noir asked. Jesha pursed her lips.  "Its mildly offensive." "I guess anyone who turns into a giant wolf might find it offensive." "Its offensive that people tie that into wolves at all."  Jesha shook her head.  "There's a old biased symbology at play here.  Its sick and...

Previous Part | Start of Story | Next Part "You're it, sunshine."  Blackthunder shook her head.  "You were so happy to hop into something that wasn't your business before, Necromancer.  Why are you choking up on it now?" Noir didn't respond. "That's what I thought.  You want to hear the details now, or do you want to keep trying to weasel out of it?" "He isn't trying to avoid it, Blackthunder."  Jesha interjected.  "I'm curious myself about this... Wolf?" Blackthunder sighed.  "Who are you again?" "Independent subcontractor.  He might give me this job, you know?"  Jesha smirked.  "This serial killer's been up and down the coast?  Then why haven't I heard of him?" "He isn't contacting the press.  We don't know why, but he's been just leaving bloody sites for law enforcement to find.  He doesn't leave as big as messes as this one.  But he le...

Doubt is a horrible thing. Its an outgrowth of some basic human instinct, something defensive.  But it spawns so much horror with it.  And before you know it, horrible things get made out of it. Doubt is one of those little deaths you face in everyday life.  By little Death, I refer to a common act you engage in.  Total emotional surrender.  When you've become nothing, even for a microsecond, its a moment of death. Life is embracing movement, action and about living.  Not living, that isn't being, its a surrender of yourself.  Sleep, love, fear, all of these are the Little Deaths you fall into in life.   Doubt is one of the more poisonous little deaths.  It unmakes you.  That isn't good.    Doubt is a dark urge to throw away something, be it an effort, a piece of art or just plain opening up. Its hesitance, not the introverted kind, but the kind borne out of the horrible fear that you are unworthy.  You think you...

  Previous Part | Start of Story | Next Part "Right."  Noir decided not to push any further.  Straight answers weren't something he expected from the Dark Man.  "I don't like you."  Jesha stated.  She gave the Dark Man a cold stare.  "Don't think you can try and pull any tricks here.  Answer Noir's question.  What is it you want?"  The Dark Man stood up, pushing the plate away as he did.  He tossed out a crumpled hundred dollar bill.  "Why my dear, I want the next person Noir brings to justice.  This time, I can't really help except to pay ahead of time.  You both should try to be more patient with what is going to happen next."  He nodded his head and left.  Noir sighed.  "That doesn't work.  You can't intimidate him."  "It isn't a 'him.'" Jesha retorted.  "Monsters don't get to be persons, Noir.  Why do you deal with such a... thing?"  Noir cocked an eyeb...

Start of Story | Next Part Jesha frowned at the man joining them. Slender as a post, the Dark Man wore a dark suit.  Gray and silver bands cut through his sideburns.  He had a trim goatee.  His skin had a bronze tone to it.  His eyes had a dark glow to them, his face wrinkled.  The Dark Man sat down beside them, taking a seat next to Noir. The heavy-set waitress appeared, dropping a plate of waffles down for the Dark Man.  She then left, not staying around long enough to take Noir or Jesha's orders.  Jesha glared at her exit. "Some service, huh?"  Jesha spat. "I think so, Delores knows my order by heart you know."  The Dark Man dug into the waffles.  "Great waffles here.  Not quite the best, but one does with what one can." "Right.  I don't like the smell of this... thing."  Jesha said to Noir, ignoring the Dark Man. Noir sighed.  "You didn't have to come along, remember?" Jesha let out a annoyed grunt...

Noir Bedarte is a necromancer with a heart of gold- and he finds himself in Portland Oregon, to find a new serial killer called the Wolf- but Portland's own insane undead have plans of their own for him... Next Part Mother-  I don't know why I write these.  You're never going to read them.  I've met someone.  She's different.  Strange in some of her habits.  She's attached herself to me.  I don't know why.  Portland.  We're here.  I'm revisiting the City of Bridges again.  The Dark Man wants to talk with me.  He has another job for me I think.  I might be closer to finishing our deal.  Is Elle still alive?  You never met her.  I want to find her again.  To be sure.  I've worked so hard at this, my patience is still running strong.  Jesha is... still taking some getting used to.  She's been good at messing up my way of doing things.  She has a talent for... impulsiv...

USMS External Threat Profile: "The Plasm" Found by USMS contributor and known Magi Nikola Tesla in 1915, the Plasm has only appeared once naturally, its rift only visible for a very short span of time, one second.  Tesla confirmed that the Plasm can be induced at any locale through artificial means.  Its a dangerous realm with a very explosive energy output, and its being inhabitants are considered ultra-hostile. The Plasm itself appears to be a reality with little to no entropy.  All forms of energy from it are explosive, especially when they interact with our planet's oxygen-rich atmosphere.  The first natural Plasm rift destroyed the building it opened into, releasing at least one of its natives in the process.  Some speculation suggests that the Plasm might connect directly to a star.  Others speculate it might be connected to all stars simultaneously. PLASM NATIVES Natives of the Plasm are energy beings.  Tesla described the one he inte...

Here's another bit on Pathfinder.  Its been in my head lately, and it seems sensible for me to put my musing up here.  I've got another short story in the works.  It will come, but I need to get the outline for it figured out first.  Meanwhile, though, I've got short things like this I can throw out there. Pathfinder inherits its relationship to violence from D&D and the culture around RPGs since their creation.  Violence is not only accepted, but the main goal or means in a good many RPGs.  Violent means are used, and rules exist to expand on how or why they get evoked.  Physical violence is a staple of the genre, to an extent. I understand the need for violence, to a degree.  But just as some forms of violence in Video Games feel like they go a step too far, sometimes I feel like the rules in RPGs are too quick to make reveling in violence a enjoyable experience- and sometimes, encourages it to be the only experience.  This is a nar...

My head hurt.  "Ow." I blinked my eyes open.  "That hurt like hell." I looked at myself, sprawled on the ground.  There was blood there too.  My blood? "It looked like it hurt.  You okay?" I spun my head around.  Bad idea.  It only made my headache more.  I did identify the person speaking to me. A young woman gazed down at me, with dark hair.  Three pairs of black wings grew out of her back, each wing six or seven feet long.  The black feathers fluttered in the air around her.  She wore a simple white gown.  Her eyes glowed, and she floated in the air above me.  An angel, she had a halo of glowing verdant light. "Watch out.  You want to be careful with that sort of thing.  You could make it worse you know."  Pause.  Well, not worse than somethings I suppose." "Who- Ow."  Yep it hurt more. "Not really that important right now.  Or anymore, really.  This is it for you." ...

The latest book I've finished had violence as its central focus.  Not the recitation of it, but the explanation as to why Violence has declined over the last three hundred years.  Steven Pinker presents the case for this, then attempts to come up with a theory or two to explain the why violence has fallen. Its a rather optimistic revelation to learn that humans have consistently gotten less violent over time.  We aren't cruel to animals as much as we used to be.  We treat children far better than we used to.  Our major nations try to avoid war out of social norm.  In every category we seem to have become less violent.  Pinker makes a great case for this, especially shattering the idea that the modern notion that the current era is more violent than the past. As a Humanist I already knew most of that part of the book.  Its a keen observation to make that humans in the 21st century live in a era of unprecedented peace and that most people avo...

More specific notes and constructive thoughts on the Fate Galactic.  Star creation first.  It took me awhile to think out how to properly do star skills, and I think I hit on the best way to do them.  All input is welcome! Previous Chapter: Galaxy Creation Here is how civilizations are going to be created.  Its a top down process, starting with the Star System the Civilization comes from, then its homeworld.  Once those have been created, then the nuts and bolts of each civilization can be created. There is my own personal twist to this process, too.  I've decided to grant Stars and Planets their own skills as well.  These skills are intended to be used for providing opposition against Civilization roles, if possible, and to maybe help inspire flavor in each system.  I'm going to avoid throwing around too many aspect slots, even at the Civilization level. STARS Stars refer to Star Systems as whole bodies.  They include the central s...

"For Men of Great Wisdom, Great Power, and Great Magick, there must always be Greater Restraint and Responsibility." There are austere, pristine buildings scattered throughout the globe, their front wooden doors decorated with the image of a eye on a palm, a pyramid, a goat's head or any of another myriad of symbols.  These sites have stood for hundreds of years.  They have been managed by a society whose membership only recently learned to cooperate on a international scale.  The Great Conclave protects and provides community services to mages of all kinds, even if in the modern era the number of magick practitioners is at a all time low. Prior to 1873, the magi who would form the Great Conclave operated in their own separate clans, societies, covens, conclaves and collectives throughout the world.  Meetings between magick practitioners had always been dangerous, often lethal to both mage and non-mage alike.  Every decade magi would meet to establish or rea...

Previous Part | Start of Story Noir stepped out onto the lobby. Most of the windows were broken, one wall had been destroyed. The storm of undead swirled outside the Sleepy Bear Inn, screaming in their torrent of translucent green. No ghosts were in the lobby at all. They had vacated, and wisps of ectoplasmic sea water clung to the floor. This was the eye of the storm, safe ground from the torrent of ectoplasm outside. Vickie stood there, next to the window. The glow of the green ghosts highlighting her as she stood there. She looked. Noir couldn't not stare at Vickie. Her dress was bloodsoaked, ruddy sea water dripping from it onto the floor around her. Vickie stood still. Frozen, like a statue of ice. She didn't breath, because she didn't have to. Noir just stood there, and he felt Vickie's presence wash over him. His body reacted, and his mind was paralyzed by the sensation of it all. He just stood there, watching, like he was waiting for h...

Here's an idea I had today for a variant for Pathfinder's character creation.  Maybe its a sort of handle on my whole style of Game Mastering, but I think it might make things interesting any way.  This variant plays on a important concept Ben Robbins and others have mentioned, using players as randomizing elements. I call this method the Sorting Hat method for determining Ability Scores in Pathfinder.  Yes, I'm borrowing from Harry Potter a bit to do that.  Big leap and all. The very first thing you do when you do this method is have what Character Concept you have in mind for your character ready to go.  No background or anything just yet.  Just know you want to play something, even if its unremarkable as 'Half-Orc Druid.' You also need to be creating characters together as a group.  If you aren't doing this already, well, to use this variant you're gonna want to.  Besides, its just good policy to make characters together, so you know w...