Call of Cthulhu!

A ran a Call of Cthulhu game this evening, my first in about six or seven years. It went well! mar2nee and Daniel had some friends visiting from out west, and they joined in, along with velvetpage and shadow_maze. I was running a sort of homebrew variant of one the starting adventures from the 5th edition, with a little subplot/scene involving an abandoned Baptist church and ghost town that was once an Underground Railway community.

An interesting game moment came near the end of the evening, as the heroes were sitting around chanting to destroy a monster. velvetpage's character went temporarily insane, and the chanting circle seemed about to be broken. However, rolling on the Temporary Insanity table produced the result of "echolocalia," meaning her character simply repeated what everyone else was saying for several rounds. And, of course, they were all chanting, so she joined in again.

Evil was defeated, with only one party death. However, that character had accidentally shot a vagrant, so in some way it was an act of cosmic justice.

In Which Pyat is Objectionably Patriotic

Don't tell anyone, but it's being sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Also, lyrics aside, I understand some French people and locals were also involved in the country's foundation.

In Days of yore,
From Britain's shore,
Wolfe the dauntless hero came
And planted firm Britannia's flag
On Canada's fair domain.
Here may it wave,
Our boast, our pride,
And join in love together,
The thistle, shamrock, rose entwined,
The Maple Leaf Forever
.
[CHORUS]
.
The Maple Leaf
Our Emblem Dear,
The Maple Leaf Forever.
God save our Queen and heaven bless,
The Maple Leaf Forever.
At Queenston Heights and Lundy's Lane
Our brave fathers side by side
For freedom's home and loved ones dear,
Firmly stood and nobly died.
And so their rights which they maintained,
We swear to yield them never.
Our watchword ever more shall be:
The Maple Leaf Forever!
.
[CHORUS]
.
Our fair Dominion now extends
From Cape Race to Nootka Sound
May peace forever be our lot
And plenty a store abound
And may those ties of love be ours
Which discord cannot sever
And flourish green for freedom's home
The Maple Leaf Forever.
.
[CHORUS]

In Which Pyat is More Locally Patriotic

And now, my province! Ontario! What Ontarioian born after 1967 doesn't remember learning this song in school?

In Which Pyat is Municipally Aware of the Reputation and Reality of his City

And finally, a melancholy song set in Hamilton, about a Hamilton landmark!

And also.... Happy Canada Day!

Cthulhu Photos!

shadow_maze took some photos of last night's game.


mar2nee and Sarah.


velvetpage! Armed only with a .22 automatic, she dropped a ghoul that had badly injured her and grabbed her character fast in its talons!


Chance cubes!


More gaming!

That's a Crucifixtion

RIP, Karl Malden, age 97.

A Rainy Canada Day

We went out to mar2nee and Daniel's suburban home today, for some very old school D&D/homebrew, courtesy of their friend Grant. His variant of the system is marked (I hear) by very slow level progression, book keeping, and attention to small details. It was fun enough, though! I was playing a pre-gen 1st level Dwarf fighter named "Hammerfist," and roared and shouted a fair bit.


THIS! IS! SODAAAAAAAAA!


Battle is joined.


Claire likes dice.

There was heavy rain throughout the afternoon, perplexing the westerners, and the front lawn received a visit from a doe, who wandered off down the street after Elizabeth pointed her out.

Now, we're awaiting the arrival of anidada, nottheterritory, and sassy_fae. Depending on weather, some of all of us are going to see fireworks.

Smugger Camp

In the Invisible Unicorn Challenge, any child who can prove that unicorns do not exist will win a £10 note - which features an image of Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary theory - signed by Dawkins, Britain's most prominent atheist.

This is undoubtedly where Eustace Clarence Scrubb went to camp.