If at first you don't succeed

I was getting all cozy this morning, writing about Calidar's Amazing Flying Circus.  Here I am thinking about the look and feel of a magical circus populated with freaks and a menagerie of monsters, with weird stuff here and there.  I imagine a swirl of smells, noises, color, and movement all about, getting deeply immersed in the writing. . .

Boing!  "You Got Mail!"  (Cripes!  What?)  "Bruce, I lost your earlier e-mail. Can you resend those ads for Calidar?"

Groan.  Yeah, okay.  It's urgent.  Let's get this out of the way.

...back to writing.  I need an artifact hidden under the center ring.  That's it, and nobody owns that business, they're all owned by the circus enchantment. And...

Janet runs down the stairs.  "Back in an hour.  Gotta go take care of the dogs."

Hmm?  What?  Oh yeah, dem dang dawgs... Sure.  Drive safely.  Now, what was that about the circus magical thing? 

CC1 Calidar "Beyond the Skies"

So, what am I up to these days?

CAL2?  Not yet.  An adventure module?  Not quite yet either.  There’s been a lot of thinking about what is needed most at this point.  Several ideas came and went before I settled on the current project.  It is one that will cover a lot of ground, though once again the title refers to something hailing from the heavens.  It touches upon the people of Calidar, their histories, and the hearts of their cultures. I’m therefore pleased to announce the next title in the series expanding from the CAL1 "In Stranger Skies" core book:

I’ve let out the news that I was working on the gods of the Great Caldera, and have posted seven big blog articles as previews.  While the book gets fleshed out, this material will, of course, undergo further development and receive additional “meat.”  Certain details will also change to stay consistent with new ideas and directions.  In fact, a lot of extra content is forthcoming on this topic alone.  Other related concepts have emerged as well, making the whole genre of “spiritual patrons” and special powers a lot more substantial and broad-reaching.  This will affect how player characters are developed, and also provide additional dynamics to Calidar’s universe.

So, what does CC1 “Beyond the Skies” offer?  Here’s a general overview:

When Old is New

“Lair of the Vipermen” was a fun idea for a game demonstration at the Burlington Public Library introducing the World of Calidar.  The adventure, which borrowed mechanics from the D&D game’s old Basic/Expert version, took place on January 15^th.  The “dungeon” was fully written in advance, with an eye toward possibly publishing it as a standalone title later.  I’d made myself a promise to keep things short and sweet.  I succeeded, kind of.  The adventure still features three levels and some outdoor adventuring in the foothills of Meryath’s Matai Nui range.  Long story short: a second session will be needed to complete the party’s foray, and perhaps a third to complete the whole adventure.

A few days before the event, I went digging into my trove of old D&D figurines.  I found my old box (nay: ancient, I should say) from Grenadier Models: “Wizards Room” Ref. #2009.  Its pieces had already been assembled in a diorama, which now sits in a larger box.  In the Grenadier’s box, instead, I’d stored original gaming pieces from my (AD&D 1st ed) campaign of 1982, thirty-year-old figurines with which I’d started my gaming hobby.