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A change of plans
Since I began thinking about the immortality RPG setting (see my post a couple of days ago) I've had a slightly bad feeling about it. Last night I realised what it was.
My mother died in 1995. Yesterday would have been her 85th birthday. and on the night she died I came home from the hospital, feeling very sad, and put on the first video that came to hand to take my mind off things. As it happens the video was Highlander, which of course has a deathbed scene in it one point. To say that it was a bad choice of video would be putting it very mildly.
I wasn't planning to say anything about this but today, as I was heading out to work, I heard that my only living uncle (who is about the same age) has had a fall and is in hospital. It may not be too bad, since they're letting him go home this morning, but he hurt his head, he's frail (he lost an arm and most of his shoulder during WW2, and now has osteoporosis) and any injury is serious at that age anyway. My sister is going to travel with him to make sure he's OK, and he has a daily helper, but it's worrying.
Anyway, the upshot is that I think I'm going to shelve this idea again. I'm not sure I believe in omens, but I'm not going to take chances.
So the search for inspiration continues. Anyone that feels like making suggestions, bearing in mind that the source has to be out of Euro copyright (e.g. the author died before 1935) please let me know.
My mother died in 1995. Yesterday would have been her 85th birthday. and on the night she died I came home from the hospital, feeling very sad, and put on the first video that came to hand to take my mind off things. As it happens the video was Highlander, which of course has a deathbed scene in it one point. To say that it was a bad choice of video would be putting it very mildly.
I wasn't planning to say anything about this but today, as I was heading out to work, I heard that my only living uncle (who is about the same age) has had a fall and is in hospital. It may not be too bad, since they're letting him go home this morning, but he hurt his head, he's frail (he lost an arm and most of his shoulder during WW2, and now has osteoporosis) and any injury is serious at that age anyway. My sister is going to travel with him to make sure he's OK, and he has a daily helper, but it's worrying.
Anyway, the upshot is that I think I'm going to shelve this idea again. I'm not sure I believe in omens, but I'm not going to take chances.
So the search for inspiration continues. Anyone that feels like making suggestions, bearing in mind that the source has to be out of Euro copyright (e.g. the author died before 1935) please let me know.
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You didn't want to do Verne because the translations weren't out of copyright, ya? If not, rich diggings there.
If you spoke German I'd suggest a Captain Mors game... that stuff is really great. Dunno if there's any old translations, though.
Abraham Merritt hasn't been dead long enough, but some of his stuff is already in e-text form and I haven't seen anyone being a jerk about his copyright. Since Lovecraft was either influenced or working in the same vein, you've got the workings of a good lost race/cosmic horror game there.
You could pretty easily cobble together a "future war" game from the tons of examples out there, if you were so inclined.
So was your uncle in the service? It's good to hear he bounced back so quick, or is that a reflection on the Health Service?
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Don't knoe Mors, or Merrit for that matter - somehow never came my way, and I think I've already written quite a few future war things, really don't feel like doing another unless I can get hold of the book I mentioned a few months ago, The Struggle for Empire, which is the Terran space navy versus Alpha Centauri.
My uncle was a classics scholar pre WW2, served in the army in WW2, stationed in Malaya, injured his arm, and was evacuated to India for treatment. Unfortunately it was pre-antibiotics and he got an infection which eventually resulted in him losing the arm and shoulder. After that he was in South Africa for a while, returned to Britain where he worked for the Gas Board, eventually as a COBOL programmer. He's one of the few people who can genuinly claim to have seen the 1950s LEO computer in action (wasn't impressed with the demo), and the only other member of my family that's a published author (of computer articles). He's getting on a bit now, but still has all his wits around him.
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Captain Mors, Der Luftpirat: http://www.geocities.com/jessnevins/mors.html
It has a couple of translated stories... I'd buy English translations in a second, so if you do find any, please let me know.
Abraham Merritt was a giant of SF back in the day... he even had his own pulp for awhile. There's a brief summary here:
http://www.sfhomeworld.org/exhibits/homeworld/scifi_hof.asp?articleID=87
You can usually find his stuff in most used bookstores, and some is available as e-texts. You could easily do three games complete based on his stuff: Lost Race/Cosmic Horror, The Ship of Ishtar (fantasy), and Witch Detectives.
It's all worth a read. I really like all his stuff. If you can get through Griffith you'll have no problems with Merritt.
G&S
? Any use ?
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No immediate suggestions to make I'm afraid with regards things that might be out of Euro copyright.
Something based on history perhaps, rather than fiction?
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History is a possibility, though not my strongest suite - I generally do better when I'm making up the world - but there are already quite a few historical games out there, not sure I really want to write another.
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Kipling comes out of copyright next January, so you could get ready for that.
What about Erskine Childers ("The Riddle of the Sands")?
There's also Conrad. (And D.H. Lawrence!)
I was a big Frank Richards fan as a youth. He's not out of copyright until 2035. But I recall there were serials in "The Magnet". Some ofr the authors may be out of copyright now.
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Kipling is on my list as next year's project - but that's because I thought he died later in the year. If it was January then I think I might start thinking about a Kipling-based game (relaunch of FF1, which was written before the copyright laws changed, plus the worlds of some of his other stories) with a launch in February or thereabouts. Can you give me an exact date?
Childers' book is interesting but it's really just a typical "evil German plot" story in most respects, and I've already used that theme a lot. Conrad is an interesting thought, but I think the angst might be difficult to sustain in a Heart of Darkness RPG (or whatever).
Lawrence... (imagines the Lady Chatterley RPG... regretfully says no...) I'd really prefer not to have my site blocked by net-nanny software, which I think would happen if I included e-texts of say Lady Chatterley or Women in Love in the game. Nice idea though.
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There's a lot of Conrad. so plenty of potential there.
In the later days (1930s) when I was reading it , the serials in "The Magnet" weren't by Richards. I hasten to add these were ther Howard Baker reprints. I long to obtain a copy of "The Courtfield Cracksman" series (http://www.friarsclub.net/Magnet/magnet1931.htm). Certainly, there should be some Amalganated Press writers who died before 1936 who might be of interest. An issue there might be who owns the copyright these days (AP (Daily Mail or IPC now - (I think) or the author's estate?). A Richards/Hamilton RPG could be amazing. Almost worth the trouble of getting permission. (Who does own Billy Bunter/Greyfriars these days?)
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