Cocktail Project - Ace of Hearts- The Amsterdam

I've been working from home for nearly 60 days.   My standard pastimes of boardgames and RPGs
 are on mostly hiatus and the SCA events are canceled for the foreseeable future.  I getting bored and irritated.  More on the irritation for in another post.   

I thought to myself that I should try doing the cocktails thing again.   Unfortunately, the Boston Project was a bit too ambitious.  Too many drinks, the combinations were for a late 50's pallet and many of the ingredients were expensive or hard to come by.

Lucky for me, I have a caring wife.    In a trip to get provisions for our lockdown, she spotted Cocktail Party Bicycle Playing Cards.   Modern recipes with easy to get ingredients, this I can do.


Today's cocktail is the Amsterdam on the Ace of Hearts.

Made with gin, triple sec and orange juice. shaken over crushed ice but not strained and served in an Old Fashioned glass.  At first sip, the flavors were a bit off putting but after the ice melted a bit I came to like it.  I would drink it again.

Next up the Two of Hearts.

Campaign Document

Tone of the Campaign 

Heroic fantasy- That sweet spot between personal stories of Sword and Sorcery fiction and the world spanning adventures of Epic Fantasy

The World

The name of the planet is Televon.   It has 8 major continents, our adventures take place on the continent of Orea, where kingdoms have risen and fallen for thousands of years.

There is one sun, Solan and one moon, Lunea.

Time Line

During what we know now as the Age of Rebirth, the noted historian Publius Junius Dacien codified the system that we use for history today.   Ages have no set years, rather they evoke the major influences that happened.   Times mark the end of Ages.   The 4th Age ended when Emperor Maxen X sundered the runic sigils and brought about 100 years marked by fire, plague and famine.

The Age of Dreams

The Time of the Fall

The Age of the Ancients.

The Time of the Dawn War

The Age of Wyrms

The time of the Sons of Annam.

The 1st Age of Man, The Age of Glory

Time of Song

The 2nd Age of Man, The Age of Heroes

The Time of Testing

The 3rd Age of Man, The Age of Rebirth

The Time of Apotheosis

The 4th Age of Man, The Age of Turpitude

The Time of the Sundering

The 5th Age of Man, The present

The year is 1487 AS  (After the Sundering.)

God and Deities

The Young Gods

Kniha-commonly called Tome, God of Knowledge

Rueanna-Goddess of Harvest and Fertility.

Tal- God of the Sun

Actia-Goddess of the Moon

Grapthar,-God of Storms

Izara-Goddess of War

Alea-Goddess of Protection and Mercy

Lydian-commonly called Coin, God of Trade .

Bodros-God of Magic

Zehir,-God of Death and poison

Eton-God of the forge

Taxion-God of the grave

Druids worship nature itself and its personifications. Demihumans,  Humanoids, and Monsters worship their gods per the PHB. 

Known Warlock Patrons

Manos, the Hand of the Fated

Vecna, the Whispered One, the Undying King, and the Lord of the Rotted Tower

The Enchantress of the Willow Tower

Asmodeus, Ruler of the Nine Hells

The Blackrazor, Eater of Souls

Ramiel, Outcast of Mt. Celestia

Factions.

The Order of the Sundered Sigil- A loose assumption of of individuals that seek to maintain the balance of power by gathering information and intervening when necessary

The Wolves- An expansive alliance of trader and organized crime seeking to make profit.

The Imperial Council-The council of the lords of the Most Blessed Empire of Aelsthad.  Seeking to maitin the empre while in a period of interregnum and vie to become next emperor

The Templars of Mt. Modignano  - Named after the location of the Apotheosis, they seek to vanquish evil from the world by direct means.

Races

Dwarves

Hill dwarves live in independent clan-holds, lead by chiefs   There can be one or several clans in a hold

Mountian- All are ruled by the high king, Morgran Trueblood with Lairds owing him homage.


Elves
High Elves are civilized and powerful living in city-states each with their own government.  They are in a cold war with the Drow.   The city of Sylel Shaeras hosts a dark elf embassy. It is believed by many that some  residents have converted to her worship.

Dark eves are rare in the world. Most are some have emigrated to the surface, others have escaped and others are just spies.   They are treated with supsiscion.

Wood Elves come from the wilds, the largest of these is Chandwell Forest on the border of Most Blessed Empire of Aelsthad and the former kingdom of Elgad the west.

Halflings
Halflings are everywhere a demihuman population is.   They don't have a home land, nor rulers.

Dragonborn
Dragonborn appeared neat in the end of the Age of Reberth, some claiming to be worshipers of the dragon god Bahamut that were transformed by his power.   After the time of Apotheosis, others claimed they came from another world that melded for a time with our own.  Neither claim has been proven true but they still

Gnomes
Gnomes have been hunted by kobolds to near extinction.  They organize into groups of families keeping to themselves. 

Tieflings
Tieflings were created due to the infernal pacts that were not discouraged of the fourth age.  It is a supries to many a human family when their child is born with a tail, red skin and small horns.   However this is the exception, most are the children of other Tieflings or even trysts with a devil 

Deadlands - The Great Maze- Captains Personal Lo

Ships log of the maze runner Bella Morte

Reginald E. Poe - Captain

Lion's Roar.

In trying to find out who has decided to put Jonathan out of business, we have encountered one of the famous Earp clan Virgil, now acting as sheriff of the town.    Hmmm....first Doc Holiday, now an Earp and our 'former' Pinkerton mentioned he's heard that the Clantons are around.   Maybe later on I can ask him about the assailants that tried to attack us on the way back from the pool hall.

After returning to Vernia D's, I put a cold compress on Ms. Antonia's as she banged up noggin'.  I hope it will help Mindy's attitude, but I doubt it.   Is she worth the trouble of keeping around. Bart tried healing Mr. Charles but something went wrong, Bart hunched over like he got a belly wound.  Bear in Moonlight used his hood-do to heal him but it took a lot out of him,   No ritual tonight but I am feeling hale and hearty at present. Bart explained he lost a hand of cards to a demon.  Must of been a skilled demon, the way that boy can play.

October 15th. Thursday-Lion's Roar.

Weather overcast-Winds light SSW

In the morning, we checked with Buford on how the repairs to the driveshaft and boiler.   Almost done, good. we may have to leave quickly.   Then we left for inquired with a Cajun captain about some exotic fare for Jonathan to serve, lobstrosites he called them, and arranged transport of the catch back to the restaurant.  Bear snapped at Ms  Antonia during our negotiations,  I am not alone in tiring of her company.

Back at Vernia D's, I noticed a man who was wrapped in shadow.  I think it was a 'hex' like Bart uses or the like, Ms. Antonia  gave her unasked for opinion that it was a spirit.  The man was a elderly tribesman, who said he was called Watcher or some such.  He spoke in riddles.  I explained he could stay, if he was a paying customer.    

Games and expansions: Part I. Board and Card Games

Expansions in games have been crossing my mind as of late, including board and card games, DLC for video games, and supplements for RPGs. I feel each one of these should be talked about as their own topic.

Card games.

I like to play a lot of card games. Normally they are fast and easy to learn, except in some cases when expansions are added in. Munchkin, I'm looking at you!

The basic set of Munchkin has 168 cards, now add in 9.5 major expansions with 784 cards for a total of 952 cards. That number alone makes the game unwieldy, but then you add in the new rules that come for those expansions. This causes delays to look to rules up, which I don't find fun at all.

Munchkin isn't the only game that has this problem. With some it's the number of cards and other its the expansion rules.

Board Games
The same complaint can be made with boardgames. Carcassonne, Catan, Arkham Horror just to name a few all have expansions. The same issues apply, more options and more rules add delays.

My Coda
My advice on expansions is before you purchase one and add it into your game night is, ask yourself "What does this add to my game?" and really think about it before you get it. If you are just getting the expansion because it looks cool but you never play the game, its a waste of your money,


Next time, DLCs

Harry Potter GO or Harry Potter and the Battle of Ingress

I know some of you out there play the Naintic games and most of them know that there's a Harry Potter one coming out, Harry Potter:Wizards Unite. Here is what I know and what my some of my guesses

First, we have the name, Harry Potter:Wizards Unite. The name tells us nothing other then the game is set in the Wizarding World. "But wait" I can hear you say, "doesn't that mean Harry is going to play a role in it?" Nope, because there is another game, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery set in Hogwarts in the years before Harry attends.

We have a website, https://www.harrypotterwizardsunite.com/en/ and a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HPWizardsUnite/. The website tells us "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite uses state-of-the-art augmented reality technology to reveal the magic all around us. Explore real-world neighbourhoods and cities to discover mysterious artifacts, learn to cast spells, and encounter legendary beasts and iconic characters along the way!"

The only other fact we know is, according to news reports, that it is coming soon.


Now for the speculation:

1. The maps and important locations will be the same Ingress and Pokemon GO. I'm fairly certainof this. The Ingress maps were used for PkG, so its a pretty safe guess.

2. There will be a faction system, but it won't be the Hogwarts Houses. There's too much fandom over the Houses. Maybe a group like the Order of the Phoenix or by the magical schools.

3. There will be in-game resources and a currency system. Its in the other ones, HP:WU will too.

4. The game is going to be released in conjunction with Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. I'm not sure about this one, but I'm sure the marketing team at Warner Brothers would want it at the same time as the movie.

5. The other games communities jump ship, temporally . It happened to Ingress when PkG came out, the same will happen with this release.

So what are you thoughts and what would you like to see?

SCA research project A, Part 2- What I know so fa

So it make it easier to for me to find later,  I'm putting my documentation here so I can find it later. 

"Gutenburg, Johannes or Henne, also called Gensfleisch, claimed by the Germans to have been the inventor of the art of printing with movable types, born at Mainz; for some time lived in Strasburg as a polisher of precious stones, mirrors, &c.; he set up his first printing-press at Mainz about 1450 (1400-1468)"  -The Nuttall Encyclopædia. 1907.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Nuttall_Encyclop%C3%A6dia/G#Gutenburg,_Johannes

.GUTENBERG, JOHANN (c. 1398-1468), German printer, is supposed to have been born c. 1398-1399 at Mainz of well-to-do parents, his father being Friele zum Gensfleisch and his mother Elsgen Wyrich (or, from her birthplace, zu Gutenberg, the name he adopted). He is assumed to be mentioned under the name of “Henchen” in a copy of a document of 1420, and again in a document of c. 1427-1428, but it is not stated where he then resided. On January 16, 1430, his mother arranged with the city of Mainz about an annuity belonging to him; but when, in the same year, some families who had been expelled a few years before were permitted to return to Mainz, Gutenberg appears not to have availed himself of the privilege, as he is described in the act of reconciliation (dated March 28) as “not being in Mainz.” It is therefore assumed that the family had taken refuge in Strassburg, where Gutenberg was residing later. There he is said to have been in 1434, and to have seized and imprisoned the town clerk of Mainz for a debt due to him by the corporation of that city, releasing him, however, at the representations of the mayor and councillors of Strassburg, and relinquishing at the same time all claims to the money (310 Rhenish guilders = about 2400 mark).^[1] Between 1436 and 1439 certain documents represent him as having been engaged there in some experiments requiring money, with Andreas Dritzehn, a fellow-citizen, who became not only security for him but his partner to carry out Gutenberg's plan for polishing stones and the manufacture of looking-glasses, for which a lucrative sale was expected at the approaching pilgrimage of 1440 (subsequently postponed, according to the documents, although there is no evidence for this postponement) to Aix-la-Chapelle. Money was lent for this purpose by two other friends. In 1438 another partnership was arranged between Gutenberg, Andreas Dritzehn, and Andreas and Anton Heilmann, and that this had in view the art of printing has been inferred from the word “drucken” used by one of the witnesses in the law proceedings which soon after followed. An action was brought, after the death of Dritzehn, by his two brothers to force Gutenberg to accept them as partners in their brother's place, but the decision was in favour of the latter. In 1441 Gutenberg became surety to the St Thomas Chapter at Strassburg for Johann Karle, who borrowed 100 guilders (about £16) from the chapter, and on November 17, 1442, he himself borrowed 80 livres through Martin Brechter (or Brehter) from the same chapter. Of his whereabouts from the 12th of March 1444 (when he paid a tax at Strassburg) to the 17th of October 1448 nothing certain is known. But on the latter date we find him at Mainz, borrowing 150 gold guilders of his kinsman, Arnold Gelthus, against an annual interest of 7½ gold guilders. We do not know whether the interest on this debt has ever been paid, but the debt itself appears never to have been paid off, as the contract of this loan was renewed (vidimused) on August 23, 1503, for other parties. It is supposed that soon afterwards Gutenberg must have been able to show some convincing results of his work, for it appears that about 1450 Johann Fust (q.v.) advanced him 800 guilders to promote it, on no security except that of “tools” still to be made. Fust seems also to have undertaken to advance him 300 guilders a year for expenses, wages, house-rent, parchment, paper, ink, &c., but he does not appear to have ever done so. If at any time they disagreed, Gutenberg was to return the 800 guilders, and the “tools” were to cease to be security. It is not known to what purpose Gutenberg devoted the money advanced to him. In the minutes of the law-suit of 1455 he himself says that he had to make his “tools” with it. But he is presumed to have begun a large folio Latin Bible, and to have printed during its progress some smaller books^[2] and likewise the Letter of Indulgence (granted on the 12th of April 1451 by Pope Nicholas V. in aid of John II., king of Cyprus, against the Turks), of 31 lines, having the earliest printed date 1454, of which several copies are preserved in various European libraries. A copy of the 1455 issue of the same Indulgence is in the Rylands Library at Manchester (from the Althorp Library).-Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Gutenberg,_Johann

Gutenberg (gōō′ten-bĕrg), Johannes, the inventor of printing with movable type, was born about 1400 in Mainz (Mayence), Germany. His proper name was Gensfleisch or Gansfleisch, which means Goose flesh. In 1434 he lived in Strassburg, teaching stonecutting, mirror-polishing and other similar arts. Between 1444 and 1448 he returned to Mainz, where, in 1449 or 1450, he entered into a partnership with Johannes Faust, who furnished the money to set up a printing-press. This partnership was dissolved in 1455 by Faust bringing a suit against Gutenberg to recover money advanced, and Faust gained control of the press. Gutenberg however, assisted by Dr. Homery, set up another press, at which he wrought until his death in 1468. A bronze monument, the work of Thorwaldsen, has been erected to his memory at Mainz. There are a few copies preserved of books printed by him, which bring enormous prices. See Memoirs of Celebrated Characters by Lamartine.-The New Student's Reference Work. 1914.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_New_Student%27s_Reference_Work/Gutenberg,_Johannes

So this seems to prove that he knew how to make metal mirrors and there was a financial venture regarding them around 1440 that flopped.   Nothing about periscopes....yet.

Next up to the library and ILL, to get my next resource.

SCA research project A

So there I was, bored in front of a computer browsing Wikipeda.  (Yes, I know...as a research tool it sucks,  But as a place to start it isn't that bad), when I stumbled on an article on periscopes.    There I found it.


 "Johannes Gutenberg, known for his contribution to printing technology, marketed a kind of periscope in the 1430s to enable pilgrims to see over the heads of the crowd at the vigintennial religious festival at Aachen."

WHAT?!?   Periscopes were in use in the 15th Century?   That's amazing!   Astounding!   And on Wikipedia, so not real proof.   Looking at the resources used  they don't reference anything about Gutenberg.   Frustrated, I stopped but kept the idea in the back of my head.


I remembered it over the weekend,  chatted with a friend and the spark is alight again.  Looking at Wikipedia again, I find this under Johannes Gutenberg: 

"Around 1439, Gutenberg was involved in a financial misadventure making polished metal mirrors (which were believed to capture holy light from religious relics) for sale to pilgrims to Aachen: in 1439 the city was planning to exhibit its collection of relics from Emperor Charlemagne but the event was delayed by one year due to a severe flood and the capital already spent could not be repaid. When the question of satisfying the investors came up, Gutenberg is said to have promised to share a "secret". It has been widely speculated that this secret may have been the idea of printing with movable type."


Hmmm, this begs more questions.    What was this misadventure?   What belief were around mirrors and relics?   Could the mirrors be used in periscopes to look over crowds?

Clearly more research need to be done.      I'm going to be emailing the Gutenberg Museum soon and see what I find out.