Ostensible Cat

So, this is my 333 post here on Ostensible Cat.  I've been a little lax in posting for the past few months but things have been really busy.  Daisey and I have been working on various projects.  I've been deeply involved in many of my own projects such as Polstrus Lev (I've got almost the entirety of the first level keyed - 41 areas) as well as running my own weekly game (which is more like a biweekly due to all the illnesses going on around here in bella Italia).  I'm also working on my own zine that I'm tentatively calling Delve! Zine.  I'll have more on that in the future.  Here's a peek at some work I've done for the Lands of Ara blog here .  You can get a sense for Daisey's brilliant color work.  I'm going to do a full post about that piece once Carter and the gang release the compendium.  Daisey and I also did a cool piece for the Kobold Quarterly artistry contest recently.  They haven't started posting the pictures yet but I'll

Bah, this winter has been rather crummy due to various forms of crud going around.  I ended up calling in sick to my gaming group due to a new crud that I picked up.  I'm not feeling terrible, but I knew I couldn't really hold up to 3+ hours of DMing.  Ah, such is life.  However, not all is a total loss.  I spent the day mapping my adventure for Polstrus Lev.  I'm going to finish the highly modified Keep on the Borderlands adventure and then entice the players over to the small road side rest stop/holy shrine Restover.  This will become the new base for launching into Polstrus Lev and surrounding environs.  I've established the campaign in a rather wild part of the world known as the Moinar Marches.  There is lots of political tension as the invading Stennish people have pretty much an ongoing conflict with the native Moinar people.  The church of Daegraed, Lord of the Dawn is striving to drive out the older religions and this is just adding to the political strife. 

Wahoo!!!! This Saturday it's game time. I finally managed to have the time, motivation, and opportunity to assemble a gaming group and play some OSRIC/AD&D this weekend! I'm testing out my adventure idea for Polstrus Lev City of Degenerates. I'm a bit nervous as its been years since I've gotten my game on. However, the good news is that none of my group is really experienced in gaming (other than a recent foray into trying out some 3.5) and extremely excited to try out Old School game play. I had them read Matt Finch's excellent Quick Primer to Old School Gaming to familiarize them with the old school gaming ethos. So Saturday it is. Here's an excerpt of my background for Polstrus Lev: Over six hundred years ago, the citizens of Dustchapel Downs established the colony of Polstrus Lev as a detention camp for the diseased, malformed, mentally infirm, and other such undesirables believing that they were the cursed of the gods and they thus sought t

I hope everyone's 2012 is off to a good start. So far, it has been slow going for Team Bingham with a bout of influenza ushering in the new year, but it seems that is all behind us now. So finally back to projects! I'm revisiting my idea for a low level adventure, the Warrens of Polstrus Lev. A while back, I mused on my idea for dark elves. I never really cared for how dark elves have been portrayed. I picture Dark Elves akin to the degenerate humanoids found in R.E. Howard's "Children of the Night" (you can read the short story here ). To me, dark elves seem, well, too cultured and not degenerate enough. At any rate, I've always wanted to do something with that. So, I'm currently working on a low level adventure entitled "The Warrens of Polstrus Lev, the City of Degenerates". I picture it as a pulpy romp through an underground "city" full of degenerate humanoids. Think of Howard's story meets the movie Night Breed and th

Mostly at my drawing table finish up some artwork for Weird Adventures . It has been an absolute BLAST bringing to visual life some small corners of Trey Causey's awesome setting. Now with that wrapped up for the time being, I'm going to focus on some of my own projects as the clock ticks down to GENCON. Mostly, I'm going to prep some original art of sale (matted and mounted and ready for framing - if that's your thing!). Also, I've got to key the map for Isle of Maedsid and write it up. After that, on back to the Warrens of Polstrus Lev and Basalt Keep of Wilven the Yellow and in the future, Sinister Sightings at Dustchapel Downs as well as Shadow of the Umbra Palace!

Slowly, ever so slowly am I working on Polstrus Lev and Basalt Keep. Part of the problem is I tend to get distracted by reading other people's stuff and it sparks more ideas and makes me revise what I'm working on to incorporate some cool ideas that have been sparked by the material I've been influenced by. Lately, I've been rather taken by the whole Eclipse Phase setting. I'll admit to not really keeping up with the Sci-Fi side of geekdom so Transhumanism and other such concepts were not really on my radar as I'm more of a fantasy guy. However, why limit myself by drinking from one well when there is a whole ocean of cool geekdom out there right? I've really been thinking of my projects in terms of a weird/dark fantasy with Cthulhueque overtones. I've been reading up on theoretical physics and non-Euclidian geometery to fuel some ideas. I'm also now thinking about incorporating some transhumanist themes as well. I was really struck by the i

As in sick. Bear, Rosa and I all are sick and feeling a bit rough around the edges. Poor Daisey is harried trying to take care of all of the sickos whilst we have company coming in from Seattle tomorrow and she is trying to finish her online finals tonight for her master's program! Fortunaqtely, Rosa and I are feeling a bit better and Daisey's mom is staying with us for a bit so that relieaves some of the pressure. I've got some catching up to do on artwork but I'm pretty much on track. Once this set of commissions is over, I'm trying to think of what the next project will be. I've got a few things in mind. Probably I'll get back to work on Polstrus Lev and Basalt Keep with some other ideas floating around as well.

Here's some maps I'm doing for an introductory dungeon for my son Bear's character Lightning Bolt.  I've been battling a flu so I have not been nearly as active as I have wanted to be this past week.  I'm still in the process of keying the dungeon then I'll run Lightning Bolt and his party through the Warrens.  Feel free to use the maps if you so desire.  I'm designating then Open Game Content. Level 1 Level 2 Third Level