#playing methuselahs

[spirk-trek]

S3E19: Requiem for Methuselah ⋆.˚ ✧ · ˚⊹ ·

[lichqueenlibrarian]

Kirk that’s kinda rude.

[kaliido-s]

Oh hey I remember those guys

[per1w1nkl3]

I've definitely said this before but the fact that spocks likes music is so dear to me

[sisterdivinium]

@ghostofcatscradle I hope you know I have spent these past few days holding myself back from reaching for my Guide to the Camarilla but at the same time I can't stop listening to Twin Tribes and Haunt Me so I think I won't be able to resist. A WN x VtM prompt... This is your fault!!!!

[nightingaletrash]

me: *writing vtm fanfic* Beckett:

[cata613]

Guys shut up and look at the shirt my BF got me from Nice Shirt Thanks.

[anghraine]

So one of the revelations from watching the entirety of TOS is that Kirk and Spock's relationship is not only every bit as homoerotic as rumored and then some—though it is—but that they are also incredibly fucking unhinged about it. So for this week's poll, I wanted to honor this discovery!

(The character limitations don't allow for much detail, and in context these are even more incredible, so I'll add the links/clips/summations beneath the cut!)

1— "The Empath" (Season 3)

Context: the girl of the week, Gem, is a member of a species of mute empaths able to absorb others' injuries through sympathy and generally drawn to positive emotion. Meanwhile, Kirk is tortured by other parties in the episode to test her willingness to take on others' suffering, and he falls into an exhausted unconscious heap on a bench.

Gem starts to head away towards McCoy, but is suddenly arrested by something she senses and turns to look at Spock, who is moving over to sit next to Kirk and watch him sleep. When Spock realizes he's being observed, he turns away and pretends to study data in his tricorder. Gem isn't fooled, however, and walks back over to him, touching Spock's shoulder and staring at him with wonder in her face over this simple feeling whatever his emotion is while delicate music plays in the background. See for yourself:

2— "Shore Leave" (Season 1)

Context: Kirk is fatigued and strained and in physical pain after ... uh, everything (this episode was aired immediately after "The Conscience of the King" and "Balance of Terror," so it's not hard to buy). He tries to stretch out his back and Spock, standing behind Kirk with his hands on the back of the captain's chair, pulls his hands back and asks him if something is wrong. Kirk explains it's just the kink in his back. A pretty female yeoman starts massaging his back (uh) and Kirk welcomes it under the mistaken belief that it's Spock doing it:

"That's it. A little higher, please. Push. Push hard. Dig it in there, Mr.—"

Spock lifts a brow and pointedly steps forward so Kirk can see it's not him, and Kirk immediately orders the yeoman to stop with a meaningful look at Spock.

(Bonus episode points: Spock's smug satisfaction at tricking Kirk into taking shore leave where McCoy failed, and them grasping at each other when they're in danger.)

3— "A Taste of Armageddon" (Season 1)

Context: After Kirk successfully uses a risky gambit to trick two neighboring peoples into making peace rather than continuing to murder millions of people via computers, he explains his thinking:

It was a calculated risk. Still, the Eminians keep a very orderly society, and actual war is a very messy business. A very, very messy business. I had a feeling that they would do anything to avoid it, even talk peace.

When Spock is dubious about acting based on "a feeling," Kirk adds:

Sometimes, Mr. Spock, a feeling is all we humans have to go on.

Spock replies:

Captain, you almost make me believe in luck.

And then Kirk dials it up to:

Why, Mr. Spock, you almost make me believe in miracles.

Then the camera just focuses on Spock visibly trying to process this and the episode ends.

4— "Requiem for Methuselah" (Season 3)

Context: this is one of relatively few episodes in which Kirk actually gets to pursue a woman because he likes her rather than desperate circumstances; as usual with people he cares about, she dies. He's so emotionally drained at this point in the show that, upon returning to the ship, he describes his immortal rival for her love and himself as "A very old and lonely man, and a young and lonely man," mutters that he wishes he could just forget it all, and falls asleep at a table.

Meanwhile, Spock (who has been visibly intense and uncomfortable throughout the whole episode) stays nearby as McCoy enters. Spock gestures at him to stay quiet and McCoy briefly exposits a plot point to Spock, then segues into an unexpectedly vicious, half-smiling monologue about what Kirk's gone through in the episode and how Spock could never understand it:

Considering his opponent's longevity, truly an eternal triangle. You wouldn't understand that, would you, Spock? You see, I feel sorrier for you than I do for him, because you'll never know the things that love can drive a man to. The ecstasies, the miseries, the broken rules, the desperate chances, the glorious failures, the glorious victories. All of these things you'll never know simply because the word love isn't written into your book. Goodnight, Spock.

Spock just endures and politely replies "Goodnight, doctor," but after McCoy leaves, he allows himself to respond. Without so much as a scene break, Spock slowly walks over to the unconscious Kirk, touches his face, and mind-melds with him while he sleeps. And then he wipes Kirk's memory (!!!) of the tragic romance with his rival this girl, murmuring:

Forget.

5— "And the Children Shall Lead" (Season 3)

Context: a simple instance from a weak episode, but also ... damn, it's a lot. A bunch of children under the malign influence of an evil imperialist alien have managed to take over the Enterprise. This isn't the first time something roughly similar has happened, but at this point, Kirk has a full on panic attack as he and Spock leave the bridge and take the turbolift. Kirk clings to Spock as he melts down and Spock unsuccessfully tries to calm him with "Captain," but it only works when he murmurs, "Jim."

Kirk freezes and then immediately calms back down to his usual rational self. Spock is still concerned and Kirk assures him he'll be fine now (and is).

6— "Miri" (Season 1)

McCoy, Janice Rand, Kirk, and Spock are all gathered around trying to figure out the disease of the week, which has infected all of them (though Spock is asymptomatic). Kirk and Spock lock eyes and Spock points out that they can't go back to the ship, including him since he'd be a carrier, and then he adds:

Whatever happens, I can't go back to the ship ... and I do want to go back to the ship, captain.

Kirk smiles slowly and they just stare at each other as if Janice and McCoy had dropped off the face of the planet.

7— "The Tholian Web" (Season 3)

Context: Kirk is trapped in a different phase of space while a local anomaly is gradually driving the crew of the Enterprise to insane rage. At the same time, the hostile Tholians are threatening the Enterprise with the obvious intent of killing them all within short order, and Kirk's disappearance places Spock in command throughout this triple crisis. Spock refuses to order an escape, instead insisting on the Enterprise remaining in place to keep trying to rescue Kirk, homicidal insanity of the crew be damned, even as the Tholians began attacking.

McCoy urges Spock to prioritize the welfare of the Enterprise and its crew above Kirk, telling him they can't afford to stick around and keep trying. Spock refuses and things predictably get worse.

McCoy confronts him about his priorities:

You should've known what could've happened and done everything in your power to safeguard your crew. That is the mark of a starship captain, like Jim.

Plot events lead everyone, including Spock, to believe that Kirk is dead, and as acting commander, Spock also has to lead the memorial service:

as a result of the battle, we must accept the fact that Captain Kirk is no longer alive. [...] I shall not attempt to voice the quality of respect and admiration which Captain Kirk commanded. Each of you must evaluate the loss in the privacy of your own thoughts.

McCoy continues to lash out at him directly afterwards:

He was a hero in every sense of the word, yet his life was sacrificed for nothing. The one thing that would have given his death meaning is the safety of the Enterprise. Now you've made that impossible, Mr. Spock. [...] I really came here to find out why you stayed and fought. [...] You could have assured yourself of a captaincy by leaving the area. But you chose to stay. Why?

Spock coldly replies:

I need not explain my rationale to you or any other member of this crew.

They snap at each other until they find the recording left for both of them by Kirk in the case of his death. It (hilariously) begins:

Bones, Spock, since you are playing this tape, we will assume that I am dead, that the tactical situation is critical, and both of you are locked in mortal combat.

The message is honestly both wise and heartwarming about how they should respect each other and both have important qualities to offer in a crisis. McCoy immediately feels ashamed of how he's been behaving at such a moment, and tells Spock:

Spock, I, er, I'm sorry. It does hurt, doesn't it?

Spock bleakly replies:

What would you have me say, doctor?

8— "Turnabout Intruder" (Season 3)

Context: in the very peculiar series finale, Kirk's autocratic and vengeful ex-girlfriend uses some kind of machine to take control of his body, leaving him trapped in her body. Spock notices almost immediately that "Kirk" is acting out of character and that "Janice" clearly knows something, so he goes to talk to "her" and Kirk tells him everything. Spock thinks it's possible but there's no certain proof, and Kirk urges him to mind-meld with him:

You are closer to the captain than anyone in the universe. You know his thoughts. What does your telepathic mind tell you now?

Spock melds with him and is promptly convinced.

Bonus: Spock tries to help Kirk escape shortly thereafter and holds his wrist/hand for a good twenty seconds.

9— "The Paradise Syndrome" (Season 3)

Context: Kirk becomes a carefree amnesiac stranded on a planet of transplanted Indigenous people (it's as bad as it sounds), but there's a much more well-done subplot around Spock commanding the Enterprise in the meanwhile. He stubbornly risks the ship (again) to try and rescue Kirk, but the attempt disastrously fails, leaving the ship with only impulse power. McCoy says in some frustration:

Well, Spock, you took your calculated risk in your calculated Vulcan way, and you lost. You lost for us, you lost for that planet, and you lost for Jim.

Despite his exasperation, McCoy still tries to get Spock to rest. Spock simply ignores him and orders the ship to head towards the planet Kirk is stranded on, still stubbornly set on rescuing him, even though they have no warp capabilities and have to travel entirely by impulse power. When McCoy protests that it'll take months, Spock replies:

Exactly 59.223 days, doctor.

And there's no clever solution around it, either. They do take nearly two months getting to the planet and Spock spends 58 days of the journey fixated on figuring out the puzzle that will allow them to save Kirk. McCoy tries to get him to eat or sleep, since he's done little of either for over 50 days, but Spock refuses to do anything except prepare for rescuing Kirk:

I'm also aware when we arrive at the planet, we'll have barely four hours to effect rescue. I believe those symbols are the key. [...] I am not hungry, doctor. [...] My physical condition is not important, doctor. That obelisk is.

McCoy eventually threatens to call security to force him away from studying the puzzle and make him lie down, so Spock finally goes to bed. As soon as McCoy is gone and out of earshot, Spock just gets back up and returns to contemplating the puzzle until he has a breakthrough.

Then upon beaming down and finding an injured, still-amnesiac Kirk, Spock mind-melds with him to try and repair his memory.

I am Spock. You are James Kirk. Our minds are moving closer. Closer, closer, closer, James Kirk. Closer. [...] Our minds are one. [...] Spock!

Spock breaks the link and falls back, gasping. When McCoy asks what's wrong, Spock just says:

His mind. He is an extremely dynamic individual.

10— "The Enemy Within" (Season 1)

Context: Kirk has been split into two people, representing each half of his personality: one half is noble, intellectual, and restrained, but cautious and indecisive, while the other is strong and bold, but vicious, selfish, and violent. At this point in the episode, Spock et al don't know about the split, so good!Kirk is oblivious and evil!Kirk's bizarre behavior is being attributed to normal Kirk. McCoy sends Spock to the captain's quarters to find out what's wrong with him.

Spock dutifully goes to Kirk's quarters, where he finds good!Kirk relaxing without a shirt on and promptly realizes he's gay loses the ability to put normal sentences together. It's difficult to overstate or even describe the homoeroticism of this scene, so judge for yourself:

Bonus: after Spock realizes he's dealing with only half of Kirk and has taken up helping him present a good front, he has to keep correcting good!Kirk's weaknesses and tells him that acting like actual Kirk means "You can't afford the luxury of being anything less than perfect."

11— "Errand of Mercy" (Season 1)

Context: Kirk and Spock are trying to pass themselves off as members of a species of ostensibly docile, peaceful people being (ostensibly) colonized by the Klingon Empire. Kirk in particular struggles to keep his head down, and when a Klingon shoves and threatens Spock, Kirk loses his shit and nearly clobbers the Klingon. Spock manages to calm him down and as they walk away, Kirk mutters:

You didn't really think I was going to beat his head in, did you?

Spock replies:

I thought you might.

Kirk says:

You're right.

12— "Amok Time" (Season 2)

We all know about this one, let's be real. It's difficult to even choose a moment—Spock confiding in Kirk about Vulcan mating practices (Kirk: O_O) and his loathing of the prospect, with Kirk protecting his confidentiality ("I haven't heard a word you've said"), Kirk defending his own choice to implode his career and defy Starfleet (without breaking Spock's confidence) to rush Spock to Vulcan ("I owe him my life a dozen times over. Isn't that worth a career? He's my friend"), Spock telling Kirk he'll undoubtedly find pon farr "distasteful" and Kirk responding "Will I?", Spock begging T'Pau not to let T'Pring choose Kirk as her champion ("I will do what I must [in combat], T'Pau, but not with him! ... In the name of my fathers, forbid. Forbid! T'Pau. I plead with thee! I beg!"), Spock's bleak response to T'Pau's "live long and prosper" after his victory ("I shall do neither. I have killed my captain and my friend"), Spock explaining that his pon farr vanished the moment he thought he'd killed Kirk ("When I thought I had killed the captain, I found I had lost all interest in T'Pring"), McCoy trying to get Spock to admit that his relief at Kirk's survival is illogical and Spock blatantly lying that he is just concerned with the loss of an effective captain, to which Kirk simply responds "Yes, Mr. Spock. I understand" while McCoy splutters ...

But honestly, my favorite is the brief moment of unrestrained emotion when Spock discovers Kirk is still alive and he cries "Jim!" as his whole face lights up and he grabs him. It's one of the only times in TOS that he's in his right mind and yet too overwhelmed to hide what he feels, and it's famous for a reason.

[bardockarts]

I’ve been playing Werewolf: the Apocalypse so another Shockblurr WOD AU it is! Doodles from today and last night. Arranged in roughly chronological order. Sort of. Maddened contextual ramblings under the cut.

Blurr (Blake Argent, or the “Barking Blur”) is a werewolf of the Galestalkers (a breed/tribe of unwavering trackers and scouts, befitting Blurr’s intel agent roots) and belongs to a pack that has been investigating a human Isaac Sumdac’s acquisition of an ancient vampiric relic (in this case, the sleeping, torpored body of Megatron— a Tzimisce methuselah, or ancient vampire). Longarm/Shockwave (Logan Shockley, known by many names by many people), who was given his vampirism by Megatron, has been working at Sumdac’s corporation for years trying to get on the trail of his missing master. Blurr- engaging in the corporate terrorism/sabotage that WOD werewolves tend to participate in- comes crashing in, kills all Longarm’s leads, and leaves him in a lurch. Fortunately, Blurr has caught Megatron’s scent, and an unlikely partnership forms as they both try to track him down together!

[etherealspacejelly]

i know jack SHIT

about star trek

but what do you like about spirk and why

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS ARE GONNA MAKE ME EXPLODE /POS

oh god where to start

its the fact that they are so perfect for each other for one thing. jim says in final frontier that he "always knew he would die alone." but edith keeler said in city on the edge of forever that spock belonged "at [jim's] side, as though you've always been there and always will". and its fucking TRUE. spock is Always at jims side, and hes like a lost puppy without him. he sees his lifes purpose as serving as jims second in command. he doesnt want command of his own. he "has a responsibility to [...] that man on the bridge". he is devoted to jim. loyal to a fault.

and jim Needs that. he needs that stability. people in his life come and go. he has so much responsibility as captain, 400 lives depending on his every decision. he needs his unflappable second in command to keep him steady, keep him focused.

spock sees jim as the most important thing in the universe. he throws himself in harms way time and time again to save him. he jumps in front of the poisonous flower in the apple, he launches himself into v'ger in the motion picture, in (im pretty sure) requiem for methuselah he insists on going into a dangerous room first.

BUT jim also sees spock as the most important thing in the universe. SOURCE: THE ENTIRE MOVIE THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK. he is literally willing to sacrifice his life, his career, his crew, and his ship to save spock. "the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many" HE NEEDED SPOCK. HE NEEDED HIM BACK SO BAD HE BLEW UP THE FUCKING ENTERPRISE TO DO IT.

but its more than that. its the casual little intimacies of their relationship. its the way they reach out to touch one another when they're scared or worried or happy. its the prolonged eyecontact, the longing stares, the lighthearted teasing. its playing chess in the rec room, and despite spock being a creature of pure logic, jim winning 50% of their games.

its all of this:

THEY MAKE ME INSANE RAAHHHHH

[lichqueenlibrarian]

Not only is Spock trying to solve a mystery, he’s also got to play the music for his captain’s romantic interlude. Truly his suffering is endless.

[mochatears]

Cat profiles from CATS at the China Teatern in Stockholm, Sweden, 1987

Grizabella: The outcast, disheveled former glamour cat.

Bombalurina: Street sisters with Demeter, tough night cat.

Bustopher Jones/Alonzo: An experienced, respected and stately cat.

Mistoffelees: Our sovereign troll cat. (Note: Trollkatt is probably intended to be a play on the word Trollkarl, meaning wizard.)

Rum Tum Tugger: The rock cat who sees life as a constant party, the girls' idol.

Demeter: A tough night cat, the street sister of Bombalurina.

Sillabub: A tired, slightly cranky cat.

Etcetera: A melancholic cat

Munkustrap: A stern and tough cat who keeps order in the gang.

Victoria: A white and clean cat who always washes herself.

Jemima: An intriguing cat.

Coricopat/Macavity/Rumpus Cat: A happy, alert cat./A cruel, cunning and dangerous cat that you never really know where he is. (Note: First description is for Coricopat and second is for Macavity)

Skimbleshanks: The railway cat who makes sure everything runs smoothly.

Rumpleteazer: Mischievous, acrobatic rascal cat who works well with Mungojerrie.

Tantomile: An electric, dangerous and brilliant cat.

Casandra: A mysterious Siamese cat of the East.

Tumblebrutus: A charming and unstressed cat.

Electra: A cheeky and curious kitten.

Gus/Growltiger: The cat who dreams of a time that no longer exists.

Jellylorum/Griddlebone: A kind and content cat.

Pouncival: A cat who is always on guard.

Jennyanydots: A contented cat.

Deuteronomy: The old cat, the cats' own Methuselah. (Note: Methuselah is a biblical figure claimed to be the longest lived human at over nine hundred years.)

Mungojerrie: Talented Burglar rascal cat who works well with Rumpenstumpen.

Plato: A curious kitten running around.

I got a programme in the mail today!! All the way from Sweden!! This is the Swedish production that followed the Oslo production in 85-86, involving the Norwegian creative team from that production. The costuming changes in later runs of this show, but in 87 it still resembles the Oslo costuming. The choreography was also probably the same, as Runar Borge was involved in both.

I tried my best with translating the little info sections but I don’t speak Swedish so theres probably some errors ^^;;

Electra and Plato are the only characters referred to as kittens in their descriptions, so it’s very possible they’re the only characters intended to be young!

I’ve scanned all the pages with photos, so I’ll get around to posting them soon. And seeing what I can gather about the production from the info pages! For now, here’s some interesting info from the setlist page.

Vickiprickigtass/The Old Gumbie Cat is performed by Skimbleshanks. The Gumbie trio in this version are Jemima, Tantomile, and Etcetera.

Jellylorum, Cassandra, and Sillabub sing Adlige Karl/Bustopher Jones.

Skimbleshanks sings Gamle Profetikus/Old Deuteronomy with Tugger.

Pekes and Pollicles is named Hundslaget, meaning Dogfight. The dogs referenced on this list are boxers — the leader played by Jennyanydots — and terriers — the leader played by Pouncival.

Being that this production follows Oslo 85, the regular main singing roles of Jemima/Sillabub are replaced by Young Grizabella.

The raffish crew are played by Pouncival, Alonzo, Skimbleshanks, Mistoffelees, Coricopat, and Munkustrap.

Victoria acts as Mistoffelees assistant during his song.

That’s all I have for now!! If anyone finds the programmes of Oslo 85/86 or Gothenburg 06/Cirkus Stockholm 09 I will pay moneyyy!!

[fishcat076]

A commission I had done of my Nos, The Owl! She's an incredibly wealthy information broker and black market dealer, and I'm currently playing in a Chronicle where a Laibon Methuselah teleported my coterie forward in time so we could escape from the Second Inquisition!

Made by the Wonderful aureolinflax on Discord!

[blackberrysummerblog]

Hi everyone! It’s been a busy few weeks and has only been getting moreso lately, but I so appreciate everyone who’s been continuing to tag me! And thanks to @orange-peony and @monbons for the tags this morning!

I finally finished writing Chapter 3 of Time Will Lie Down and Be Still, my COBB with the brilliant and amazing @rimeswithpurple. Her art for this latest chapter was really incredible, so I hope you check it out and let her know how gorgeous it is!

I began working on chapter 4 this week, so here’s a little excerpt of a Simon POV from that:

Merlin and Morgan and Methuselah, this would be my luck. I lower my binoculars as Jeremy, perched atop my head, crows, “It’s time we went our separate ways!”

“Come on,” I groan, waving a hand in the hopes of loosening his claws’ iron grip on my curls. He clenches in and scratches my crown.

This is just my miserable luck—the one night I decide Penny is right and that I need to let the investigation breathe, Braden Bodmer has vacated The Rosewood and evidently taken Dev Grimm with him. Fuck. The question now is, where have they gone? And magic help me if it’s the Welsh countryside.

“Jeremy,” I groan, offering him a dry cricket from a little bag I bought at Sainsbury’s. Barbecue flavoured. He loves them. “I beg of you. Can you at least get off my head while I go inside to talk to the check-out desk? This doesn’t look professional, mate.”

“We’re too alike!” Jeremy massages my scalp with his little bird feet, making a strange tingle play up the back of my neck. I reach to pick him up and he beats me around the head with his wings, but finally hops down onto my shoulder.

Have a great week everyone! No pressure tagging: @beastmonstertitan, @papierhaikuphoto, @nightimedreamersworld, @aristocratic-otter, @valeffelees, @c0nsumemy5oul, @alexalexinii, @prettygoododds, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @nausikaaa, @thewholelemon, @supercutedinosaurs, @youarenevertooold, @cows4247, @larkral, @confused-bi-queer, @asocialpessimist, @aceumbrellaheroes, @cutestkilla, @artsyunderstudy ,@hushed-chorus, @shrekgogurt, @stitchy-queerista, @ic3-que3n, @raenestee, @letraspal, @bookish-bogwitch, @forabeatofadrum, @ivelovedhimthroughworse, @thehoneyedhufflepuff, @bazzybelle, @theotherhufflepuff, @iamamythologicalcreature, @ionlydrinkhotwater, @fatalfangirl, @facewithoutheart, @palimpsessed, @stardustasincocaine, @whogaveyoupermission, @onepintobean, @wellbelesbian, @j-nipper-95, @ileadacharmedlife, @imagineacoolusername, @sailorblossoms, @arthurkko

[the-elder-polls]

I'm considering getting borrowing BUT I'm. I'm really bad at finding my way around in games and I've heard it doesn't have quest markers?

I get lost very easily even in games with maps etc and appreciate when there's instructions.

Do you think morrowind would be just too, idk, frustrating? I want to know The Lore(tm) and am a big dunmer fan but if the game will just give me a headache then maybe I'll settle for reading the lore

i'm gonna assume that autocorrect didn't like "morrowind" lol

personally, i also get lost very easily in games (and irl to be honest) but i was able to navigate morrowind without much issue. it does give you directions, just not quest markers. you gotta read and listen to what npcs tell you. the game will also usually tell you in your journal something along the lines of "go til you see [xyz], then turn right and go straight til you see [zyx]". that's how it navigates you about and it generally worked well for me. (also, online guides can help you if you get really lost. the game is older than methuselah, there's SO many guides available.)

the dialogue is so fun to explore, the characters are really fun, and the lore is absolutely delicious. the game is butt ugly by modern standards (you can mod it, if that's your style -- personally the butt ugly graphics really grew on me and quit bothering me surprisingly fast), combat is hilariously awkward and weird and honestly bad, and cliff racers exist. (you will understand my hatred of cliff racers if you play. yes, they are a negative point all on their own.)

also worth noting, you better really like to read. 99% of this game is reading. i love this part, i find it very fun, but i know it's not everyone's style.

i will always recommend morrowind, though always with the disclaimer that if you try it out and learn it just isn't for you, that's okay! the lore is cataloged online for that exact reason. :] no pressure either way.

[gorbalsvampire]

Gehenna War

It's pretty neat, yo.

Like Blood-Stained Love, it transforms the core "personal and political" horror of Vampire into another subgenre. Unlike Blood-Stained Love, it has a lot of concrete advice for Storytellers on structuring scenes, assembling pools, building characters to interact with, and making that subgenre work at the table.

An effort has been made, here. There's a little chart in the introduction claiming that Chapters 2 and 3, and the Appendices, will be of use to any action chronicle, be it more high concept or street level, and having read the durn things I think that claim's borne out. I'm gonna talk about those sections first, and later loop back around to the specifically Gehenna War stuff.

Chapter 2 has neat archetypes for characters in various armed conflict roles - generals, spies, intelligencers, recruits, veterans - with recommendations for priority stats rather than statblocks, so these can be flipped for player or Storyteller use. Suggestions for bonus XP amounts if you want more powerful starting characters, and focused specialisations that advise you to focus particular areas of your character sheet - almost like soft classes, or playbooks. A handful of new Merits and Flaws (one of which is getting slammed onto Penny), and a mixed bag of Discipline powers. Bloodform is back? Woo! There are "reroll Rouse checks for raising this one Attribute or using this one Discipline" openers for the Physical Disciplines? Swing and a miss, more filler. There's two incredible new high-end Blood Sorcery rituals (I shall be using both of them very soon), and some funky Thin-Blood Alchemy if you want your Duskborn to join a Methuselah cult.

Then: advice on running Basic Combat, and explicit guidance on the modularity of the Advanced Combat rules, and a few new ones. This is brilliant stuff for new Storytellers, reflective of the demand for the Combat Primer, and it's given me some ideas I didn't have before, and ALSO. VINDICATION. OBSERVE.

One of the things that waters down play over time is if the characters need to build the same dice pool every time for the same task. To avoid this, Storytellers should vary the traits involved according to the situation, to keep things interesting and to curb players trying to optimize their pools.

Leaving aside that awful syntax at the start - "Play becomes predictable if the characters need to build the same dice pool every time they attempt a task" - activate your voice, and dismiss "is" clauses, you cowards! - anyway, leaving that aside, this is how I've been doing things all along and I love that a book explicitly says "do it and don't get hung up on the exact RAW every time."

Car chase mechanics, cute new gear (I like the Scourge Blades, nasty-ass duelling swords that delay vampiric healing). Then it's on to story advice!

Chapter Three does something I wish Blood-Stained Love had done for romance: getting into the structure of action stories, how action interacts with other genre qualifiers (crime, horror, survival, thriller etc.), the escalating role of villains - like, actual formalist thinking about how stories work. We then get some mechanical advice on how to shift the mode of play, how to approach things like Hunger and Frenzy to make them more or less of a factor. It's short, but it's fuckin' GOOD.

Appendix I is all about dice. When you should and shouldn't roll, as opposed to taking half. Grouping those moments into broad types by what they do to the emergent story. How to add variation with tracker rolls or unusual dice pools. How to manage failures on tests and what to offer players to keep the story moving. And, most important of all, how to deal with the Beast, going through each Skill and showing how the Beast impacts a Messy Critical (still a success, remember!) or a Bestial Failure.

You need this Appendix. The corebook needed this appendix. Maybe it took six years of best practice and sharing ideas to get these ideas fully understood. Maybe if there'd been one dev team since the start we might have had this sooner. At least we have it now.

I'll talk about the Gehenna War itself in a follow-up post. That's Chapters One, Four, Five and Six, and Appendix II.