[ACT] What are you reading?

[Kersus]

Finished "Search the Sky" a couple days ago. 2 Stars. Meh.

5 chapters into "Never Cry Wolf" by Farley Mowat and haven't enjoyed a book this much since "Male Love the Bruce Campbell Way" and "Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man." I can't believe i've never read this before. It should be essential reading in all Canadian high schools.

[Kersus]

Hot Rods & Gun Bunnies by Jim Crocker and David Pulver for the BESM 1e RPG. The adventure in the back and notes on laws in different cultures is pretty neat.

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For some reason digging into EGG's Yggsburgh and Moat Gate books. Maybe.... use them with BlueHolme? Apparently I already had some notes for converting it all to Lejendary Adventure.

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Moldvay's Basic D&D. Thinking about simplifying thief skills into 2 in 6 at 1st level for Stealth, Stealing, Traps, Hear Noise and 1 in 6 Cypher and 4 in 6 Climb. Each level Thief can add one pip to one ability. All other classes/races get 1 in 6 except Cypher.... although Magic-Throwers might be able to acquire it at 4th maybe? Exceptions are Dwarfs get Traps, Hobbits get Stealth and Pixies get Stealing.

All weapons do 1d6 exploding damage. 2-handed weapons do +2 damage but are -2 to hit. There are HP kickers. 10 to most, 5 to Magic-Tossers and Elves (which I'll call Ilfs) and none to Pixies. Maybe 15 to Fighters.

Critical table. Firing into melee means making 2 rolls. 1 to hit something. 2 to hit what you aimed at or you hit a friendly.

Initiative more like Holmes (use Dex).

Swords, plate, metal shields are more expensive.

Perhaps a single Saving throw? Norms 17, Humans 16, Elves/Pixies 15, Dwarffs/Hobbitlings 14.

Heavy use of Charisma in encounters.

Pixie: flight (3 turns max), 1d4 damage (not exploding), Non-Alfar hit them at -2, generally gain surprise, invisibility 1x per day per level. Gain magic spells at the rate clerics do but for MU spells. No hp kicker. 1d3 hp per level.

[Kersus]

5 chapters into "Never Cry Wolf" by Farley Mowat and haven't enjoyed a book this much since "Male Love the Bruce Campbell Way" and "Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man." I can't believe i've never read this before. It should be essential reading in all Canadian high schools.

Finished. It was awesome. Highly recommend it. 5/5

On the last story from The Dying Earth by Jack Vance and started MJ Dougherty's Behind The Throne.

[Kersus]

Finished both. I can see why Dying Earth is classic but beyond making Vancian magic seem natural, it didn't blow me away.

Behind the Throne though, absolutely one of the best books I've ever read.

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Over halfway through jack of Shadows by Roger Zelazny. Amazing.

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Jack of Shadows let me down a bit in the end, but it's a classic.

Finished a Princess of Mars by ERG and it was good. A classic to be sure and a novel everyone should read however many a derivative work is simple better. I'll watch the movie a few times before I give verdict on it.

Reading the LA adventure They Who Watch by Jon Creffield. No, not to run it, just for pleasure. I wish they'd make adventure audiobooks so I didn't have to read each entry.

Trying to decide between another Dying Earth book or The Moon pool.

[Kersus]

The Moon Pool by Abraham Merritt https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9522..._Moon_Pool

I got bored and stopped a few times in the first chapter, but finally upon reaching the second chapter, zoomed through the next four as they felt like a thrill ride. In fact, chapters 2-4 could be a short story of their own and I'd feel complete. Every time there was a noise in the house, I was startled. Thrilling sensation given from Merritt's writing.

[Kersus]

The Story of English by Robery McCrum, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil