My alter ego joins the fray in IHMN

Red Airship, artist unknown, according to io9

First I saw that Craig and Charles had period alter egos, and then, somewhere along the way, Craig published their stats. (This was over on the Lead Adventure Forum.)

Then, in a series of exchanges, Craig addressed me as both Sir and Captain, even giving me the nickname "Jackanapes."

A character began taking shape in my head. One who is pretty much me, or the me I'd be in my Brass & Blood setting. 

This creative cogitation also led to the birth of a singular vehicle that is a character and a setting in its own right. 

Thus I present to you, me. Sort-of me. Steampunk me, I suppose. 

Allow me to introduce Sir Christopher L. "Jackanapes" Sheets, captain of the Fretful Porpentine. 

The Fretful Porpentine and its captain, 

Sir Christopher L. "Jackanapes" Sheets

The Fretful Porpentine is the first aethercarrier, a gargantuan experimental airbase on a flying platform held aloft by a combination of multiple dirigibles, rampant steamtech, cutting-edge Tesla-based arc technology, Martian lighter-than-air materials and, if rumors are to be believed, some few necessary forms of ritual magick.

In addition to its methods of staying aloft and navigating the skies, the Porpentine has mounted beneath it two cyclopean temporal drive screws, allowing it to alter its position relative to the current history or timeline dominant in the realspace around it. Members of the Watch report that the Porpentine has long been circling above London and is chronally anchored in or around the year 1898. 

It is unknown who commissioned the Porpentine, or when. Its current captain, Sir Christopher Leopold* "Jackanapes" Sheets, is mum on the subject. 

While he continues to answer to the title of captain, Sheets has, since seeing the premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera "The Mikado" in 1885, taken to signing official documents and communiques with the title "Lord High Everything Else." 

While Sheets is the source of the neologism "aethercarrier" to describe the Porpentine, he has expressed regret that the description "quadrigible," which he also coined, never became part of the common parlance.

To comprehend the true size of the Porpentine, consider this: Sheets has boasted that he commands the only known craft that has its own horizon. 

The Fretful Porpentine began as a simple refit-and-repair dock for the various airship crews lucky enough to learn of its existence. The cantina aboard became a popular feature with aircrews and sky pirates, who then let valuable secrets, information and rumors flow out as the rum flowed in.

The cantina does have a name, though few know or notice it. There are no signs on the building’s exterior. Inside, a small plaque is screwed to a supporting post over near the kitchen. It bears the single sentence, “You Meet in a Tavern.”

Since its early days, the Porpentine's features and fittings have grown into a worthy port of call, boasting all the functions of a small town. It provides neutral ground for those visiting it, and it is not uncommon to see sworn enemies drinking and singing together within the confines of the cantina. 

Sheets says his hardest task is finding a suitable command crew, as the unique systems of the Porpentine require, at a minimum, a set of psychically linked quadruplets to handle her navigational demands and a chief engineer capable of repairing technologies not yet invented. 

Sheets claims, by training and heritage, to be an initiate of several mystical and priestly orders. He is, at least, a veteran of several esoteric encounters aboard the Porpentine, though whether his success has been due to some praeternatural skill or sheer luck is a matter of some debate.

Captain Sir Christopher L. "Jackanapes" Sheets
Pluck 5+, FV +0, SV +0, Sp 0, Armor 8, Cost 70
Talents/Powers: Erudite Wit, Inspirational, Leadership +2, Intervention, Bless Person, Bless Weapon
Basic Kit: Faraday Coat, English All-Electric Truncheon, Arc Pistol, Breath Preserver, Monocular Targeting Array

* It should be noted that Sheets' middle name is in a constant state of flux. Usually he reports it as Lee, but it has also been recorded as Leopold, Leonidas, Llewellyn, Ludwig, Lehrer, Latson, Lane, Laurent, Lake, LeFebvre, Loeb, Lyzbet, Lechkov and once, unbelievably, Lickspittle.

*          *          *

I find it a measure of my vanity that the character based on me costs as much as Craig and Charles' characters put together. In my defense, those gentlemen have actual experience with weapons and can shoot and fight just as well as their stats say. I can also shoot and fight just as well as these stats indicate, which is not at all. Thus all the skills designed to keep him alive!

I've already found a miniature to represent the good captain.

It's Isaias Cortez from Anvil Industries, and he's part of their sci-fi Afterlife line. A few modifications ("stick some gears on it") and it'll be right as rain. That ocular implant around his left eye is going to become an eyepatch (the good captain's monocular targeting array sits in his eye socket, under his patch, which he flips up when he's in combat. It's been linked directly to his optic nerve through a horrible surgical process which he prefers not to discuss, thank you very much.)

Some of this figure's cybertech on the back of his head will get smoothed or painted over. And that big gun in his right hand is going to become a just-for-looks grappling gun. Or maybe not just for looks. Of course, new gear would alter the good captain's cost. Hmmmm. Are there rules in IHMN for grappling guns? We did hash out those net gun rules that Craig said he'd likely put into Gothic ...

Anyway, that coat, the boots, the beard -- they're exactly the look I was hoping for.

I'll be mining this rich vein for a while, although I've left details of what's on the Porpentine intentionally vague so others may develop it as they wish. I've done some preliminary work on the command crew, but they've got to percolate for a few more weeks at least before I share them.

Next up is most likely the Plague Doctor, like I promised last time, The good news is that he's gained a couple of ancillary characters, so I may be writing up a whole Plague Doctor crew.

Copies of the character document, with a proper grid for stats and without all the introductory and concludary hoo-haa, are available on Google Docs or on Dropbox.

Back to the boards, everyone, and I'll see you across the table soon.

New fiction up on "Brass and Blood"

I've just uploaded a new short piece of fiction on our sister blog, Brass and Blood.

This tale introduces Pritkin, a human mage. More Gothic horror than steampunk, but a depiction of the scale of conflict in my setting.

The post is here: http://bit.do/wheelswithinwheels

In addition to the entry, there are links to the story as a pdf and on Google docs.

The migration has begun.

Hi everybody. Just a quick post to let you know that I've updated my other blog, Brass and Blood. I've put two of the short fiction pieces that appeared here on "Dispatches from the Rim" over there. Rather than embed them in the posts, I've put links to each piece as a Google doc and as a pdf. Others will follow shortly, then I turn my efforts toward additional original content.

Don't worry, "Dispatches" will continue in its present form, with reviews, unboxings, discussions, and all the other meanderings you're accustomed to from me. It's just that character descriptions, worldbuilding pieces, and fiction for my Brass and Blood steampunk/Gothic horror setting will now be over there, gathered under one convenient roof, as it were.

I'm also filling out the Dramatis Personae page as characters are mentioned, and the links will become live as I add the description documents.

Each addition over there will be announced over here, in case you want to keep only one blog in your blogroll.

Thanks for your patience!

Back to the boards, everybody, and I'll see you across the table soon.

Big doings and a companion blog

Hello, good gentles. 

For those of you who missed my posts on Facebook, I'm recovering well from my June heart attack. I'm down more than 22 pounds and have lost nearly two pants sizes in the waist. I'm staying home from work until August 1, not just to recuperate but also to help my loving wife Tracey, who needed emergency surgery and six units of blood two weeks ago. (She's fine but weak as a kitten, and all this rain is giving her extra joint pain.)

I've long had a desire to start a separate blog to gather everything I'm creating for my steampunk London setting. That way I can put the stories, character sketches and world-building research in one convenient place. I can also better organize game stats and content to bring the characters alive in "In Her Majesty's Name," which has been such an impetus in my setting's creation. 

I can now announce that the thing is begun and viewable, although there's little content there as yet. You can read the intro to the "For Your Table" section about gaming with the characters and setting. I'll start copying some existing content from "Dispatches" this week. 

The new blog bears the overarching name I've created for this saga: Brass and Blood. I envision it as a series of novels, with three books planned so far. Well, for certain weak values of "planned." More like "loosely sketched out."

I even purchased a unique domain name. To indulge in business parlance, I want to "build my brand" under the Brass and Blood name. So you can get to it at www.brassandblood.com or brassandblood.blogspot.com.

Don't worry, though. Things won't change much here at "Dispatches." I still intend to cover my gaming purchases and experiences, kickstarters and unboxings, and I plan to increase the number of out-and-out reviews I do.

Ye gods, I can't believe I've written so much at one go. I'm a little tired now, so I'll see you all later. 

Back to the boards, everyone, and I'll see you across the table soon.