MDZS, the Brindlewood Version
Mar. 7th, 2026 11:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfI'm writing a Brindlewood Bay adventure based on MDZS/The Untamed.
Or rather, based on one small detail of MDZS/The Untamed, using a modern-AU setting: Investigating the death of Lan Furen. (Adventure title: Lost in the Clouds. Complexity 7. Would be 6, but the death is 30-ish years old, so they're working with some difficulty.)
Brindlewood Bay has a different approach: Instead of "GM decides on the details of the murder and sets a bunch of clues that the players have to find and figure out," the GM sets the location, a list of suspects, a list of clues - and the players then come up with their own idea of who did what. Then they roll. If they roll high enough, they were correct and have solved the murder. (If they roll almost high enough, they were correct but now there is a complication - the murderer is getting away, or attacks them, or someone is in danger because of what they've revealed, etc.)
I don't have to decide what happened to Lan Furen to have it as the base of a murder mystery here. I just have to figure out who might've been involved, invent some clues, and throw them at the players.
( It's been more difficult than I thought. )
Or rather, based on one small detail of MDZS/The Untamed, using a modern-AU setting: Investigating the death of Lan Furen. (Adventure title: Lost in the Clouds. Complexity 7. Would be 6, but the death is 30-ish years old, so they're working with some difficulty.)
Brindlewood Bay has a different approach: Instead of "GM decides on the details of the murder and sets a bunch of clues that the players have to find and figure out," the GM sets the location, a list of suspects, a list of clues - and the players then come up with their own idea of who did what. Then they roll. If they roll high enough, they were correct and have solved the murder. (If they roll almost high enough, they were correct but now there is a complication - the murderer is getting away, or attacks them, or someone is in danger because of what they've revealed, etc.)
I don't have to decide what happened to Lan Furen to have it as the base of a murder mystery here. I just have to figure out who might've been involved, invent some clues, and throw them at the players.
( It's been more difficult than I thought. )
Life During Wartime, Part 2
Feb. 27th, 2026 08:40 pmcatherineldfThis month has been a...LOT. So whatever you may have seen on the news or heard online, Minnesota is still being occupied and the impacts of both that and this administration's b.s. are pretty intense. Currently, the four biggest crises at the local level are rent (families have been forced to stay home and haven't been able to work and rent is due), legal support for families trying to get their kidnapped relatives back, impacts to rescues and shelters from pets having to be surrendered or just plain abandoned when their people are kidnapped and our major public hospital (one of the biggest networks in the state and a huge employer as well as the main provider of healthcare to people who are uninsured) teetering on the brink of closure. If you can spare a couple of bucks, here are some recommended fundraisers:
I'm teaching at the Loft Literary Center with Jennie Goloboy tomorrow morning and, snow permitting, going to the Lodge of Lazarus Crowe with the Diodes (local steampunk club) to try out a puzzle room or too, But in the meantime, also hosting an impromptu rent relief benefit on the Queen of Swords Press website - get a book by one of our Minnesota authors tomorrow (2/28): Jennie Goloboy, Michael Merriam, me or Emily L. Byrne and I'll make a donation to my neighborhood rent relief group.
Other than that, watching my boy kitty, Shu, slowly fade away, taking my data analytics classes, working on my next werewolf novel, an article I have due next month on a Margaret St. Clair story, a queer Arthurian tale set in Nazi-occupied France (go figure) and other sundry projects. Also: Queen of Swords Press submissions, Joyce Chng's new book, StoryBundle planning and more. Once I get a few more things picked off, it'll be back to looking at work options I can take on around the store. Good thing I have a fair amount of energy!
- Stand with Minnesota has an up to date list of rent funds. I live in Bancroft, but help is needed in Philips, Central, North Minneapolis, West St. Paul, you name it. Throw a dart at a rent fund and it will help.
- Women's Foundation of Minnesota Immigrant Rapid Response - I've been an annual donor to the Women's Foundation for a very long time and they do great work so they're my pick in the area. Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota is another excellent chose.
- Hennepin County Medical Center - they have a mobile pediatric clinic going to people's homes, a coat closet and a ton of other services, in additional to medical care.
- ICE Hurts Animals Too - organization founded by several of my neighbors. In the first two weeks that this fund existed, they rescued 30 cats, got them vetted and fostered. In two weeks. They do house calls with vets, dog walking, emergency care, pet food and necessities delivered to families who can't go out, etc. Multi-species too.
I'm teaching at the Loft Literary Center with Jennie Goloboy tomorrow morning and, snow permitting, going to the Lodge of Lazarus Crowe with the Diodes (local steampunk club) to try out a puzzle room or too, But in the meantime, also hosting an impromptu rent relief benefit on the Queen of Swords Press website - get a book by one of our Minnesota authors tomorrow (2/28): Jennie Goloboy, Michael Merriam, me or Emily L. Byrne and I'll make a donation to my neighborhood rent relief group.
Other than that, watching my boy kitty, Shu, slowly fade away, taking my data analytics classes, working on my next werewolf novel, an article I have due next month on a Margaret St. Clair story, a queer Arthurian tale set in Nazi-occupied France (go figure) and other sundry projects. Also: Queen of Swords Press submissions, Joyce Chng's new book, StoryBundle planning and more. Once I get a few more things picked off, it'll be back to looking at work options I can take on around the store. Good thing I have a fair amount of energy!