Humble Bundle's Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play Book Bundle partially overlaps previous bundles. For $25 you get:

Already own:

CB7-2400 Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play Core Rulebook (2018) - 352 pages
CB7-2401 WFRP Starter Set (2018) - 138 pages
CB7-2404 WFRP Gamemaster's Screen (2019) -

CB7-2416 Middenheim: City of the White Wolf (2020) - 160-page city sourcebook
CB7-2423 Altdorf: Crown of the Empire (2021) - 224-page city sourcebook

CB7-2409 Buildings of the Reikland (2019) - 16-page building floorplans with descriptions and adventure seeds
CB7-2443 One Shots of the Reikland (2020) - 38-page collection of 5 one-shot adventures
CB7-2444 Old World Adventures: Hell Rides to Hallt (2020) - 24-page adventure
CB7-2446 Old World Adventures: The Spirit of Mondstille (2020) - 24-page adventure
CB7-2452 Shrines of Sigmar (2021) - 16-page collection of 5 shrines

It's Your Funeral (2020) - 20-page adventure audience-created at GenCon 2019

Own the individual adventures:

CB7-2431 Ubersreik Adventures (2020) - 128-page collection of six previously published adventures
CB7-2436 Ubersreik Adventures II (2021) - 128-page collection of five previously published adventures

New to me:

CB7-2424 Archives of the Empire: Volume I (2020) - 96-page collection of articles
CB7-2449 Sullasara's Spells of Unrivalled Utility (2021) - 12-page collection of 24 spells
CB7-2450 The Imperial Zoo (2022) - 144-page bestiary with 60+ creatures
CB7-2451 Archives of the Empire: Volume II (2021) - 96-page collection of articles
CB7-2453 Old World Adventures: Something Knocking (2021) - 20-page adventure
CB7-2467 Up in Arms (2022) - 144-page splatbook for warriors
CB7-2471 Winds of Magic (2022) - 224-page sourcebook
CB7-2473 Salzenmund: City of Salt and Silver (2022) - 144-page city sourcebook
CB7-2474 Sea of Claws (2022) - 160-page seafaring sourcebook
CB7-2476 Blood and Bramble (2021) - 24-page collection of 24 Witchcraft and Hedgecraft spells
CB7-2477 Lustria (2023) - 224-page continent sourcebook
CB7-2482 Archives of the Empire: Volume III (2022) - 96-page collection of articles


Just the new stuff is worth the $25.

Ars Magica BackerKit is running until Nov 14th. This is for a deluxe version of Ars Magica 5th edition (i.e. the current edition) in a slipcase. Not a new edition and all current 5th edition supplements should work fine (which is good since I bought them all in five Bundle of Holdings at about $40 each).

• The massive Ars Magica Definitive Edition core rulebook
• The essential Reference Guide booklet
• 3-panel Storyguide Screen
• Poster map of Mythic Europe featuring new art
• Premium slipcover to hold them all
• Set of six 10-sided "Transmutation Dice" made of 100% recycled plastic
• Stretch Goals that release Ars Magica as Open License

Core Rulebook

• A revised and expanded, deluxe version of Ars Magica 5th Edition, weighing in at over twice the original page count
• Incorporates a host of material published since the original rulebook's release
• Heirloom production quality, with new full-color art and golden embellishments on a smythe-sewn leatherette hardcover

No page count. The regular core book is 238 pages.

Unlocked: three ribbon bookmarks, gold gilding, cover embossing, +7 2-page chapter start art, high-contrast PDF (without backgrounds), 2nd ribbon, memorials page

14-page Reference Guide

• Helpful tips to quickly navigate the Definitive Edition core rulebook
• Full color, with a manageable 12 pages of page references and charts
• Softcover saddle stitched (stapled) booklet

Unlocked: spot gloss details

Storyguide Screen

• 3 panels of evocative Ars Magica full-color art on the exterior
• Inside is easy-to-access rules material

Unlocked: spot gloss details

17"x22" Poster Map

• A full-color four-panel poster map
• Gorgeous new cartography of Mythic Europe

Slipcase

• A hard litho-label slipcase to protect your Ars Magica treasures
• Stretch goals upgrade it to leatherette and gold foil, to match the core rulebook

Unlocked: spot gloss details, leatherette

It's pretty nice. Though it is $150 (without dice, it's an add-on with separate shipping) + shipping.

Sat Oct 19 2024

Sleep 0500 to 1330 (8-1/2 hours)

• C3's camping trip cancelled because of Red Flag Warning through tonight. So CSr was around to play DDO with Dave S and me. We did a couple more Saltmarsh quests: Danger at Dunwater and Under the Cover of Darkness.
• I think they mostly fixed the garage gate yesterday which is fast since the work order finally went out Thursday night. It doesn't clunk when it's opening and closing. It does make a low sounding cunk-cunk-cunk when it finishes closing (when I moved in the gate was almost unnoticeable) but that's livable and hopefully not a sign that it will wear out faster.

Sun Oct 20 2024

Sleep 0600 to 0900, 0930 to 1400 (7-1/2 hours)

• 49ers lost at home to the Chiefs and are now 3-4. Bad but they should still make the playoffs and should still win the division as they're only a game back from the Seahawks with a home game vs them to go.

Mon Oct 21 2024

Sleep 0630 to 1230 (6 hours)

• Received the Reserve Study draft from Barrera and Company. We last used them in 2005 and naturally two decades later it looks much better than the 2005 version.

Tue Oct 22 2024

Sleep 0815 to 1430 (6-1/4 hours)

• I have a list, Purchases from Podcasts, to list products reviewed in Fear of a Black Dragon and in Between Two Cairns podcasts. I went through the list and removed some items that I'll never get because they're long out of print and the current reprint is expensive (e.g. Caverns of Thracia was reprinted as part of a $175 hardcover by Goodman Games with no PDF for sale) or there will be no PDF (some indie products are print+pdf and you can't buy just the PDF and I don't want to own a print version which I have to keep somewhere) or if the PDF has been discontinued.

Wed Oct 23 2024

Sleep 0500 to 1400 (9 hours)

• I went up to the roof last night to check if roof maintenance/repair was finished a month ago, which it was. Very dark and dangerous so that was a mistake. But also the west side gutters are already half-clogged with pine needles from the trees on that side of our building. We should have our handyman clear them.

Thu Oct 24 2024

Sleep 0245 to 0515, 1130 to 1545 (6-3/4 hours)

• AMEX HYSA interest rate has gone down twice in less than a month. Same with Apple Card Savings, which I notice now has a slightly higher interest rate (4.1% vs 4.0%). Since they're both tracking on Federal rates it means the Feds think inflation is slowing.
• Noticed that garage gate groaning is back. I guess they greased it Fri 18th and it's worn off already?

Fri Oct 25 2024

Sleep 2245 to 0300, 0900 to 1300 (8-1/4 hours)

• Realized that my site syncing hasn't been working since I moved my Mac mini back to my bedroom and hooked it up to Ethernet (at the start of this month). I had also changed the IP address so ChronoSync had not been able to connect to it.

The Abominable Northwest Kickstarter ends today. I got the first notice (or the first one I read and understood) of this KS a couple of days ago.

Three new items:

• The Abominable Northwest ($40) - 212 (digest-sized) page sourcebook.
• Carnage in the Cascades ($40) - boxed set with a campaign, maps, tokens, props, cards
• Rise of the Black Circle ($25) - hardcover graphic novel, compiles 3 issues with an extra story

The All-In tier is $120 + shipping which is more than the individual prices but this tier adds:

• Archetyoes Set 5 ($10)
• Map Pack 7 - Logging Camp ($15)
• Map Pack 8 - Salish Village ($15)
• The Weird West Northwest Poster Map (not available separately)

So $135 (or maybe $145 if the poster map is $10) of retail price stuff for $120. The last Deadlands KS was a year ago and that's a frequency I can keep up with. So will purchase.

Weird Frontiers is an Old West + Mythos RPG based on DCC rules. $18 gets you:

Weird Frontiers RPG - "The Weird Frontiers RPG is a standalone Weird West roleplaying game influenced by the works of HP Lovecraft and world folklore."

Weird Frontiers Judge's Screen

Adventure Modules

• Never Swallow the Worm
• Not So Fast, Billy Ray!'
• Dig Three Graves
• The Malevolent Seven
• Nest of Snakes

I guess this material would be useful for a Deadlands campaign, though Deadlands has plenty of published adventures. Might buy this since I already have Dungeon Crawl Classics and Mutant Crawl Classics.

Sat Oct 12 2024

Sleep 0830 to 1230, 30m nap (4-1/2 hours)

• D&D #18 at W3's house. Got 1-3/4 hours without DS and Corina. Pizza My Heart for dinner.
• Another Gloomhaven scenario that night. I finished my summon goal so no more rats as I switch to controlling people.

Sun Oct 13 2024

Sleep 0330 to 1100 (7-1/2 hours)

• Jury Duty. I'm group 1008 and it seems go in order so groups 1001 to 1004 got called up tomorrow morning. My group probably won't be called for the afternoon session.

Mon Oct 14 2024

Sleep 0615 to 1415 (8 hours)

• No Jury Duty.
• Bought Power Rangers RPG bundle.

Tue Oct 15 2024

Sleep 0330 to 1130 (8 hours)

• iPad Mini 7. For the same $500 base price you get a better processor (A17 Pro vs A15 Bionic), more RAM (8 GB vs 4 GB, though Apple Intelligence will suck up most of the extra RAM), and more storage (128 GB vs 64 GB). Display and camera hardware stay the same. Slightly better Bluetooth, WiFi and USB-C. I think my next iPad will be a Mini.
• One thing I've noticed is that XCode Previews keeps running after I've quite Playgrounds, and if I do notice it it's because it's using 100% cpu. Quit doesn't help so I have to Force Quit it.

Wed Oct 16 2024

Sleep 0200 to 0330, 0845 to 1445 (7-1/2 hours)

• I use = a lot not because I'm doing a calculation but to denote a result. For example I might write "event 1" = "prize 1" "prize 2" just to remind myself that this game event has these prizes. But now macOS helpfully tries to compute a result which unfortunately doesn't work for me. So now I'm getting into the habit of using ==.

Thu Oct 17 2024

Sleep 2330 to 0500, 1630 to 1730 (7-1/2 hours)

• CSr and I walked for an hour last night and when I got home I was very tired, though still took a couple of hours before I went to bed.
• Ars Magica Definitive Edition BackerKit. $150 physical + $14 shipping, $40 digital.

Fri Oct 18 2024

Sleep 0615 to 0930, 1030 to 1145 (4-1/2 hours)

• Deadlands Night Train is shipping next week. The Kickstarter finished Nov 02 2023.

Unknown Armies 3E bundle from Bundle of Holding. Unknown Armies is a modern-day occult-themed rpg initially published in 1998 by Atlas Games. For $21 (the full RPG requires the Level Up bundle) you get:

Unknown Armies, Book 1: Play - the player's book
Unknown Armies, Book 2: Run - the GM's book
Unknown Armies, Book 3: Reveal - "the book of the weird"
Unknown Armies, Book 4: Expose - "New rules, new ideas, and new insights"
Unknown Armies, Book 5: Mine - "miscellany of material old and new"

Maria in Three Parts - introductory adventure

Musick for Unknown Armies - three EP albums of background music

Bring Me Saint-German - "an innovative three-part series of Unknown Armies 3E adventures in which players swap roles between antagonists and protagonists for a unique roleplaying experience"

Campaign Kits - "Each kit (22-26pp, retail price $3 each) includes five pregenerated characters, broken and damaged and ready to go; a group objective for the cabal; a scenario to get the first session moving; GM hooks, additional objective ideas, GMCs, and suggestions for the antagonist phase"

• Derby Girls Destroy DC - "A team of roller derby champs believe, rightly or wrongly, that reptoids have infiltrated the corridors of power."
• Heroin Highway - "Members and allies of a recovery group in Massachusetts, learn about the occult connection between events in their town and the lives and deaths of those who live in it."
• Karmic Ties and Fifth Wheels - "The black sheep of a large, extended family in rural Wisconsin, brought together again for a family reunion at the behest of matriarch Maple Adams, discover that old secrets and occult mysteries lie at the heart of everything their family has done over generations."
• Raiders of the Lost Mart - "Night shift employees at a bulk discount superstore form a cabal out of necessity"
• Sacred Pharma - "Disenfranchised, deserted, and betrayed by the American healthcare system, yet determined to fight the system of Big Pharma that's refused to help them, these reality bruisers perform strange body magick to find mystical solutions to their physical problems"
• Violence Inherent in the System - "Young people grow to believe in an abstract yet real force that embodies systemic oppression and violence"
• Young Practicals - "Upstarts in the occult underground, each guilty of a past horrible deed, aspire to the inner circle of the magickal community."

I don't know. Not really appealing so I guess I'll skip.

Beam Saber bundle is just three things for $20 (non-increasing) though I think they're the only books published so far. Beam Saber is an anime-style mecha combat game using Forged In The Dark rules, so I guess more story-based than simulationist.

Beam Saber RPG ($30) - "Beam Saber is a Forged In The Dark game for 4-5 players about the pilots of powerful machines in a war that dominates every facet of life. They aim to do their part, then get out physically and mentally intact."

Stardost Mememto ($15) - "Stardost Memento, a campaign supplement for Beam Saber, details seven missions, six regions, five new vehicles, seven squads, and a new squad playbook: the Hunted, a squad on the run. When played in sequence, the missions and downtime events form a complete campaign, "Operation Memento." Join the Jovangellian resistance in a series of guerrilla actions heavily inspired by Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory."

The Growing Conflict ($20) - "The Growing Conflict, a large new rules expansion in development for Beam Saber, is close to text-complete. By purchasing this playtest draft, you'll receive each new draft as Austin Ramsay releases it. When the book is finished, you'll receive the completed supplement on your Wizard's Cabinet download page and in your linked DriveThruRPG Library."


Additional products not in bundle

Rush Wars ($10) - alternate setting with cars instead of mechs

The Dracule, The Honed, The Hunter, The Lightdancer, The Recluse ($5 each) - pilot playbooks, expanding on the 10 included in the core book

The Show ($5) - a squad playbook (the core book has eight)

Solar Divide ($15) - third party campaign setting

Fear & Loving ($12) - three pilot playbooks


Not sure if I'll buy this as I'm not into Powered by the Apocalypse (Forged in the Dark being a major variant) games.

Sat Oct 05 2024

Sleep 0715 to 1315 (6 hours)

• DDO did more Saltmarsh quests, I think all on R6 and with two gold dagger wielders everything does get easier.

Sun Oct 06 2024

Sleep 0800 to 1315 (5-1/4 hours)

• 49ers lost today. I'm glad I unsubscribed from Candlestick Chronicles podcast because the negative takes get pretty bad. But also since they've gone to Blue Wire there are lots of commercials.

Mon Oct 07 2024

Sleep 0100 to 0500, 1030 to 1445. (8-1/4 hours)

• I keep forgetting that when it's a warm day (80+ F) my MBP gets slower which is most noticeable playing DDO or running MacWhispher.

Tue Oct 08 2024

Sleep 0200 to 0900, 1 hour nap (8 hours)

• Ate a couple of mangoes, one of which was starting to go bad. Both were wet for a couple of weeks because in plastic bags. Tasted fine and feel fine.

Wed Oct 09 2024

Sleep 0545 to 0830 (2-3/4 hours)

• Dinner at C3. Food from Porridge and Things. I ate a lot but hadn't eaten lunch. CSr and I walked for an hour afterwards: library to drop off a book, Monterra to deposit cash, Safeway for some groceries, back to C3's house.

Thu Oct 10 2024

Sleep 0145 to 0245, 0745 to 1430 (7-3/4 hours)

• Got a second copy of Against the Odds Annual 2022 (Stalingrad: Verdun on the Volga). This time delivered to my brother so it was from my regular subscription not Kickstarter. I don't think I had the 2022 annual paid for in my regular subscription so I guess this is a bonus.

Fri Oct 11 2024

Sleep 2300 to 0300, 0800 to 1230 (8-1/2 hours)

• DDO CSr and I: The Snitch (epic). Gloomhaven without DS. We did one adventure.

President and Vice President: Kamala D Harris and Tim Walz (D)

United States Senator (Full Term): Adam B Schiff (D)

United States Senator (Partial Term): Steve Garvey (R)

US Representative, 15th District: Kevin Mullin (D)

State Senator, 13th District: Josh Becker (D)

State Assembly, 21st District: Diane Papan (D)

San Mateo County Board of Education, Area 4: Chelsea Bonini

San Mateo City Council, District 2: Nicole Fernandez

Propositions: see previous journal entries

San Mateo City Measure T

"measure to allow for additional affordable housing for low-and middle-income residents and meet State housing requirements (without raising taxes)"

"Measure T would increase certain limits on building heights, residential densities, and nonresidential building intensities previously enacted by the voters. The changes would occur primarily in the Downtown, near Caltrain stations, and along transit corridors such as El Camino Real."

"Existing limits were enacted by the voters in November 2020. Commonly known as Measure Y, it extended current limits through 2030 and represented an extension of policies enacted by the voters in 2004 and 1991."

"Approval of Measure T would allow buildout of the General Plan approved by the City Council in March 2024. The General Plan is a document required by state law that plans for overall growth in the City through 2040. Measure T would repeal the text of Measure Y to ensure internal consistency of the recently adopted General Plan."

This is what our city council wants so I guess trust them.

Vote: YES

Troika! 2024 bundle includes the core rules (which we've gotten in previous bundles) and then new stuff. For $20:

Troika! Numinous Edition
Longshot City - "superheroic roleplaying game where you and your team of baddy-bashing buddies kick seven shades of JUSTICE out of world-ending villains...rules are based on the science-fantasy RPG Troika!"

Adventures

Academies of the Arcane
The Big Squirm
The Hand of God
Slate & Chalcedony
Whalgravaak's Warehouse


Swann Castle (Hex Games) - "a multiversal setting for use with any RPG. Character stats are given in Troika! terms but can be easily adapted"

Bridge Town (Technical Grimoire Games) - "a pastoral, liminal RPG setting perched on a never-ending, ever-crumbling bridge...built on Troika! but can extend to almost any gaming table"

Goblin Mail (Sofia Ramos, et al) - "Troika!-compatible adventure about a chaotic post office run by goblins that's infested with gremlins and all sorts of freaky li'l creatures"


Although I'm not really interested in Longshot City nor third party supplements, the Melsonian Arts Council adventures by themselves for $20 is a bit of a discount.

Sat Sep 28 2024

Sleep 0530 to 1230 (7 hours)

• DDO: Dave W and I did Mask of Deception which, since it has no Reaper, we did the sneak around thing. We also did Subversion on R4 (lots of deaths) and Multitude of Menace on E3 (3 deaths so I guess just Woo and I can do R3 ok).

Sun Sep 29 2024

Sleep 0715 to 1145 (6-1/2 hours)

• 49ers win and now they're 2-2. Not a great start but I'm not worried.

Mon Sep 30 2024

Sleep 0300 to 1100 (8 hours)

• More cleaning preparing for tomorrow. Guest bathroom... so much poop.

Tue Oct 01 2024

Sleep 0030 to 0200, 0800 to 1315. (6-3/4 hours)

• Budget Committee meeting. They really want Reserve Study. I was confused last year when they wanted Reserve Budget and this year I finally realized they meant Reserve Study and only for the Reserve contributions for 2025.
• It's strange that the committee wants the one exact number for 2025. I'm fine with an estimate and if we're low then in 2026 the reserve contributions will have to be a bit higher to make up. Once the 2024 reserve study done by the time the 2025 update is done the number for 2026 might change anyway so there is already the concept that the numbers are estimates and subject to change.

Wed Oct 02 2024

Sleep 0700 to 1400 (7 hours)

• C3 dinner. Salad from Urban Kitchen. Steph has been cleaning C3's house for a month or two and it looks nice in that a lot of boxes and stuff were put away out of sight instead of cluttering up the living room and sun room.

Thu Oct 03 2024

Sleep 0245 to 0345, 0900 to 1345 (5-3/4 hours)

• Upgraded to iOS 18.0.1. No new features I'm using right now.
• Also upgrade to macOS 15.0.1.

Fri Oct 04 2024

Sleep 0430 to 1100 (6-1/2 hours)

• macOS 15 has a Passwords app and there is a Chrome extension so now you can use your Apple-synced passwords there. And apparently Brave is Chromium based so also uses Chrome extensions.
• DDO we finished Ravenloft and started Legendary Saltmarsh which we haven't done for a couple of years.

Prop 33. Expands local governments' authority to enact rent control on residential property.

"Current state law (the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995) generally prevents cities and counties from limiting the initial rental rate that landlords may charge to new tenants in all types of housing, and from limiting rent increases for existing tenants in (1) residential properties that were first occupied after February 1, 1995; (2) single-family homes; and (3) condominiums. This measure would repeal that state law and would prohibit the state from limiting the ability of cities and counties to maintain, enact, or expand residential rent-control ordinances."

This is an interesting one as I'm not sure which side I believe. I guess in the end I'd rather not use state initiatives to repeal existing laws. Let our state government govern.

Voting: NO

Prop 34. Restricts spending of prescription drug revenues by certain health care providers.

"Requires health care providers meeting specified criteria to spend 98% of revenues from federal discount prescription drug program on direct patient care."

Another interesting one in that it restricts how (some) health care providers can spend money from federal drug discount program (it's not direct revenue from the federal government; it's like the feds say some HCPs get drugs at a discount and those HCPs charge payors more than that (which you kind of do since running facilities and such also needs money).

I'm fine if it's state laws regulating how state funds are spent (or revenue derived from state programs and mandates). Less certain about federal money when the federal government didn't attach those restrictions themselves.

Voting: NO

Prop 35. Provides permanent funding for Medi-Cal health care services.

"Makes permanent the existing tax on managed health care insurance plans (currently set to expire in 2026), which, if approved by the federal government, provides revenues to pay for health care services for low-income families with children, seniors, disabled persons, and other Medi-Cal recipients. Requires revenues to be used only for specified Medi-Cal services, including primary and specialty care, emergency care, family planning, mental health, and prescription drugs."

There is no con argument. For the most part California government renews that tax every few years since there is matching Federal funds so I don't think there's a danger of the tax being removed. So I guess the big change in this initiative is how those funds are spent, shifting from more private care to more hospital/clinic care.

Voting: YES

Prop 36. Allows felony charges and increases sentences for certain drug and theft crimes.

"Allows felony charges for possessing certain drugs and for thefts under $950—both currently chargeable only as misdemeanors—with two prior drug or two prior theft convictions, as applicable. Defendants who plead guilty to felony drug possession and complete treatment can have charges dismissed. Increases sentences for other specified drug and theft crimes."

Partially overturns parts of Prop 47 (2014). I'm fairly sure I would have voted No for Prop 47 but it passed and it's only been 10 years so I don't want to re-litigate those arguments.

Voting: NO

Renegade Game Studios' Power Rangers RPG Bundle is like their Transformers bundle; and I guess there might be a GI Joe RPG bundle later in October. The $18 PDF tier gets you


Power Rangers RPG
Across the Stars - 240 page sourcebook
Adventures in Angel Grove - 176 page 4-part adventure
Finster's Monster-Matic Cookbook - 304 page sourcebook
A Jump Through Time - 224 page sourcebook

A Glutton for Punishment - adventure, part of the GM Screen product (not included)
The Phantom Gambit - 44 page adventure
Recipe for Disaster - 48 page adventure
Tenga Temple - 44 page adventure
A Time of Knight - 36 page adventure
To the Moon and Back - adventure

Field Guide to Action & Adventure - repeat from Transformers bundle


Not Included

GM Screen
Expanded Character Journal
Beneath the Helmet - 170 page sourcebook
Power Commandos: Song of the Siren - 56 page adventure


I bought the Transformers and it doesn't seem awful so I'll probably buy this one.