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Post by Mighty Darci on Jul 22, 2018 20:50:41 GMT -5
Mr. YoYo ( mormonyoyoman) please tell us stories of Ken St. Andre and your gaming with him. |
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Jul 22, 2018 23:05:50 GMT -5
All PbP thank goodness for the internet. The only time I spoke to him directly was by phone around 1977, when we almost got him to come to OK City for a MultiCon. At that time, IIRC, he told me the 5th edition of TnT was out and I definitely had to get it. He was right. Picked up a lot of background and information at the time.
Flash forward about 30 years and Trollhalla, his chaotic website with the scrolling chat page. Outmoded software (now dead) running a klunky page where many of us would chatter for hours, creating and playtesting various games and adventures. Either Mark Thornton, Roy Cram, or Ken was GM, and Ken's style was the most fun and dangerous. He literally would let us try anything and get ourselves into worlds of trouble. His lands evoked prehistory as well as Robert Howard had, including nonadventurers' fear and prejudice of adventurers - especially parties of mixed species.
The Secrets of Castle Greybat featured an EPIC and noble death of Wulfe, a lycanthrope who faced an insane mob to protect an innocent group of traders consisting of an autistic dwarf, several elves, humans, one gnoll, and a new vampire fighting her curse. Wulfe was torn to pieces by the mob but his friends were saved.
Ken's portrayal of the NPCs - no one was a monster in his worlds - were authentic and heart-breaking. Yet he remained objective, each NPC playing their own hunches and game. Never railroaded us an inch, letting us discover the adventure within the setting.
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Post by Mighty Darci on Jul 27, 2018 18:12:37 GMT -5
All PbP thank goodness for the internet. The only time I spoke to him directly was by phone around 1977, when we almost got him to come to OK City for a MultiCon. At that time, IIRC, he told me the 5th edition of TnT was out and I definitely had to get it. He was right. Picked up a lot of background and information at the time. Flash forward about 30 years and Trollhalla, his chaotic website with the scrolling chat page. Outmoded software (now dead) running a klunky page where many of us would chatter for hours, creating and playtesting various games and adventures. Either Mark Thornton, Roy Cram, or Ken was GM, and Ken's style was the most fun and dangerous. He literally would let us try anything and get ourselves into worlds of trouble. His lands evoked prehistory as well as Robert Howard had, including nonadventurers' fear and prejudice of adventurers - especially parties of mixed species. The Secrets of Castle Greybat featured an EPIC and noble death of Wulfe, a lycanthrope who faced an insane mob to protect an innocent group of traders consisting of an autistic dwarf, several elves, humans, one gnoll, and a new vampire fighting her curse. Wulfe was torn to pieces by the mob but his friends were saved. Ken's portrayal of the NPCs - no one was a monster in his worlds - were authentic and heart-breaking. Yet he remained objective, each NPC playing their own hunches and game. Never railroaded us an inch, letting us discover the adventure within the setting. Wow, that sounds so awesome, I would love to hear more. IIRC you said once something about doing something so silly you go under his skin or something like that. They went from 1st ed to 5th ed by 1977? At that rate they ought to be out to 50th ed by now.  |
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Jul 27, 2018 19:23:38 GMT -5
Mensa. Mensa drove him nuts often. Wulfe was Roy, and Mensa imprinted himself on Wulfe, fawning ridiculously and, after Wulfe died, believing almost every wolf was Wulfe reincarnated.
Or maybe it was because Mensa always misspoke Gristlegrim's name.
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Post by xizallian on Jul 27, 2018 20:42:57 GMT -5
Mensa. Mensa drove him nuts often. Wulfe was Roy, and Mensa imprinted himself on Wulfe, fawning ridiculously and, after Wulfe died, believing almost every wolf was Wulfe reincarnated. Or maybe it was because Mensa always misspoke Gristlegrim's name. I loved Mensa, I hated to see that campaign grind to a halt. Poor Ken St. Andre.  |
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Post by mormonyoyoman on Jul 28, 2018 0:25:04 GMT -5
Ken's version of dwarfs as carved statues brought to life by Gristlegrim, the immortal wizard who became so powerful that he (and others like him) are considered gods in a Trollworld which has no clerics, enabled me to create a character who was recently "born" as a full adult with traits and skills but a child mind. Irritated every other dwarf on Trollworld. "He wasn't baked proper like!"
I'll be bringing a few traits of Mensa into Ebon's new pbp.
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Post by Hexenritter Verlag on Jul 28, 2018 1:32:34 GMT -5
Wonder's if I should be scared? Hmmm perhaps I should be, but naaah that'd daft.
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Post by hengest on Mar 8, 2021 21:24:03 GMT -5
All PbP thank goodness for the internet. The only time I spoke to him directly was by phone around 1977, when we almost got him to come to OK City for a MultiCon. At that time, IIRC, he told me the 5th edition of TnT was out and I definitely had to get it. He was right. Picked up a lot of background and information at the time. Flash forward about 30 years and Trollhalla, his chaotic website with the scrolling chat page. Outmoded software (now dead) running a klunky page where many of us would chatter for hours, creating and playtesting various games and adventures. Either Mark Thornton, Roy Cram, or Ken was GM, and Ken's style was the most fun and dangerous. He literally would let us try anything and get ourselves into worlds of trouble. His lands evoked prehistory as well as Robert Howard had, including nonadventurers' fear and prejudice of adventurers - especially parties of mixed species. The Secrets of Castle Greybat featured an EPIC and noble death of Wulfe, a lycanthrope who faced an insane mob to protect an innocent group of traders consisting of an autistic dwarf, several elves, humans, one gnoll, and a new vampire fighting her curse. Wulfe was torn to pieces by the mob but his friends were saved. Ken's portrayal of the NPCs - no one was a monster in his worlds - were authentic and heart-breaking. Yet he remained objective, each NPC playing their own hunches and game. Never railroaded us an inch, letting us discover the adventure within the setting. Knockout post that describes a style of reffing I would not complain about experiencing. |
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