Sorrow, Sanity Checks & Stuff

 It was with a very heavy heart that I read of the passing of Duncan MacFarlane this week. Anyone of a certain vintage will (and should) know Duncan's name.

It was He who brought to the hobby two magazines in the last 40 years, who famously appeared on television in the 70s with Peter Gilder re-fighting Edgehill and above all was someone who embodied everything a gamer should strive to be.

I'll miss chatting with him at shows with his sudued but wry humour. A few times Kayte and I had given  Duncan a break on the rare instances he was on his own at a show with his stand, manning it for him for an hour or so. It was an honor to do so.

An excellent obituary has been writte here:

 

 

 https://thepartizanshow.blogspot.com/

I guess there may be one hell of a game going on in the afterlife, in the near future.  Rest in peace gentle sir, and have one of those brie and apple sandwiches waiting when I get to the great Partizan in the sky.

 Moving on to more pleasant things, Roger was telling me last week, how he'd been listening to the Grognard Files podcast and his Cthulhu fetish was rearing it's misshapen, and star spawned head again. Just as well, he cried 'uncle' first, because I was similarly struck by an urge from beyond as it were.

Anyway, after a few emails, it was decided that we'll go with the current 7th edition which, seems to be popular and pretty well supported. Accordingly I ordered the slipcased edition directly from Chaosium as well as the 'Children Of Fear' campaign which Roger stated he wants to play (yes, he's on a bit of a gaming tour of Asia and the East in general at present) and so I guess I should humour him in his dotage. Luckily, my wife, brother and sister-in-law all like Cthulhu, so we should be able to get some serious campaigning in. Indeed, I have hopes that Roger may wish to bring some of his own family to the table - More meat for the Shoggoths!

Now, I move to a subject which is causing me one of those TGIs ('Terrible Gamer's Itches'). You know, those periods or games that you've not had the courage or inclination to discuss in polite company but which none the less has to be addressed, lest you go insane.

I have a terriblbe desire for some late 20th century gaming of some kind or other. I have an eye on the Arab Israeli War and Cold War, but I've also had a desire to play Vietnam type games, but not in 'The 'Nam', rather in the jungles of South America, with drug cartels fighting it out with DEA task forces and local paramilitaries.

At this point if he is reading my blog, Roger will roll his eyes, possibly exclaim an oath and at a stretch, send me a strongly worded missive, forgetting his own terrible Samurai fetish.

I am not sure which scale to go with, and to be honest there's not a lot of stuff out there for it, so I may actually have to commission a range of models for the job, if that's where the axe falls.