School & RPGs!

School

I have to fill about three sketchbooks! That’s my homework for the semester. First, we have to document a street block. We have to draw everything we see there, inside and outside. I’m not sure yet, but I already started with Astor Place and St. Marks street – that’s in Manhattan and part of the Lower Eastside. The hardest thing is to overcome shyness to actually LOOK at things and draw them, and not to care about people who might notice it. The second sketchbook has to be filled with hundreds of hands and feet. That might be the hardest sketchbook, but if I really manage to go through with this, I’ll be able to draw hands and feet! FINALLY! The third sketchbook has to be filled in the life drawing sessions we have every week – about five hours every week! YAY! So, I have a lot of drawing ahead of me.

We also have to write a thesis within 18 months, but we already have to hand in the topic in one month! It already took me long to find a topic for the last thesis, right now I don’t really know yet what I want to write about. It has to be a topic that interests me so much, that I’ll be able to deal with it for 18 months….

Look at al the hip young Fashion students.....

RPGs

Yes…of curse. I’m a dork! I’M back in gaming already. Of course I am! But what shall I do, when coincidently a GGG (Gotham Gaming guilt – a seven time meet up to game in the city) takes place exactly at the time I arrive! And the same game master who was responsible for the fantastic game I played in 2006 (see archives for,that was Deadlands: Holy Rolers September – December 06) sets up a Dungeons and Dragons game! I am a tourist! I have to play D&D here if I get the chance. For all the nerd dork geeks in my circle of friends I will write more about the game – everybody else: AVERT YOUR EYES!

We played a game called “prey” which was most likely written by the GM himself. We, a wizard, an orc barbarian, a monk, a ranger, a druid and me – a rogue – are slaves in a terrible world – description by the GM follows:

In an unprecedented catastrophe, the orc tribes have united under a single leader, a paragon of their race, to conquer the land and enslave its populace. Under this new regime, a caste system was put in place to subjugate all. After their paragon's death, he was deified and now, the caste shamans continue the tradition. You are, each of you, slaves within this harsh new world, hundreds of years later. Owned by the merchant Inaz, you have chafed under the oppression and yearn for freedom, for you and your families. Tonight, your plan to escape comes to fruition, slaves organized, you’re elite team ready, and geared to fight and be free or die trying.

So that what’s happened in the last game: We tried to get free. We actually got a map of the city from the GM and could make up any escape rote we wanted. Actually, I had to make it up within seconds because I was the Rogue - the Rogue always knows the escape routes. So I had to pull out something of my sleeve, which was: We have to escape trough the sewer system! After creating an diversion (we burned down the kitchen), killing a couple of orc guards and the pit master himself, we went underground to face a tunnel trap (classic!) involving a big nasty snake. Our orc barbarian took care about most of the nasty things. At the end, we were all led into a trap by a NPC. We were captured, oh no! Next thing we know is we’re declared prey for the orc hunters: We have one week to get anywhere on the map, and then they start to hunt us down. We had about 10 possibilities to choose from where to go next, but we don’t know yet. We had a lot of fun, that’s all I know. I drew my character – he may look a little bit like a sunny boy, but he’s tuff! Ahm…if you ignore that he only has 6 hit points.

Below is our D&D parti. Sorry for the bad picture quality, but the GM was moving so much!
And yestderday I participated in another of Oscs Call of Cthulhu scenarios. As always, it was funny and scary! But out characters all survived and we will all play together soon. At the foto below you see Osc, next to him his children. His son made this "Spawn of Cthulhu" cupcakes! Incredible!!!
And, as always, a festival took place on the weekend. Here are some impressions of the "Brazilian Day Fastival". Many people!!!! MANY!