RPG a Day 2018: Day 4...Most Memorable NPC

For Day 4 this year we're talking about the most memorable NPC. I never miss the chance to sing the praises of Ryuutama, and I'm not letting this one pass me by. This game--described as Miyazaki's Oregon Trail--is all about the journey and making it from point A to point B..you know the stuff we usually skip over in modern D&D. It originated in Japan where it is very popular--as is Tunnels and Trolls if you haven't heard--but that's not why you called. An indy group KickStarted English translation released a very sturdy and pleasing to look at core book with a couple of free online supplements. There is said to be another hard cover supplement to come--not group funded--but it seems to have slowed, and I'm not sure of the current status, but I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for any update I can get.

One of the most unique features of Ryuutama is that the GM has a character called a Ryuujin. This character has its own character sheet, abilities, and experience chart. Being an older guy, the Ryuujin reminded me a lot of the "Dungeon Master" character in the old D&D cartoon except depending on how you handle her, she can be more proactive. My Ryuujin was a female green dragon named KiraKira which was the Japanese word for Glitter--again if you're old, you may remember Glitter was the name of the pixie in the 80's cartoon, Kidd Video.

So, these Ryuujin can take many different forms. Their true form is a dragon. I made KiraKira to be a green dragon which is the most 'classic adventures' of the lot. You could choose Red, Blue, or Black who have their own unique focus. The Ryuujin have at least two other forms--the first can be anything mundane that the PCs interact with. KiraKira was an articulate pixie marionette with blue green hair. The second form is a horned-humanoid with wings--Kirakira was a girl with blue green eyes and hair. Her hair was long enough to cover the horns and she kept her wings as hidden as she could. The final form is a dragon of over ten meters long. As the Ryuujin continues to grow one of her powers is either to appear as a brand new character with no memory who joins the party or to possess and control a different NPC. KiraKira possessed a young archaeologist named Akiko who also had blue green hair.

In theory, I actually have never liked having a GM player character, but in fact, due to being short of players, I've had to run one or more several times. Ryuutama is the first game I've ever played that had one built into the rules. KiraKira was most memorable because I played as her from October 2016 up until May of 2017. She grew with the party and I was able to do session recaps, teach the players, and somewhat railroad them without railroading them as to how to continue the plot all through her eyes. She helped the party through the difficult journey portion of the game--which really is a lot like Oregon Trail and far more dangerous than the actual enemies--and eventually, once she possessed Akiko she was able to give more physical help. I ran with her up until the max level where even more abilities opened up. The party really seemed to like her. After what ended up being the most epic battle we would have in the campaign, I had her disappear to be replaced with a new Red Ryuujin, but that was around the time my players had problems making the sessions. I lost the plot, let KiraKira come back for one more blow-out dungeon crawl and then put the campaign on hiatus where it has since remained. She'll always be a memorable NPC for me.

P.S. In the Japanese rules I could always bring KiraKira back to lead a new party of adventurers but I should have a paper signed by all my players to confirm how many sessions we played. Now is that just cute or what? You can learn more about Ryuutama here:  http://kotohi.com/ryuutama/

 

I don't know which anime these drawings really come from, but they were all re-purposed to be KiraKira...and the last one is Akiko.


    

RPG A Day 2018: Day 3...What Gives a Game Staying Power?

What Gives a Game Staying Power?

Settings and systems that are still finding an audience with younger players some thirty or better years after their initial releases can be said to have staying power. I think if the game developer put their hearts and souls into the project then their game is likely to have it. For a game to have a long life, it should get support from the developers. That may be in the form of supplements, maps, or answering questions about errata. I am old enough to remember that even before the days of the internet that player feedback and developer interaction was a must for the games that stuck around.
We can look at editions in a positive light as continuing to refine and support a setting that people love by tweaking a game mechanic or feature that may feel dated in today's world.

What gives a game..as in my campaign...staying power? Finding players that are available to play consistently, and hopefully being able to give them something to do. At a live table as long as the friends are friends, there's more to game night than just the game, so if you're kind of slogging through a session, at least you get to see everyone and have fun. At the virtual table...a bad outing or two might be all it takes to breakup the group. There needs to be plenty of things to do, and each session needs to seem different enough to keep the game interesting. Your players also need to feel like they are growing: leveling up, learning a new ability or spell, finding a weapon, making an impact on the world and hopefully progressing through the story will be enough to keep them coming back for more.  

RPG A Day 2018: Day 2...What do you look for in an RPG?

What Do I Look For In An RPG?

From yesterday, what I love most about playing RPGs is the different interactions I have with people and the new friends I get to make through the games, so what am I looking for in an RPG? I want to find the ones that are likely to attract the most people. The more widely available a game is or the easier it is to explain to someone the more opportunities I have for actual play. A few recent examples of game choices I have made:

D&D 5E:   It's a fact that the granddaddy of them all is the most well-known RPG. D&D is synonymous with RPGs. Everyone knows about it. 5E happens to be a good system with enough materials to play with for free available legally online. For most this is a good starting point and it's easy to teach this version. I play in a weekly live table game scheduled with rotating DMs that has been going on for three plus years now. 

Cyberpunk 2020: I've been running this on Roll*20 since May of this year. Due to a pending video game, this classic system has had a recent surge in popularity. I thought I'd be able to find interested players, and I wasn't disappointed. It's not as easy to teach as 5E and tweaking is a bit of a necessity due to the oldskool brutality, but there are so many people chomping at the bit to play Cyberpunk. It's a good time for an experienced GM to meet and play with lots of people. 

Ryuutama: I ran this from October 2017 to May 2018 on Roll*20. Described as Miyazaki's Oregon Trail, its wholesome artwork in that style appealed to me right away. I looked for groups on Roll*20 and saw many potential players, but no active games. This one was hit and miss as a campaign. I had tons of people sign up to play, but very few actually showed up. I went for a "west marches" style in the beginning, but eventually let that go for the more traditional weekly game. In any case, my theory was strong with all those players, but the majority never came around.

7th Sea 2E: Up until recently, this was the most successful KickStarter campaign for an RPG in its history. I knew there would be lots of players and since it was a new game we'd all be starting at the same level. I ran a bit at my regular live table, but the most success came from my first Roll*20 campaign which ran from October 2016 to May 2017.

No matter how good a game may be, it's of no use if you can't find players. Choosing the most popular games will usually result in the greatest pool of players to choose from for your campaign.

RPG A Day 2018 #1 What Do You Love About RPGs?

It's that time of the year again when people look at my blog posts. To be fair I look at a lot more blogs during RPG A Day than I do the rest of the year too. Sometimes people do stick around. I have around ten loyal followers...growing the blog. For a brief shining moment a year ago I was getting paid for these sorts of things :) Miss that easy money.

So, What do I love about RPGs?

It's the people, stupid. It doesn't matter what the system is, how frequent we get to play, or even if it's on a live table or virtual table top it's the people that make me come back for more. Sure, I may prefer a particular game or system over another--and with apologies to my Roll * 20 groups a live table is almost always preferable...I hope they get the chance to go live without me too--but in all cases the creative interaction with friends is what makes gaming fun. This will be my 10th year of teaching abroad...my 9th here in the UAE...and I've met so many people through RPGs both in person and online that I would have never interacted with otherwise. Role playing--even light roll play-- breaks the ice and it helps you to really get to know one another. As a GM/DM/REF it really makes my day when a player comes out of left field with an idea that I'd have never thought of on my own. As a player when we interact with each other and our minds are working together it is something special. I say RPGs are the most unique of any entertainment around. Another thing is that it sparks interest in other subjects. I think I've willingly/voluntarily(?) learned more about the world from trying to make my games semi-realistic than I ever have from school any school assignment...and remember I am a teacher. Day 1 in the books!

Mutant Crawl Classics: Kickstarter Review

My review of Mutant Crawl Classics from Goodman Games. A couple of weeks ago I received my copy of MCC written by Jim Wampler and containing fantastic artwork by various artists.

This roleplaying game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world closely akin to the old TSR/WOTC Gamma World setting. For non-role-players—and why are you reading my review if you’re not an RPG enthusiast? –it’s kind of like the classic version of ‘Planet of the Apes’ wherein some world-shaking disaster has completely changed the landscape of the planet and its surrounding environment—in this setting’s case it is never revealed to be Earth specifically, and in any case the level of advancement for the society that did exist prior to the great disaster was far advanced from our current time.

I originally backed the project on Kickstarter where 2,311 of us pledged $206,806 against a, relatively modest for Goodman Games, $20,000 initial goal. There were many reward tiers and add-ons for the project including: special edition books, T-shirts, PDF modules, special dice, GM Screen and print versions made available for everything. The game is also fully compatible with Goodman Game’s most famous (?) system Dungeon Crawl Classics.

Waiting is the hardest part:
Depending on how much of my stuff you read, you know I’m an English teacher out in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Although I’ve been out here for eight years now, I have always—and will always—realize that this is not a permanent situation. In fact, this year—my ninth—I plan to document in blog form my efforts to look for different—if not greener—pastures, but I digress. The point is that I’m far from the States and even within the UAE, I’m out in the sticks. The couriers in these parts are…let’s say…interesting.  In spite of this fact—and the understanding that I’ll have to move all of this stuff eventually—I love physical print copies and the swag that comes with it.

The project funded almost exactly two-years ago today, but Goodman Games are indeed very good men…and women, I assume…when it comes to updating and giving samples of the process and progress along the way. If you haven’t backed a KS project, I suggest you find one you like and do it. Depending on the creator you back, you can learn a lot of behind the scenes information, and at least for the projects that I’ve chosen it has been very interesting. Grant me one more aside—group fund within reason as it is addicting, make sure you back trusted creators, beware of backing video-games, and remember it’s not a store and you do have to wait for your reward. KS is probably going to be your best bet if you do take the plunge because they at least have some policies to hold creators accountable.

In the case of MCC, we have had the PDF versions of the game since at least Sept. 17th of last year. As I said however, I’m not really a PDF guy so I gave it a quick browse anticipating the eventual arrival of my hardcover copy. A lot of backers who are better men than me, helped to playtest and proofread the PDF. That’s a couple of thousand sets of eyes catching errata before the book goes to print. That’s brilliant, and one of the big perks of KS and the like for these types of projects: the backers get early access and the creators get feedback before the product ever goes to market.

On a slow boat from somewhere…
Fast forward to April 2018 and the first books start heading out the door. This is where I hit a little snag. I find out at this point in the process that an outside company from the UK will be distributing books to overseas backers. I’m not too worried yet because I’ve backed many things before. I just prefer that the package be sent via standard postal services because in my area of the UAE it’s all P.O.Boxes.

May 2018 comes around and the KS update touts 97% shipped…and I’ve got nothing. A short time later I received an e-mail from the UK company stating that the order had been shipped, and a tracking number was included. Not surprisingly—to a guy who’s lived out here for eight years—the tracking number didn’t function. Sometimes our couriers may have a famous name, but it will be up to the man in the truck on the ground as to whether or not he will decide to live up to the lofty expectations—that is to say what would be considered minimally acceptable service from the States and other western countries--associated with said name. A week passes before I’m told that this courier will not deliver to a P.O. Box. Supposedly he would be willing to drop it off at the post office itself and have me pick it up there.

In June the KS updates with 99.9% fulfilled, and I get to welcome myself to the .01% --a very exclusive club. New contact from the UK middlemen confirms that my shipment has been lost to this world. As a make good, Goodman upgrades my pledge giving me all the print goodies beyond the core book—Hooray!!—but, it still needs to get to me. To that end, the UK group goes with the more expensive, super-deluxe, we don’t use these guys except in special circumstances courier…numb to my request that they send it via regular international post.

Two weeks later we head into the middle of June and I’ve still got nothing. Goodman Games was off touring the convention scene and couldn’t answer me directly, while the last communique I received from my pals in the UK was to say that once they sent the product to the courier it was out of their hands. Of course, I was ticked off by this point as I had been preaching since the first hint of trouble that regular postal services were the way to go. Happily, good fortune smiled on me and for whatever reason in the middle of the following week a regular post office truck delivered the package to me at my job. It was in the packaging of the second, expensive courier by the way. Nobody knows how it turned out that way and I really don’t care. I was just glad to get the books.

So, how are the books?
They are just as excellent as I had hoped they would be. The artwork is stupendous. If you’re an oldskool guy like me, then you’ll like the art style even more. Goodman really took care of me when they gave me the upgrade as all of the modules are up to the same quality as the book and have a feel to them that you can’t get anywhere else. As to the system—which I won’t go too much into, it is D20 modified to use the “weird dice” made famous by the sister product Dungeon Crawl Classics. I had mentioned earlier that DCC is completely compatible with MCC, but I think MCC is a bit easier. Maybe it is my familiarity with DCC—meaning I didn’t go into this completely cold--or maybe the creators worded things slightly differently, so that I could understand them more easily. In either case, it is fun to read about all the strange powers and locations. A nice map and GM screen came along with it, so I felt like a kid in a candy store…or else like a kid when the book fair used to come to elementary school.

The initial player races are: Pure Strain Human, Mutant, Manimal and Plantient. In the oldskool fashion only the Pure Strain Human gets a class. We can say his power comes from his class. The classes are Sentinel (fighter), Shaman(wizard), Healer(cleric) and Rover(thief). The other sentient beings get race specific powers. Mutants are mutated humans,  Manimals are sentient animals, and Plantients are sentient plants. All the character types—save PSH—can devolve to their non-mutant form. The mutants just become PSH, but the Manimals and Plantients will  become base—I can’t imagine still playable—forms of animals and plants.

The module included in the core book is a take-off on a very famous family from the future. It took me far too long to “get” the joke, but once I did it was obvious and very funny. One of the unique features of DCC and MCC is the level-zero character funnel. The included module is one of those. The concept is for players to create 3-4 of these fragile characters each. They take the whole lot of them—using the highest of their character’s initiatives or other traits to speed things along—and try their best to survive a dungeon—er, areas of ancient ruins--that’s sure to make them drop like flies. Characters that survive get to become level 1’s and also have a backstory to tell wherein they almost certainly lost a few comrades. In the MCC scenarios, the funnel is a ‘rite of passage’ to adulthood and full member of the tribe. These newly minted heroes graduate from their previous tribal roles of ‘hunter’ or ‘gatherer’ to become a prestigious ‘seeker’ from which point the normal adventuring and campaigns can begin.

Closing:
I’m currently on a Cyberpunk 2020 kick over on Roll 20 while my live-table—which is usually D&D focused—will be on hiatus while we’re on summer break. Unfortunately, that means that I haven’t been able to run or play in an MCC game yet. That hasn’t stopped me from reading the books over and over nor from watching a couple of playthroughs available on YouTube. The plan is to at least run the included funnel as a one-shot for my live-table when school is back in session in September. With that being said, I would give the game my highest recommendation.

Scores:
Game System: 5/5: All the oldskool fun from DCC except easier and a relief from the doldrums of a tired strictly fantasy setting

Presentation: 5/5: For me this is the selling point. If I never get to play—I sure hope to—I would still call this a worthy investment because the art, the lore, the style of the presentation are all just so good. I have come to expect this quality from Goodman Games and they didn’t disappoint me here.

KS Campaign: 4/5: Ultimately, I was taken care of. Unfortunately, I must take a point away because Goodman should have specified how the product would be delivered before taking my pledge. I had previously received material in my P.O.Box from Goodman with no middlemen and no problems. So, I assumed I would be getting the package direct from Goodman to me. We all know what happens when we assume. I've backed many projects--so many that my wife is making me retire--and this was the only one to give me shipping trouble. The designation that the product ships “Anywhere in the world” should mean anywhere in the world…which in the end it was for me...but, none of the parties involved know exactly how that came to be. I could just as easily be sitting here empty handed.

Customer Service: 5/5 from Goodman Games. They were always quick to respond to my complaints and in the end they delivered to me more than what I had paid for. Had they listened to me and went with the regular post, they would have saved us all a lot of time—but then I would have only gotten the core book, so a winner is me. That being said, I would have to be leery of ordering other products from them until such a time when I’m no longer in the UAE…or else find a buddy with a physical address.

3/5 from <Redacted> Games from the UK: The communication with them wasn’t so great. They truly are middlemen and I was an annoyance to them. I won’t use their company name because it ultimately worked out. Had the result been different the review would be even worse. They gave me extra jobs to do—virtual legwork that very nearly became physical legwork—to track the package when my only job should be to making sure the cheque clears.

2018 July Update

June: final tallies:

Weight Loss Struggle: And it truly is a struggle. I’m living one of the definitions of insanity as I keep doing the same things and getting limited results. Three more months down and once again, could be better, could be worse.

March:17/27 

April: 21/26

May: 17/27

June: 16/26

2018 Overall: 97/157

For the month I held a 62% average. That’s passing at any school and .620 batting average is an All*Star, Hall of Famer, but for me the stomach is still about the same. My strength level doesn’t seem to go up very much either. The alternative is stopping, which I won’t do. That’s the exact same thing I said last month and it still applies. I didn’t manage to do very well in diet or hitting my 100% goal. I won’t recap my “rules” for this venture, but you can look in the previous update to view them. That 62% is deceptive because I used the Stairmaster a lot this month and didn’t lift nearly as often as I should have. I still count it, but for real progress—for me and anyone who is trying to follow along—we have to push harder…and it’s not as if I’m scheduling myself to workout every, single day. 62% is of my workout schedule which includes one set day off a week. I’m proud of myself for trying and not laying out any significant time since I started this thing back in October, but it’s a very long road and the progress—if any—is slow on the go. If I have any young followers, take my advice and don’t get fat in the first place. In the second place, preemptively start exercising and eating healthy now. It gets so hard to lose after age 40…and I don’t think it’ll get any easier.  

RPG Update: So, the Cyberpunk 2020 campaign on Roll 20 is moving right along. The past two weeks we have had issues so I went into recruit mode. I have a couple of prospects already wanting to play. I just hope they show up. As nerds and geeks you probably have a bit of a tough time connecting with people IRL just like me. Playing at a live table and going to RPG gaming events helps me to interact better socially. I have a wife and a kid, and many associates and colleagues, but most of my friends come from gaming. My current Roll 20 crew must go with text chat only. Connections are just too bad. I know that we are multinational. I am living in the UAE, two players are from Indonesia, and one player is from Australia. I had a player from Japan for a little while there. However, I don’t know what any of the guys look like, and in some cases even how old they are. We chat a little bit about our real-lives but not too much. Mostly, it’s all about the game. This past weekend my duo from Indonesia didn’t make it. I later got a message from one of them—our lone girl player—that our friend’s dad had to be rushed to the hospital, and that’s why he didn’t make it. So, I sent him a PM with “thoughts and prayers” which is something I think I should do, and about the only thing that I could do. Up until now, I haven’t heard any more about the situation. I’m not even sure if I should try to run the next session, but I probably will. It’s just seems weird to care about people that you only know in the most abstract of ways. I don’t know what my players really look like, their ages, or their lifestyles, but I’ve been playing with the current crew for nearly a year, and I hope they are alright.

The live table is on hiatus until the next school year. We didn’t get to finish the eight week mini-campaign in spite of the best intentions. Hopefully, we’ll have enough people to play when September rolls around.

Bible Reading Update: Currently in the books of: Ezekiel, 2 Chronicles, Joshua, and 1 Corinthians. Since the last update I’ve made it through: 1 Chronicles, Jerimiah, Lamentations, and Romans. 

So, my books of the Bible reviews? I always preface this by saying every book in the Bible is good. As others have said, it’s all written for us, but not necessarily to us…at least not specifically. A lot of the Old Testament readings have to do with law and sacrifices, which Jesus has now fulfilled. We’re all lucky to be living in the “Church Age” period of grace, that’s for sure—especially if you are an animal lover.  1 Chronicles: This is an easy read as long as you skip the genealogy section. That section is about nine chapters long. The rest of the book tells about the reign of King David and the many wars he fought and ends on the birth and eventual coronation of his son Solomon. This is more of a history book, but there are plenty of life lessons to learn from these men of history. Jerimiah: He’s one of the prophets and a lot of the people of Israel don’t like him. They refuse to believe his prophecies and many of them pay the price. There are many good sections in this book and a lot of what Jerimiah said about Israel’s attitudes can be applied to us today. Lamentations: This is a poetic book written by Jerimiah. There are several writings in which the prophet laments the state of Israel and himself. A lot of people made fun of Jerimiah. He is a type of Christ in that he is also a man of sorrows. The book ends with the prophet asking God to restore Israel. A very easy and quick read. I like the short books, it makes me feel like I’m making progress. Romans: Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. This is one of the most famous and helpful books in the Bible. You may have heard of the “Roman’s Road” as this book and the gospel of John are often used to lead non-believers to salvation. The march through the Bible moves on. I hope I don’t fall behind during summer break.  

 I don’t know how many people read my blogs, but I write them for me just as much as I do so for my few loyal followers. Since I’m in “desk warming” mode at the school I may update a few times over the next couple of weeks. We’re stuck in this mode until July 12^th. Anticipate a review of the great Mutant Crawl Classics RPG and a new feature that I’m going to call—“The Road to Anywhere Else but Here—likely China”

2018 June Update

…and just like that I had not updated in forever. Aside from keeping up with the blog, I have been going slow and steady with the rest of it.

March/April/May Final Tallies:

Weight Loss Struggle: And it truly is a struggle. I’m living one of the definitions of insanity as I keep doing the same things and getting limited results. Three more months down and once again, could be better, could be worse.

March:17/27 

April: 21/26

May: 17/27

2018 Overall: 81/131

This gives me a 62% average. That’s passing at any school and .620 batting average is an All*Star, Hall of Famer, but for me the stomach is still about the same. My strength level doesn’t seem to go up very much either. The alternative is stopping, which I won’t do. For June I’m going to focus on diet and trying to hit that 100%. For those following my schedule, the rules I made up are to schedule myself only one day a week off. The remaining days make up the possible or expected workouts that I should get through in the month. I must do at least 30 minutes, but obviously the more I can do the better. I can do light exercise on my scheduled day off and actually the amount of weight that I work with is so low that it wouldn’t hurt no matter what routine I go with

RPG Update: The Ryuutama campaign finally went belly up. I say it’s on hiatus, but I doubt I’ll want to take up running it again. It’s a good system and I highly recommend it. I meant to give weekly recaps of the ongoing campaign as that is where I get the most views, but I couldn’t think of anything interesting to say. The group itself has joined me for my new “ish” at this point, Cyberpunk 2020 campaign. Currently only three players and myself. I’m missing three from the Ryuutama group, but one seems to have at least made a character, so that’s a good sign. I’ve always liked the Cyberpunk 2020 game system and the recent—5 years in development is recent?—announcement of Cyberpunk 2077 for the video game market and an accompanying new version of the tabletop game has given me more than enough inspiration to spend some time in Night City. The entire Cyberpunk genre is having a renaissance nowadays what with the recent Bladerunner sequel and Ghost in the Shell live action movies. Not to mention Mr.Robot heading into its 4^th season—and it’s got all the corporates, netrunners, drug abuse and gangs you’d ever want, even if it is light on actual robots and cyborgs.  

The D&D live table has really suffered. This past Sunday was the first time since Spring break that we all managed to get together. We’re planning on running an eight week campaign with multiple sessions each week until the end of the school year. After that we’ll be in the off season. We’ve been running for quite some time out here in the middle of the desert, but I’ll soon find myself as the last man standing of the original group, once our current DM heads out to the big city in Abu Dhabi. We will still have enough for a four player + DM for next year, so hopefully, we won’t need to go into recruit mode.

Bible Reading Update: Currently in the books of: Jeremiah, 1 Chronicles, Joshua, and Romans. Since the last update I’ve made it through: Deuteronomy, Ezra, Nehemiah, Ester, and Acts. The rules for this project which actually started in October of 2017 was to follow a reading plan that included Chapters from one book of the Old Testament, one book from the New Testament, and a short reading from Psalms and Proverbs. I have a hard time sticking to something if it feels like a slog, so I read more of Psalms and Proverbs than was scheduled resulting in my getting ahead. Instead of shortening my overall reading schedule, I decided to continue reading different Old Testament books to replace the P&P readings, so now I’m very much ahead. I think at long last my 44^th year will be the year wherein I finally finish the Bible.

So, my books of the Bible reviews? I always preface this by saying every book in the Bible is good. As others have said, it’s all written for us, but not necessarily to us…at least not specifically. A lot of the Old Testament readings have to do with law and sacrifices, which Jesus has now fulfilled. We’re all lucky to be living in the “Church Age” period of grace, that’s for sure—especially if you are an animal lover.  Deuteronomy: Sorry to report that it is a slog. Moses had a lot of good things to say that I did enjoy reading, but much of it was recapping what was already said. Also, even though I am reading through the “whole” Bible for the first time, I’ve either heard these stories preached or in Sunday School before. Ezra: about a group of exiles rebuilding the temple and some of the efforts to bring about a restoration in terms of following the rules of God. Particularly interesting was the end of the book wherein many of the Israelites having improper marriages with pagan wives, and having to put them away. There isn’t specific detail given as to what that entails. Hopefully, the men sent them, and the children they had together, back to their homelands and provided restitution for them, but ‘put away’ could mean a lot worse in the old days. It’s important that we don’t make 2018 judgement calls on ancient society. God wanted the worship pure and he wanted the people pure. We’d probably be better off now had we stuck to those rules. Nehemiah: The famous one about rebuilding the walls of Jericho. In many ways it was similar to Ezra, but I liked this one better. Ester: The famous book wherein in Ester marries the King and God uses her to save the Jewish people from destruction. One of the best parts here is where Modecai tells Ester that God would save the Jewish people one way or another, but that she may have been destined for “a time such as this” Acts: the only New Testament reading started off slow but got a lot better. The biggest thing here is the conversion of Paul (Saul) who went on to write many important parts of the Bible.  

 There are only so many projects that one can do with the time he has. My blogging suffers, I haven’t gotten back into drawing or writing like I want to, but overall half-way through the year, and I’m still going strong on the important things. 2018 so far so good.