Dancing Through the Weekend and Optional AAU Rant Rankings #6

Another weekend with basketball has been a mental godsend.  Sure there's still practices and such, but with school letting out it was nice to not run around like a nutjob, pay for a weekend of hotels, gas, and food and add another t-shirt to the kids' collections. 

The weekend wasn't completely activity-free.  Maja's last year of crazy weeknights full of school sports, AAU practices, and dance culminated in the spring dance recital.   Maja's dances netted her a 1st and two 3rd places at the competition which conflicted with her last tournament, it was time for me to drive 20 minutes to see her finally do those performances in a formal setting, rather than every night in our living room.  

Rant: I believe this is year eight of dance for us, and I absolutely despise dance families at recitals.  I'll take the rudest/most offensive AAU parents over the the clueless dance parents inviting 22 relatives to see their 6-year old dance for 96 seconds, then talking over/moving about/complaining about the other 2 hours of the show.   I'd like to think we were pretty decent in the early years, and at worst, wised up by 1st grade with 2-3 extra relatives and finding seats that didn't interfere with others.  /rant.

Finally seeing the performances in person, it's official: Maja's pretty darn good at dance as well.  Her athleticism showed forth when compared to other girls her age, even those with better technique.  It was an incredible afternoon and a long, long way from her waving her arms and doing tiny plies in Kindergarten.  It also should be noted that her duet partner/classmate who had moved to Louisiana in March came back for the last week for the competition and recital.  That's not a commitment I see from the AAU folk.

Right now, school is not her passion, and sports is that right mixture and fun and work and she's getting recognized for. 

Dance?  I'm afraid it's going to her permanent hobby, and I resigned myself to that earlier this year.  I doubt her college and professional life will be dominated by it, but I believe she'll want this to be part of her life for as long as she's physically able.  

That being said, I didn't mention scholarships, because, as luck would have it, she was award a Fall scholarship to the dance studio, covering all monthly fees for whatever dancing she wants to do.

At least one more semester/recital with a crazy schedule, coming up this fall....

Next weekend is just Millie's 5th grade team playing in a true invitational tournament.  I know it's a big deal, because the coaches are finally compiling the "binders" with report cards/birth certificates, and documented exemptions to ensure the cheating is not as overt as has been alleged the past few weeks. 

With that, the 5th grade index shifted slightly, mostly from mid and lower tiered teams.   

As I entered data Saturday night, the "hated" Collegeville team at #2 moved closer and closer to Clutch with their active tournament wins, then dropped back to the almost the same gap in power index with two wins on Sunday.  Despite two wins, to boost their win percentage, the wins were against vastly inferior opponents, and even after 24 games in, a very bad opponent's record will drag the index down.

In the same vein, the only other amusing thing I saw on the Top 15 was NJ Magic dropping, despite a perfect season.  They simply have not played against against any significant teams of note, and even though I haven't found them in recent tournaments, their strength of schedule has declined significantly as the season progressed.

The 7th Grade rankings suffer from two significant tournaments I simply can not find results on.  Last week's Comet Tournament in Philly had most of the major players, at least according to social media, but zero results on the various apps, websites, or even a PDF on the tournament page, like many third-tier promotions provide.  This week was a major girls tournament at the Sportika complex in Central Jersey.  There are at least ten teams on the schedule that should be 7th Grade/13U, but they're intermixed on a single master list with teams from 11U to 17U and to make matters worse, there's cross-divisional play that seems far worse than 4th graders playing up a grade, or a pool of 7th and 8th graders.  I'll tray to cobble those together after I enjoy some free time this week.  

The big move in the rankings are the Hazleton Lady Cougars, who did not fare well in a tournament in the Poconos.  They're still 20-4, but I'd like to think Maja's school team frazzled them this week before playing some national teams (Probably not the case.)

As I mentioned last summer, Maja's school sponsors teams at the Junior High, JV, and Varsity levels in a summer league at the major rec center in the area.  With the previous 8th graders moving up to JV, and the incoming 6th grader ineligible to play until school finished on Friday, their first game last Monday benefitted from only having eight players, and half with AAU experience this Spring.  The big con was that the other half did not appear to have touched a ball since February, if not longer.  .

Let's add in the fact that the first opponent for the school team is the exact same Hazleton Lady Cougars that are on the regional rankings, needless to say, things looked bleak.  

Yes, certain players were overwhelmed, stupid mistakes were made, and in the end, we lost. 

They lost 30-29, with every one of the eight future 8th graders making one or two mistakes in the last five minutes that could have netted them the win.  

Even with the horde of future 7th graders descending on tonight's game, I have hope that they can dominate the other teams for the rest of the summer.

Mandatory AAU Basketball Rant: Tournament #4

 The Queens are dead, what do we do now?

After 12 tournaments and hundreds of miles travelled, Millie's 5th grade team finally lost an AAU game in pool play in the 13th.  

It was another weekend down in Spooky Nook,  a constant diet of mozzarella sticks and Diet Pepsi, and thankfully a room at the on-site hotel, to rest my feet mid-day.  The one thing I didn't really expect?  The two top teams in the Northeast playing in the same pool.  

Looking at the teams for 5th grade, everyone expected another super-tough championship game against Collegeville, until the schedule came out, and in an age group where only 1st from Pool A played 1st from Pool B for the title, both teams were stuck in Pool A.  

Oh yeah, Collegeville came armed to the teeth and maybe brought a few older girls down for a regular game, if the other parents' claims are true.  Regardless, Millie's team had their flattest performance of the season in their first pool game, so it wasn't a complete shock when a re-loaded and motivated team took advantage of things from the tip-off.   A 38-25 loss (it could have been far far worse) is thus far the only blemish to their record.  

And prove the point of the poorly constructed pools, the Pool B winner came into the tournament with an overall losing record, demolished their competition, but still lost 35-9 in the championship game.

Luckily, Millie's team hit a reset button, rather than a self-destruct, and easily handled their third pool team for a 2-1 record.  Despite the loss to the #2 team, Clutch remains at the top spot, although without the commanding lead they had before.  

There was one major tournament in Philly this weekend that apparently uses no technology to track the dozens of teams playing.  Everything is on a cross-referenced and coded pdf chart, which I haven't seen since a local tournament up our way in March!  I'm unable to find results for these games, so for now, those teams have the equivalent of a bye, for better or for worse.   The ones who did not benefit from this were York and SLAAM, who played well, but against inferior competition, thus lowering their index numbers.

Maja had a scheduling conflict for her 7th grade team:  a dance competition Friday into Saturday morning.  We divided and conquered, my wife staying at dance and only missing of Millie's games.  While she was dancing the day away, one teammate out for the season, and another with back spams,  her teammates played two solid wins to 2nd place for the play-in games.  

The first Sunday game showed Maja's fresh legs for rebounding, and they beat the same local team for third time in two tournaments in a grinding fashion. 

My one pet peeve with AAU program names is the overuse of the word "Elite."  It might work for the older divisions, but we had seen only one or two teams out of a dozen with the word "Elite" in their name that were any good.  

Thankfully, for the sake of competition, Elevate Elite out of Virginia was the antithesis to that rule, have won most of their games in commanding fashion all season. 

With even match-ups up and down the rosters, it wasn't surprising that Maja's team was only up by one at halftime.  In the second half, Elevate's previously missed shots and lay-ups began to find their way, and it took an strong rally to come up short in a 27-24 nail-biter.  

Same notes about the Philly tournament affecting the index here.   All top four teams could not be found at any tournament in the Northeast.  

One more tournament, TBD, but tonight (Monday), we look to the future with the first game of the local school summer league.  The good news,  some of her classmates are also AAU teammates.  The bad news, some may have been moved to play a grade level above.    The sixth graders moving up to junior high ball are not eligible until they finish the 6th grade school year on Friday, so it's seven girls going up against the Hazleton Lady Cougars, who are exactly the same team at #4 in the AAU Power Index.  

Let's have fun!

Optional AAU Rant Rankings #5

 With no basketball again this weekend, and one kid at a sleepover Saturday night, and both at a pool party, Sunday, it was a relaxing weekend.   Sure, I only got about an hour on the painting bench, but I decided to brave the heat wave to open the pool for the kids.  Most of the weekend was spent enjoying the new air conditioner for my office, and churning out THREE Star Wars d6 Actual Plays.  

It also allowed to do data entry on my two AAU Girls age groups I follow with tournaments in six states affecting the Power Index I maintain.  

A lot of inactivity actually allowed some teams index number to rise (some teams finally have a shot to win two or more games in a weekend, hence their winning percentage goes up, influencing the index numbers.)  Worse yet, some teams won their respective tournaments, but against a poor schedule, the index penalized them with a 20-30 point drop.

You'll also note the undefeated #15 team from last week dropped out of the standing altogether.  Another tournament championship for them this weekend, but their level of competition is repetitive and inferior.   Treat this as a mid-major college team, or a team that's only played DIII schools as a warm-up.  Some of these teams never leave their local comfort zone.  

They're also all in 5th grade. 

Many in the 7th grade Division partook in a giant three-day tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey this weekend.  Fifty (50) teams participated, of which at 45 would be considered "quality" competition that teams would want to travel 3+ hours to play against.   All those teams did beat up each other, so the indices will all go down... unless you win out.

The nine game minimum moves up to ten for next week.  I'm assuming most programs should have five tournaments for a season (March-June), so is 15 the baseline for the end of the season?

Mandatory AAU Basketball Rant: Tournament #3

 With the word rant in the regular title, it would be foolish to avoid my topic for the day.

The easiest job in the world?  AAU scoreboard operator.  

Referees are usually horrible, but given most tournaments will give 11 assignments in a 12 hour stretch, I'm satisfied that they still make most calls and at least try to enforce player safety.  

I've never refed an official game, but I have done scoreboard and stats for a variety of levels.  I've had clock issues and minor, short-term scoring issues, so I try to be sympathetic, but I've seen egregious scoring errors in 12 of the 14 games I watched last weekend.  Multiple three-pointers (with both refs using the "touchdown" motion to signify this) were each marked as two points apiece.   Phantom foul shots added or ignored.  And even worse, complete ignorance on running clock rules.    

Let's not even talk about the one time an assistant scorekeeper was assigned to championship, only to have them pass out, face down, on the table before tip-off. 

If my kids' teams need to go back to 8am starts to resolve this, I'd be willing.  Late games this weekend were neither better nor worse.

While I'm a big fan of early tip-offs, discovering on Thursday that both girls had their games start after dinner on Saturday threw off all our pre-planning.  Dogs were still going to the kennel Friday afternoon and hotel rooms everywhere were set-up with use-it-or lose it reservations (those who tried to cancel Friday only had their whole weekend wiped out.)  

The big benefit was that we got a chance to go down, find the (new) hotel by dusk, and simply relax with a late wake-up.  

The odd displays of broccoli around doors was a bit disturbing.  

With a late wake-up, but a late game, we packed the car full of girls to make a visit up to Chocolate World in Hershey.  I've been going to Chocolate World for 43 years, and despite the technological advances and 1000% marketing blitz, it's still a pleasant (and free) side trek. 

All the girls were extremely well-behaved at Chocolate World and grabbing dinner.  The adults, on the other hand?  We apparently need Jesus.  The good news is that we had great servers and fast service, in spite of us, so the kids could get back to the hotel, get changed and finally get down to business. 

Not everyone Millie's team went to Chocolate World, but everyone played like they had spent the whole day on rides at Hersheypark.  Missed shots, poor decisions, and a lack of hustle turns sure routs into only 10 and 15 point wins.  Luckily, her team has a deep bench, and as girls got their act together, those players got more playing time.  

Millie taking her back-up Center role seriously.

For Millie's games, the scoreboard mistakes were still near forgivable and correctable.   Maja's games began the downward spiral.

We figured Maja's team had already played an incredibly tough schedule, and a wave of .500 teams with their own brushes against the elite teams was only fitting.  Somewhere in the 2nd half of the first game, the scorekeeper just decided to ignore a few baskets by the other team.  A few of the other team's parents knew, as the team scorekeeper, I knew, but nothing was done, so a solid nine-point win for the girls was actually a much closer four-point win.  Thankfully, Maja finally hit her stride, scoring 8 points, with two 3-pointers, to keep them ahead. 

Game two for Maja the scorekeeper stopped tallying up their baskets, and it was much earlier than a 20-point mercy rule might incline a person to.   Even the third game was a comedy of foul shots going to the wrong team, and a lot of gratuitous clock running and stoppages which luckily help her team out.  

The Championship game took the cake.   Maja's team finally got another rematch with the "hated" Chargers from the fall, and slowly but surely, built up a lead.  Up 24-14 in the 2nd half, the scoreboard operator must have kicked the plug for the scoreboard, turning it off, and wiping any and all memory of what things were.  Once it turned back on, there was a whole ordeal of whether there were 13 minutes left, 9 minutes, or even 7.  After that came to an amicable agreement, the score was reset.  Maja's team got 23 points (the scorekeeper never acknowledged the "double touchdown" motion of the refs for a crucial 3-pointer, and no matter what the complaint was there was no way to convincing her otherwise.  

For the Chargers, of course she put 20 points on the scoreboard.

Wait, what?  

Even the Charger parents were amused but their sudden windfall.

Maja's team played great and won 40-32 officially, but in reality, won 41-22.  

It was there first championship for the season, a long one that has seen them play 5 of the Top 15 teams in the Mid-Atlantic, and now are finally over .500, at 6-5.

Millie's team went to the championship game, as expected and faced a gargantuan team of decent ability.  Unlike previous years, when they won with 6, 7, maybe 8 players if they were lucky, this year's group could be rotated in to take some lumps, dish them out, and give the exhausted players some much needed rest.  This year's team also has some extra height to absorb the abuse vertically and not exhaust everyone by contesting rebounds.

Stopping for dinner, and a series of drop-offs of friends and teammates, we got home around 10pm Sunday night.  

I wish a scoreboard operator could change THAT time.  

And now for the Power Index;

Clutch (my daughter's team) played Collegeville in the finals, and their victory not only catapulted their rating higher up, but boosted Collegeville's rating. 

For Maja's team, the winning record finally stops my reasoning for not ranking them.  

Since the index counts opponents winning percentage, and the average winning percentage of teams those opponents play, it was important to bring up this statistical assault. 

There have been 364 teams participating in "AAU" tournaments this fall

Of those 364, 88 have played at least 9 games thus far. 

Of those 88, Maja's team is 4th overall for toughest strength of schedule. 

And they're the only team with a winning record in that top 12 . 

Optional AAU Rant - Rankings #3

More proof that this blog is what I want it to be, rather than focus on what produces hits, I'm now using it to place the 5th and 7th grade girls AAU Power Index I've fiddle together and maintained.  Not as much fun as keeping stats for Dice Baseball (possibly because of the stress I get over the kids' vastly improved scheduled, compared with last year) but it is slowly improving my Excel-fu.

Thanks to Mothers Day weekend keeping the games to a minimum, this weekend should be showcase tournament after showcase.

Still, with a limited number of game from western Connecticut to the Ohio border, from Northern Virginia to Upstate New York, the handful of games massively affected the calculations.

First off, Collegeville lost two games, knocking them off the top spot, and the Bruins played teams that lowered their index by a few points.  The Collegeville losses boosted the index for Clutch and York, even though they did not play.  

After this weekend, the minimum games to be ranked will go up to 9.   Yes, my daughter's team is somewhere on the rankings.  Scariest data not on the index?  The first appearance of the Comets 5th Grade National Team should give most other teams pause, if not mind-numbing anxiety.  From their first tournament that I could find, they are as good as advertised.

For 7th grade, another strong showing by Bensalem boosts them into the otherwise stagnant Top 5.  Lady Cougars won another tournament, but the level of competition only garnered them .010 more on the index and keeps them at 12th. 

NOTE:  I did find some more 7th grade tournaments in New Jersey that I need to log from earlier this season, but it appears the teams are quite insular.   While the 10-1 DC Premier is a quality team with a weaker schedule, I need to go back and research DC Premier GUAA, which appears to be their "National" team, whose only reason they aren't on the Index is the lack of games.  Easily Top Five competition, if not better.

And no, my older kid is not on this index.  They're a comfortable .535 with a losing record.  That's what happens when you play the 4th toughest schedule in the region.  

(Edit: Of course, posting these for posterity, and nothing else, has cursed us with both kids playing back-to-backs to end the night, and it was too late to cancel our Friday hotel rooms without cancelling Saturday as well.  Good news is, they are all games against quality teams they should beat, so hopefully, I'll see their teams' rankings rise.)

Mandatory AAU Basketball Rant: Tournament #2

I don't know whether or not I appreciate this staggered approached to the AAU season, having only competed in two tournaments thus far, when some programs have already played 20+ games, but I am certain of one thing: the level of competition has been much better.  

Last weekend we finally got a chance to play at the hallowed Spooky Nook complex in Manheim, Pennsylvania.  I guess 29 basketball courts weren't enough, because they found some sort of space to add two additional courts!

The previous weekend at Spooky Nook was a 40-team AAU East Coast showcase event, three 13-hour days of basketball with elite high school-aged teams from as far away as South Carolina, Wisconsin, and even Canada in attendance.  This was all on top of a normal tournament set-up for the younger age groups with the usual Mid-Atlantic teams and brackets chocked full of previous tourney winners.  A lot of the results were surprising and shook up the unofficial power rankings.  

Compared to that tournament, this weekend's wasn't as marquee, but they were few slouches in the brackets.  

Millie's 5th Grade age group was set up into two separate division, with five other teams brave enough to be but in the Gold group with her Clutch team.  Her team had the odd luxury of not even playing until 3:30 on Saturday, and still managed to roll through two well-established programs.  There was still a stutter when the five new girls were subbed in the first game, but by the end of the game, everyone was acclimated to the expected level of play, and I think every player, coach, and parent were grateful for the extra height we've recruited, and of course, the ability to give everyone plenty of minutes, but also plenty of rest. 

On Sunday, Millie got a revenge win for Maja against a Western PA Chaos team (more on that to follow below), and prepared for a championship game against the Glen Arm Gladiators.    Glen Arm had come to play, knocking off my expected favorite, Team Thrill Black, 38-37, in perhaps the most exciting game of the tournament.  The lead was traded back and forth the entire game, and the Team Thrill had a chance to tie it up with five second lefts after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt, but the player only made two out of three foul shots.  

The championship game was a grind.  Yes, Millie's team won 40-22, but it was heavyweight prize fight to get there.  Lots of physicality and jump balls stopping the clock made us fear it would turn into another two-hour championship game like they had against the Delaware Swarm last year, but the ability to give the girls a rest AND showcase the grit and ruthless aggression of some of the new girls, 

8-0 after two tournaments isn't too shabby at all.  

Maja's 7th grade team had few problems, even if you just mention the 8am Saturday start.  While 5th grade is at the top of pecking order for their age group, 7th grade is not, but they continue to be placed in the top/elite bracket for seeding.  This is absolutely fine with all the players, coaches, and even the parents, as no one paid to go to tournaments and beat up cupcakes for a trophy, medal, or t-shirt.  Out of the 28 7th grade teams, Maja's team was placed in the 12-team Black Division, chock full of undefeated teams looking to make their mark outside of their local tourney scene.  

That 8am game was rough, playing an undefeated team out of Altoona that lived up to the hype.   No one player in particular stood out, just solid defense, good fundamentals, and spot-on shooting in their 40-16 romp of them.   While absolutely no fault of the team, the Altoona girls were also part of two pool games that weekend that witnessed the refs calling a grand total of two moving violations (walks/travels/double dribbles.).  I get wanting the kids to play, keeping the clock running, etc, but only two calls is ridiculous. 

Maja's second game was against the 7th grade version of the previously mentioned Western PA Chaos program.  They too came cross-state to show their mettle, with a bit more questionable resume (more of their opponents were one-tournament cupcakes I couldn't find participating in any other games).  

Unfortunately, they came as advertised.  Our starters couldn't adapt to their aggressive, all-press, in-your-face style and before your knew it, they were down 23 and the mercy clock kept ticking off seconds.  

The one advantage of mercy is that the team up by 20 needs to play half-court defense, and that bit of breathing room allowed them to knock the lead to under 19 (and stopped the mercy rule).  Then an amazing bit of play occurred.  The coach put in Maja and her three Jr High teammates, and not only did they beat the re-applied press, but went on a 12-2 run against the first team to get within nine.  With two minutes left, they subbed in the usual team and they ended up losing 44-32.   

That would have been the newsworthy portion for everyone, but for me it was the full dirty play of the Chaos players towards Maja.  During that late run, not only was Maja's head stepped on by one player in particular, but she was double-kicked in the chin.... then punched in the handshake line!  

That would be a foot mark.  

Yes, the coach gave a half-assed apology, and film was sent over the tournament organizer, which marked with the ejection of the 5th grade girls coach might ban them from that particular brand of tournament, but Spooky Nook has tourneys run by five different companies, so it's an easy run-around.  

Maja did what she could, namely cheer on the hated Chargers from last Fall, as they slowly pummeled Chaos into the ground on Sunday, to knock them out of the playoffs.  It's no surprise that the player in question got a technical and fouled out of that game.  It's the little victories.  

Speaking of little victories, Maja's team did score a huge 44-15 win in the consolation game.   They're far better as the aggressor and the starters fare better not under 24/7 pressure.  They'll try to do better next week at tournament #3. 

And know that I've made an investment in time, no reason not to continue the power rankings, at least through the month of May.  

Collegeville and York Thunder's A-Team were both idle, but since the RPI index formula benefits from opponents (and their opponents) doing well, their ratings increased to allow them to keep up with the Joneses.  WPA Bruins (Pittsburgh) and Northeast Elite (Connecticut) jumped up in the index, due to quality tournament wins.

All Day Hoops was the Altoona-based team Maja faced.  Not only did they win the entire Spooky Nook tournament, but they beat the previously undefeated Chaos team, but gave first losses to current #3 BuxMont and "the hated" #4 Chargers.  That's how you secure a power index rating of .644!    I did find some additional New Jersey tournament data to enter, as well researching anything else for DC Premier, and their separate National GUAA team, which ran havoc over the competition last weekend.  

... and as much we "hate" the Chargers, it's simply because "we" haven't beaten them yet, not because one of them punched Maja in the face. 

Not An AAU Rant - Mid-Atlantic Power Rankings 4/24/2022

 Yeah, I've become THAT father....

Some yell during games, some personally take over practices, or run at-home drills that resemble Marine Boot Camp.  

Me?  I like to crunch numbers and track tournament results, 

Our program tends to follow one of tournament organizers that do present a ranking system.  This early in the season, things are tenuous at best, but the entire 5th-8th grade rankings are ludicrous.  I've put it upon myself to review all the apps, enter the results in a spreadsheet so brittle, it's held together by scotch tape and the Holy Spirit, and generate a Power Index for 5th and 7th Grade girls.

Yep, it sounds as bad as it is.  

For the sports buff, it's essentially 80% an RPI index, and 20% bias.   

A 4-game minimum for ranking (there haven't been as many 5th grade tournaments) makes thing as tenuous as the tournament organizer rankings.  Strength of schedule and the opponent's strength of schedule are taken into consideration, so you have scenarios like PA Fusion behind Keystone Hoops, although both traded losses, and PA Fusion won the tournament championship (actual championships are not taken into consideration.  In some tournaments, they're a dime a dozen).  Keystone Hoops' opponents have played elsewhere and fare a little bit better, thus putting them slightly ahead of PA Fusion, but I can't put them as #2 with two superior teams with undefeated records.  As the season progresses, I'll feel more comfortable relying on a true RPI.

To show the index's effectiveness, the #12 team on the index came into the weekend 11-0 with three championships under their belt in the past two months.  Their power index was under .500, due to host of inferior teams whose only quality opponent was this undefeated team. This weekend, they lost a pool game to a team that's 5-6 for the season, playing far rougher opponents.  They're now 13-1 and they're Power Ranking actually went UP because of the better opponents they played.  

Disclaimer, Millie's 5th grade team is somewhere on that list.

For 7th grade,  you needed six games to crack the Top Ten, despite the 5 game minimum.  I flip-flopped #9 and #10 because I know the one program pits them against weaker teams in the program, who are spoon fed rec league opponents to bolster their record.  #10 has beaten two quality opponents, although the rest are inflated a bit.  

Another idiosyncrasy with the index and teams with 10 or fewer games, Maja's team is 1-3, but based on the superior teams they played, would hold a .505 ranking  (fair or just above average compared to other teams.)  There's a local team that's  8-0 with two championships, but the quality of opponents is so poor their Power Index rating is .480! 

(Review) Tales of the Caribbean by Golden Goblin Press

Back in September 2015, I was one of close to 500 people who pledged towards Golden Goblin's Tales of the Caribbean.  It arrived with acceptable delay and since we've wrapped up our Cthulhu campaign for awhile, it was placed on the shelf until I got some beach side reading time in Gran Turk, the Bahamas, and the balcony of the cruise ship that took me there to start the Summer.

Tales of the Caribbean is a 148-page softcover collection of seven scenarios set in various locations in the Caribbean.  They do include a NPC to possibly create continuity between them, but each scenario can stand perfectly fine on their own. 

As I regularly do with Cthulhu scenarios, I'll do a quick overview of each one and a StatCheck breakdown.  Cool locations and events are great and all, but if the investigators can't handle the skill checks, then you shouldn't run without some adjustments.  I'll list what skill checks are written into the scenario, maximum SAN losses/gains if all situations are encountered/obtain, as well as any special bonuses, and Cthulhu Mythos knowledge that can be gained in the scenario.

The Devil Cuts In by Phredd Groves 

A Christmas tradition on the island of Monserrsat goes horribly wrong. 

Anthropology

Art: Music x1

Charm x2

Climb x2

Credit Rating x1

Cthulhu Mythos x1

Fast-Talk x2

First Aid x3

Jump x1

Library Use x7

Medicine x3

Other Language: Creole x1

Other Language: Latin x1

Other Language: Montserratian x1

Persuade x2

Psychoanalysis x1

Psychology x1

Sleight of Hand x1

Spot Hidden x5

Stealth x1

Max San Loss: 7-105

Max San Gain: 4-32

Bonuses: +2% to Cthulhu Mythos

Toil in the Fields by Jo Kreil

Investigators are sent to Haiti to retrieve the body to the son of an old friend.  But what happens when they find the young man, still alive on the streets of Port-Au-Prince?

Archaeology x1

Chemistry x1

Conceal x1

Credit Rating x3

Cthulhu Mythos x2

Fast Talk x3

Geology x1

Law x1

Listen x2

Locksmith x4

Medicine x1 

Occult x4

Other Language: French x2

Persuade x3

Spot Hidden x4

Stealth x3

Max San Loss:  8-57

Max San Gain:   6-23

Bonuses:  Cthulhu Mythos +5%, Occult +4%,

Crimson Eyes & Azure Pools by Jason Williams 

Investigators are summoned to when a research vessel with Miskatonic University staff and students is found abandoned in the Bahamas.   

Climb x1 

Fast Talk x1 

First Aid x1

Library Use x1

Listen x3

Occult x1

Persuade x3

Spot Hidden x8

Track x3

Max San Loss:  13-60

Max San Gain:  6-45

Bonuses: Cthulhu Mythos +1%

Wrath of the Sulfurer by Dave Sokolowski

The investigators are rushed to St Vincent to act as observers for a volcanic eruption.

Anthropology x2

Archaeology x2

Art: Painting x1

Bargain x1

Credit Rating x3

Cthulhu Mythos x1

Dodge x4

Fast Talk x1

First Aid x2

History x1

Library Use x1

Listen x3

Medicine x1

Occult x2

Persuade x3

Psychoanalysis x1

Psychology x1

Spot Hidden x2

Max San Loss: 6-41

Max San Gain:  5-26

Bonuses:  Nothing

Black as Pitch at Midnight by Oscar Rios

The investigators arrive in Trinidad and get caught up in an old rivalry started half a world away.

Library Use x1

Medicine x1

Other Language: Hindi x2

Psychology x2

Spot Hidden x1

Tracking x1

Not a lot of skill checks, but there's definitely a warning that this scenario needs experienced players/investigators.  

Max San Loss:  8-44

Max San Gain:  16-47

Bonuses: Nothing

Servant of God by Jeff Moeller

Investigators are hired to solve a murder of a Vatican Monsignor in Cuba.

Accounting x1

Library Use x6

Other Language: Spanish x2+

Persuade x1

Spot Hidden x2

Max San Loss:  12-28

Max San Gain:  3-18

Bonuses: Cthulhu Mythos +1%, Occult +1%

Night Forms a Cover for Sinners by Oscar Rios

The investigators are asked to follow up on an M.U. grad student doing research in Puerto Rico.

Botany  x1

Chemistry x1

Climb x1

Drive Auto x2

Other Language: Spanish x2+

Psychology x3

Spot Hidden x1+

Max San Loss:  7-24

Max San Gain:  4-26

Bonuses:  Cthulhu Mythos +1%, History +3-5%, Occult +5-7%

Tales of the Caribbean is great for a number of reasons.  First off, there are seven distinct scenarios included.  Each could be reasonably dropped into an existing campaign as a either a vacation interlude or an exotic mission from the hum-drum New England lifestyle. 

Second, the traditional Lovecraftian New England Mythos is turned on its ear with the Caribbean culture and climate.  

Third, by and large, they are survivable scenarios, that could easily escalate out of control depending on Investigators' action.  Black as Pitch at Midnight is the exception, but that is the only scenario that provides a warning to Keepers.  Tough characters and experienced players might get out of that encounter with smart, malevolent experienced entities with their wits or the lives, but not everyone is coming out with both. 

Finally,  *spoilers*  no Deep Ones or References to Atlantis.  Even visits to Cthulhu standards come in with new dressings.  And after reading Crimson Eyes, Azure Pools while on my cruise to the Bahamas, I looked at some of their souvenirs in a completely different light. 

With all that being sad, I give Tales of the Caribbean five out of five gnomes.  

A print copy of Tales of the Caribbean is available for $39.95 from Golden Goblin Press.

Lists, Posts, and Pages

I greatly enjoy blogging, not only for the chance to put my gaming thoughts in written/typed form, but I'm secretly a geek for statistics and watching the stat apps the Blogger supplies makes my day.

I've had three times where skewed data got to me. 

• Recently, I had either an active Russian fan base or a hyperactive bot constantly hit my site.  Probably 3,000 hits or so over a few weeks.  Lucky for my statistical OCD, most of the hits were for my pages I set, not blog posts, and the few posts that did get hit didn't generate outrageous number.  I've adjusted my pages and I've been Ruskie-free for a week.
• Back in August, something from Italy hit me for almost 9,000 page views in about twenty minutes.  It was going to be a record-setting month for me anyway, extras hits like that makes the accomplishment loose its luster.
• My stats for posts on my "stats" sidebar doesn't match up with my stats under "posts."  Confused?  I sure was for the longest time.  Actually the stats are accurate under the Now, Today, Last Week, and Last Month, but not "All-Time"  Back in August, I discovered that some of my top ten all-time posts actually had 1,000 more posts that the "stats" sidebar accounted for.  In fact, my top #10 post was actually #16.

I reviewed all of my posts to see if my Russian visitors awkwardly inflated any posts, and when all could be as well as it ever could, I recalculated my top #19.  I picked nineteen because that was where that strange #10 post all-time ended up.

Contemptible Little Armies continues to gain views (and truth be told, deserves a rewrite).   My Emerald Vale Games review also attracted a lot of traffic, and that doesn't even exist anymore! 

 

To keep some of the older (and excellent) battle reports active, I may need to set up a page to collect their links.  Worst case, the Russians will lot it!

 

(Stat Crunch) Cthulhu Invictus Companion

After finishing up the stat crunch for De Horrore Cosmico, it only made sense to tackle the three scenarios in the Cthulhu Invictus Companion.

With the typical 1920's Investigator, many players simply prep their characters with Library Use, Spot Hidden, Dodge, and Shotgun to survive many different types of encounters.   Ancient Rome is a different, shotgun-free environment.  With Golden Goblin's product focusing on Persuade, Spot Hidden, Listen, Natural World, and probably a bunch of weapon skills, let's see what the authors of Invictus considered to be preferred skills in the setting

Chuma Invictus
Climb x1
Hide x1
Insight x2
Library Use x1
Listen x9
Natural World x2
Other Language Meriotic x1
Persuade x2
Repair/Devise x2
Sneak x5
Spot Hidden x14
Tactics x2

Min/Max SAN Loss:  4- 5
Min/Max SAN Gain:   1d6
Cthulhu Mythos Gain: 8%

Morituri Te Salutamus
Civics x3
Dodge x1
Empire  x3
Fast Talk x5
Insight x8
Library Use  x3
Listen x5
Persuade x5
Repair/Devise x1
Sneak x1
Spot Hidden x7
Status x1
Track x1

Min/Max SAN Loss:   5 - 34
Min/Max SAN Gain:  2  - 18
Cthulhu Mythos Gain    5%

Bacchanalia
Cthulhu Mythos x1
Insight x2
Listen x2
Medicine x2
Natural World x1
Navigate x1
Occult x1
Persuade x6
Pilot Boat x1
Sneak x2
Spot Hidden x8
Status x3
Swim x1
Tactics x1

Min/Max SAN Loss:  2-19
Min/Max SAN Gain:  1-8
Cthulhu Mythos Gain   0%

(Stat Crunch) De Horrore Cosmico

While a review of De Horrore Cosmico is forthcoming, as well of reviews for Cthulhu Invictus and its Companion, I realized that it had been some time since I compiled a "stat crunch" of a CoC scenario book, and such an analysis would help with said review.

What is a stat crunch? As I've mentioned in previous postings,  it's my way of determining if a scenario is appropriate/inappropriate for a group of investigators.  It falls under four sets of data.

1. Skills:  I will list each skill that is called in each scenario, as well as how many times it is specifically called in it.  If the scenario calls for the potential of skill checks, I will end it with a "+".  Seven Library Use rolls for seven different items is, of course, seven times.  (Library Use x7)  A vague reference to Persuade being useful in a bar counts as one (Persuade 1+).  I've found too many scenarios have "hidden skills" that can kill a scenario in mid-stride if the investigators aren't well-versed (Of course we carry an Egyptologist around in our gang during a turf war, just in case we fall into a sewer full of hieroglyphics.)  In a game was cosmic horrors can overwhelm mere mortals in seconds, I'd like to give the investigators as many chances to succeed/flee as possible.  The inevitable will happen soon enough.   I also don't include any weapon or combat stats unless specifically mentioned.
2. Potential SAN Loss- If the investigator experiences every encounter that triggers a SAN check, the first number is the minimum sanity loss if they pass every check, and the second number is the maximum SAN loss if they fail every check.  Although it should be common sense, if you're planning on a filler scenario between campaigns, you might not want that scenario that has a range of 5 to 200 in SAN loss.
3. Potential San Gain - If you succeed in every major objective, this would be your maximum SAN reward at the end of the session.  Perhaps I'm being too kind, but I do compare gain versus loss for a campaign. 
4. Cthulhu Mythos (and more):  If you read all the tomes and experience all the special circumstances, this is the max Cthulhu Mythos % your investigator can learn.  This does not include the free CM points for experiencing a Mythos creature for the first time (if you do that sort of thing at your table).  Again, CoC is a lot more risk than reward (and earning CM can be more risk than reward), but I like to know what can happen to the group I'm running.  I'll also include any possible automatic skill increases or rewards, such as Occult and Credit (Status in Invictus), where applicable.

Check out my other Stat Crunch attemps here.

The Vetting of Marius Asina
Cthulhu Mythos  x3
Fast Talk x2
Natural History x2
Occult x3
Persuade x20+
Spot Hidden x4
Write Greek x1
Write Latin  x1
Write Oparian x1

Min/Max SAN loss range  5-35
Min/Max SAN reward    4-28
Cthulhu Mythos  +8
Auto Skill Checks in Occult, Navigation, Other Language Oparian, Other Kingdom: Opar

Doom
Boating x1
Civics x2
Cthulhu Mythos x2
Fast Talk x6
First Aid x1
Insight x1
Library use x1
Medicine x1
Natural History x1
Natural World x2
Occult x2
Persuade x6
Stealth x1
Tracking x1
Write Ancient Egyptian x1
Write Greek x2
Write Latin x1

Min/Max SAN loss range 8-98
Min/Max SAN reward    2-30
Cthulhu Mythos +13%


Murmillo
Climb x1
Listen x1
Occult x1
Persuade x3+
Repair/Devise x1
Sneak x4
Spot Hidden x7

Min/Max SAN loss range 6-52
Min/Max SAN reward     12-54
Cthulhu Mythos  0%

Kith and Kine
Listen x4
Natural World x5
Navigation x1+
Other Language: Brythonic x1+
Other Language:  Punic x1+
Repair/Devise x3
Sneak x1
Spot Hidden x6
Tracking x1

Min/Max SAN loss range   6-71
Min/Max SAN reward    3-16
Cthulhu Mythos  0%



The Devil's Mouth
Craft: Cooking x2
First Aid x1+
Insight x1
Listen x3
Medicine x2
Natural World x1
Other Kingdom:  Caledonian x1+
Other Language: Pictish x1+
Persuade x2
Ride x1
Science: Metallurgy x1
Science:  Astronomy x1
Spot Hidden x5
Tracking x4

Min/Max SAN loss range  6-48
Min/Max SAN reward    3-13
Cthulhu Mythos  +5%

The Case Tertius Orestius Sedonius
Civics x6
Climb x1
Empire x1
First Aid x1
Insight x2
Listen x4
Medicine x6
Natural World x3
Persuade x3
Potions x2
Repair/Devise x1
Sneak x1
Spot Hidden x5
Status x3
Tracking x1
Write:  Greek x1

Min/Max SAN loss range   8-43
Min/Max SAN reward    3-22
Cthulhu Mythos  +8%

 

The Internet Broke My Blog

I always admit that I love stats, but not too many stats.  While I appreciate Moneyball-style player breakdown to build a successful team, I personally don't care what a players SLG/OBP is against LHP in day games in May. 

Blogger is nice enough to provide stats on pageviews and the like, and I've gleefully looked at my numbers since the first few days of the blog.    I've watched my little creation grow from a dozen hits a day to hundreds.   Sure, I only have a handful of loyal followers who've signed up via Google, but my effort to post everyday, sometimes twice, and to compile subject links to the pages right below the title header brings in a steady flow of legit traffic everyday. 

The reason I say legit for two reasons.  First, the blog was slowly nearing it's 150,000 hit and I try very hard not to spam other sites with the blog information.  Second, I know some of those hits are skewed by spam hits from out of country (300 hits from Ukraine?  In less than 3 minutes?  Probably  a bot of some sort).

As part of my morning ritual this month, I'm on Twitter, tweeting the link to my most recent #RPGaDay post.  This morning, after I posted Day 5, I went back to Blogger to check my "overnight" numbers and watched a light night of 30 hits explode to 9,000 in less than ten minutes.

Around 8,800 of them are from Italy.  I'm well over 10,000 hits for the month and just blew by 150,000 all time.

Freakin' Italy.

Stuff like this happens, but I was enjoying the numbers naturally cascade with the #RPGaDay posts, some recent painting, and the more recent games increasing traffic.  A hundred hits on one day in March from Belarus tilts my head to the side, 8,000+ makes all my graphs and stuff useless.

One thing I can blame Blogger for, rather than Italian Internet robots, is the fact that they use two separate methods of recording pageviews.    On a whim yesterday, I took a look at what my biggest posts for the year were, then compared last years top ten posts with the current volume.  Nothing too surprising, as some of the posts that were #8-10 last year have seen steady traffic from last year and have moved up considerably.  That's naturally how blogs work.

However, I then realized my one post about Cold Wars in 2013 had 100 more pageviews in the Posts tab that lists all the posts, than my #10 all-time post listed under the Stats tab.    I did some research, and lo and behold, there is a different system used for each tab.  My #10 post was ultimately #12 using the other system, but still had 50 more pageviews than the Stats had recorded.   In fact, I discovered that a number of already popular mice warrior/mousling posts actually had hundreds more hits than I previously thought.  If I had realized this earlier, mouslings would obviously get more attention to the adoring crowds hunting down info and pics about them.

Here's how crazily different my rankings are: 

Time to finish up cleaning/painting the Kriget Rum and time to start painting some mice, playing some CLA, and perhaps hunt down some swag for product promotion? 

(Review) Tales of the Crescent City

For months I've been harping on the Tales of the Crescent City Kickstarter from Golden Goblin Press, from stretch goals, to communication, to the free pdf, to the extra freebies they threw in when they shipped the book to my door. 

But now that I have a physical copy of the book, what do I think of it?

 In reviewing each scenario, I'm also including my Stat Crunch breakdown.   This breakdown lists the skill checks that are mentioned in the text, total possible SAN loss, total SAN reward, and any other possible bonuses, such as max Cthulhu Mythos gain.

Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Anthropology x1
Bargain x2
Biology x1
Chemistry x1
Climb x1
Conceal x1
Credit Rating x7
Cthulhu Mythos x11
Dodge x1
Fast-Talk x2
Hide x1
Law x4
Library Use x3
Listen x1
Lockpicking x2
Natural History x1
Navigate x2
Occult x3
Other Lang: French x2
Persuade x1
Psychology x7
Spot Hidden x2
Track x1

Max SAN loss:  8-156
Max SAN reward: 4-27
Bonus:  +6% to Cthulhu Mythos
             +1d6% to Credit Rating.

Originally published in Great Old Ones, Kevin Ross updated and revised it for this collection.  It's the classic "Reporter dies by mysterious causes.  Ready?  Investigate!"  scenarios, only set in Mardi Gras.    This one could very well be a campaign ender, under even experience players/characters, but you may not even discover what you need to with ELEVEN Cthulhu Mythos checks.   Still, there are multiple avenues to get to the end, and the end is not a complete disaster.  If your running a New Orleans campaign, this is more a subtle finale that a good opening.

Bloodlines
Bargain x1
Credit Rating x5
Cthulhu Mythos x2
Fast Talk x5
French x3
History x1
Library Use x2
Navigation x5
Occult
Persuade x4
Pilot: Boat
Psychology x2
Spot Hidden x3
Track

Max SAN loss: 2-18
Max SAN reward: 0
Bonus:  +2 Cthulhu Mythos
Credit Rating Loss: -10% 

Bloodlines covers the scenario of what happens when the first investigators perish and the second group find all their stuff.  There's little actual research involved here, as the information is handed to them in spades and the the investigators just need to know when to tread carefully.  The second part's ending is anti-climatic, as all clues head to a location where nothing can truly happen.   The third act does make an interesting moral quandry for the party, which helps explain no SAN reward being offered.  Still, most non-idiotic investigators should be able to stay alive, avoid angering dark Gods, and be hapy to get out alive, and Bloodlines offers a fairly easy filler scenario, with just enough leads to connect to other scenarios in this book.

Needles
Archaeolgy x1
Bargain x1
Biology x2
Chemistry x2
Credit Rating x2
Cthulhu Mythos x5
Fast Talking x5
First Aid x1
Grapple x1
History x2
Hypnosis x1
Law x2
Library Use x11
Medicine x3
Natural History x2
Occult x5
Other Lang: French x1
Persuade x4
Pharmacy x2
Psychoanalysis x3
Psychology x5
Sneak x1
Spot Hidden x4

Max SAN loss: 10-82

Max SAN reward: 6-31
Bonus: +1 Cthulhu Mythos

The Investigators befriend a doctor that's been attacked, and then are forced to deal with an Egyptian diety.  Mutliple character types get to shine in one of the three parts of the scenario:  Con men in the first, Researchers in the second, and Scientists in the third.  While the max SAN loss would only result in truly catastrophic events, the possible SAN reward appears to be way to high for the challenge faced.

The Quickening Spiral
Credit Rating x2
Fast Talk x4
Library Use x4
Navigation
Occult x1
Pilot Boat x2
Psychology x2
Persuade x5
Spot Hidden x4

Max SAN loss: 3-31

Max SAN reward: 0(!)
Bonus: +4 Cthulhu Mythos
Bonus: +10% Credit Rating
A mysterious plague hits New Orleans and only the investigators can solve it!  Very straightforward with few rolls to obtain information.  The information is just doled out like a family style dinner.   Worse yet, they can save New Orleans from a deadly plague, but don't get the chance to earn any reward.  It's got the opposite problem as with Needles.

Song and Dance
Art: Music x1
Art: Dance x1
Climb x1
Credit Rating x8
Cthulhu Mythos x1
Fast Talk x10
Jump x1
Library Use x6
Locksmith x2
Medicine x1
Occult x3
Other Lang: French x1
Persuade x11
Pilot Boat x1
Spot Hidden

Max SAN loss: 3-31
Max SAN reward: 0(!)
Bonus: +4 Cthulhu Mythos
Bonus: +10% Credit Rating

This is one of better layered scenarios in the book.  Greek Mythology.  Pre-Mardi-Gras festivities.  Worldwide events. Dance Contests.  What more do you need.  There are plenty of allies to help the investigators' cause, as well as plenty of enemies to hinder.  There is a very heavy reliance on the social skills, but that and Credit Rating are king in New Orleans high society.  Again, we see no particular SAN rewards for successfully completing the scenario, although  the physical gifts may well make up for it.

Five Lights at the Crossroads
Credit Rating x2
Cthulhu Mythos x2
Fast Talk x4
Library Use x1
Listen x1
Locksmith x1
Medicine x1
Occult x7
Other Lang: French x1
Persuade x3
Psychoanalysis x1
Psychology x1
Sneak x1
Spot Hidden x2

Max SAN loss: 8-152
Max SAN reward:  2-12
Bonus: +1% Cthulhu Mythos
Bonus: +1% Occult
A mysterious, gruesome death leads the investigators on a wild goose chase towards a potentially  cataclysmic end.   The notes state the this scenario could serve as a coda to a New Orleans campaign.  I'm leary to use it for anything but that.

Asylum: The Return of the Yellow Sign
Accounting x1

Archeology x1

Art (Literature) x1

Credit Rating x11

Cthulhu Mythos x3

Disguise x1

Hide x2

Law x3

Library Use x5

Listen x7

Locksmith x1

Occult x5

Persuade x5

Spot Hidden x9

Max SAN loss: 19-158

Max SAN reward 8-44

Bonus: 2-7% Credit Rating

The second of Kevin Ross' selections, this one returns to the same subject matter "Have you Seen,"  although it's got a heavy dose of Mythos inevitability at the end.  Still, if the investigators choose wisely, they do have a decent chase of survival.  Although the Cthulhu Mythos checks have calmed down a bit (and bit more reliance on NPC occultists), the ELEVEN Credit Rating checks may hamper the investigation.

All in all, Tales of the Crescent City is a fantastic book.  Most of the scenarios allow terrible horror with some narrow chances of redemption... and that's just dealing with New Orleans high society.  My only quibbles are on the Keeper side, as some scenarios give Monty Haul scale rewards while in others, death is the only reward you can earn.  Still, I'm incredibly satisfied with this product from Kickstarter campaign to hard copy in my hands.   I may need to run a one shot or two for the group, since the current CoC campaign is engaged far from New Orleans.

On the Gaming with the Gnomies Five Gnome Rating System, I give Tales of the Crescent City four gnomes.

(Stat Crunch) Tales of the Sleepless City

While a review of Tales of the Sleepless City is forthcoming, I realized that it had been some time since I compiled a "stat crunch" of a CoC scenario book, and such an analysis would help with said review.

What is a stat crunch, o' true believers?   It's my way of determining if a scenario is appropriate/inappropriate for a group of investigators.  It falls under four sets of data.

1. Skills:  I will list each skill that is called in each scenario, as well as how many times it is specifically called in it.  If the scenario calls for the potential of skill checks, I will end it with a "+".  Seven Library Use rolls for seven different items is, of course, seven times.  (Library Use x7)  A vague reference to Persuade being useful in a bar counts as one (Persuade 1+).  I've found too many scenarios have "hidden skills" that can kill a scenario in mid-stride if the investigators aren't well-versed (Of course we carry an Egyptologist around in our gang during a turf war, just in case we fall into a sewer full of hieroglyphics.)  In a game was cosmic horrors can overwhelm mere mortals in seconds, I'd like to give the investigators as many chances to succeed/flee as possible.  The inevitable will happen soon enough.   I also don't include any weapon or combat stats unless specifically mentioned.
2. Potential SAN Loss- If the investigator experiences every encounter that triggers a SAN check, the first number is the minimum sanity loss if they pass every check, and the second number is the maximum SAN loss if they fail every check.  Although it should be common sense, if you're planning on a filler scenario between campaigns, you might not want that scenario that has a range of 5 to 200 in SAN loss.
3. Potential San Gain - If you succeed in every major objective, this would be your maximum SAN reward at the end of the session.  Perhaps I'm being too kind, but I do compare gain versus loss for a campaign. 
4. Cthulhu Mythos (and more):  If you read all the tomes and experience all the special circumstances, this is the max Cthulhu Mythos % your investigator can learn.  This does not include the free CM points for experiencing a Mythos creature for the first time (if you do that sort of thing at your table).  Again, CoC is a lot more risk than reward (and earning CM can be more risk than reward), but I like to know what can happen to the group I'm running.  I'll also include any possible automatic skill increases or rewards, such as Occult and Credit, where applicable.

Check out my other Stat Crunch attemps here.

Disclaimers:  The scenarios in Tales are not tied together for a coherent campaign.  They are meant to be one shots or added as filler for a campaign where appropriate.  I've typed up this earliest portion of the post before compiling the data.

To Awaken What Never Sleeps
Architecture x1
Climb x1
Credit Rating x2
Cthulhu Mythos x6
Drive x1
Fast Talk x3
First Aid x3
History x1
Jump x1
Library Use x8
Listen x1
Locksmith x1
Medicine x2
Navigate x2
Occult x6
Persuade x5
Psychology x2
Spot Hidden x4

Min/Max SAN loss range 7-67
Min/Max SAN reward     2-12
Cthulhu Mythos   +3%

 A pretty well-balanced CoC adventure, even with the six Cthulhu Mythos rolls.

The Terror From the Museum
Archeology x1
Art (General) x1
Biology   x1
Cthulhu Mythos x1
Disguise x1+
Egytian Hieroglyphics x1
Fast Talk x4
Hide   x3+
Listen  x3
Locksmith x3
Medicine x1
Occult  x1
Persuade x7
Photography x1
Psychology x1
Spot Hidden x4

Min/Max SAN loss range  4-29
Min/Max SAN reward      3-16
Cthulhu Mythos    +1%

An Egyptian themed scenario the whole party can love!


The Fishers of Men
Anthropology x2
Astronomy
Biology x3
Chemistry x2
Credit Rating x2
Cthulhu Mythos x4
Dodge x1
Fast Talk x2
History x2
Library Use x2
Listen x1
Medicine x2
Natural History x2
Occult x4
Persuade x3
Psychoanalysis x5
Psychology x2
Sneak 4x
Spot Hidden 10x
Min/Max SAN loss range  4-36
Min/Max SAN reward  3-29
Cthulhu Mythos:  +10%
Occult:  +10%
Credit Rating +5%

A LOT of sneaking around and investigating.

 The Tenement  
Anthropology x1
Chemistry x1
Fast Talk x2
Law x2
Listen x1
Medicine x9
Other Lang: Hungarian x1+
Other Lang: Italian x1+
Other Lang: Polish x2+
Other Lang: Spanish x1+
Persuade x20+
Photography x2
Psychoanalysis x1
Psychology x5
Spot Hidden x4
Min/Max SAN loss range 10-55
Min/Max SAN reward   2-26
Cthulhu Mythos  +5%
Credit Raing +16%

The Tenement is a LOT of traditional investigation, taking statements, and persuading people to work with them.  While it doesn't show using this method, there is a lot of potential combat (mostly fisticuffs) so a party would need to be smart, empathetic, and tough to handle the assignment.


A Night at the Opera
Art: Music (any) x3
Climb x3
Credit Rating x1
Cthulhu Mythos x2
Dodge x1
Electrical Repair x3
Fast Talk x1
First Aid x1
Hide x1
Library Use x5
Mechanical Repair x1
Operate Hvy Machinery x1
Other Lang: Italian x1
Medicine x1
Persuade x1
Photography x3
Sneak x1
Spot Hidden x7

Min/Max SAN loss range:  7-165
Min/Max SAN reward     1-20
Cthulhu Mythos 4%

Lots of physical skills for a scenario based upon around an opera.

Ertong He Kuqi De Muqin
Bargain x1
Biology x1
Credit Rating x3
Cthulhu Mythos x6
Disguise x1
Fast Talk x3
Hide x1
History x1
Natural History x1
Occult x2
Other Lang: Cantonese x1+
Other Lang: Mandarin  x1+
Other Lang: Taishanese x1+
Persuade x3
Psychology  x6
Sneak x3
Spot Hidden x15

Min/Max SAN loss range 9-41
Min/Max SAN reward   3-18
Cthulhu Mythos  5%

The scenario is in Chinatown, prepare for some Chinese investigators or a few issues lost in translation.

Blogger Stats

I'll admit upfront that I'm a statistics whore.  Sports stats, economic data, you name it, I like to compile and compare it.  I'm not a savant of the less tangible stats, like walk-to-rbi-to-on base percentage, or higher level min-maxing of characters, although I can appreciate something calculated with a bit a finese.

It should be no surprise then that I love that Blogger provides statistical breakdown for viewing activity.  As I creep closer to 100,000 page views later this year, I'm amazed at what leads people to my blog.  When I hit the earlier milestones (25K, 50K), I did a breakdown of what brings people here the most, and it hasn't really changed:   Gnomes, Mouslings, Settlers of Catan, and a weird Eastern European search for "1 maja 8, kudowazdrj"   The results seem to vary between music and porn, so I don't pursue them any further. 

Recently, I've had a spike in views from "zombie cakes,"  thanks to a measely post I did about my friend's birthday cake for her 5-year old.  I haven't looked around since, but her's is not the only family with strange zombie-loving children.

The whole reason I though about writing today was after looking at the stats for the past 24 hours, my current top 3 searches are:

• East Stroudsburg Gamers Edge
• Pops Culture Shop Wellsboro
• Ron Meischker

This brings me to only two conclusions (1) I need to review more current stores, if I can get to them.  Life is getting crazier, but checking out stores only costs gas and time, perhaps I can arrange a little of both.  (2) It might be wise to review older/closed stores with an admitted nostalgic bias to show what I really am looking for a store, and possibly realized that the good ol' days weren't always good (tomorrow still looks pretty bleak, Billy Joel, no matter what you say). 

I WILL have an ice cold beer in the shade, thanks BJ!

I have a review of my old store, Griffon Games in the 20-some odd blog drafts I have on here, but I may need to expand that. 

And maybe I can get my wife to start decorating cakes again.  With a few zombie cakes I might be able to spin this off onto a new blog, or have my wife start her own.  Because when she said yes many moons ago, her first thoughts were a house, kids, and a zombie cake blog.  That I haven't been suffocated in my sleep is proof alone that she loves me.