Thursday, December 12, 2019

Another Tongue Heard From

A Spanish Joruni contacted me to share his Jorune page. I keep my Chrome browser on Translate and, while rough, it is nice to hear another view of Jorune - and his passion for the 2nd Edition, which is the high water mark for the world we once shared.



I'm coming back up - several months try to keep a leg (I did), fall at home (bleh), and car accident (nobody hurt, except pride and future, since I don't drive now). Back on the NPC project for ORFA. I may send out ORFA: Jorune, real final, without the NPCs, but they could come later. A couple dozen pre-gens.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

New Jorune Channel

I got a notice for a Jorune group on Weme.com.

Anybody know anything about it?

So far they seem to know their way around Second Edition Boxed Set, but little of what has happened with Jorune since then, including Third Edition.

I try to educate where I can, but it would be better to get the similarly afflicted to tell them about Jorune in reality. So to speak.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Checking In

I haven't forgotten anybody. Just distracted by reality.

Three of the last four months were spent dealing with fighting off an amputation. Two weeks ago I had a fall and damaged my feet. One the way to a follow-up doctor's appointments for the foot wounds last Friday, I had a car accident. Spasm in my leg sent my foot down on the gas and backed over a sidewalk, through some bushes, over a retaining wall and down into a tree.

I cannot fly.

So - I keep trudging.

I'd move to Ponteer if I could.


Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Life on Planet Joe

The weekly breakdown that
gives Planet Joe focus.
Reduced stress is a good thing. I'm working on the Patreon project for long term support to do things I will give away on the web, with a couple of exceptions. But it requires time and effort.

For Jorune, the polish is going onto ORFA and a programmed character sheet for creating some nice pages for gameplay. And fully generated NPCs, including the characters that appeared in Sholari v1n3 - Slam Desti, and v2n1 - Scars of Far Temauntro and The Somar. I have about 30 of these, including player characters from old games. It makes for a good variety of races and occupations. It will make a nice bundle.

I'm trying to put together a MySQL database for the Lexicon projects - it will be about 3,000 words including the content from all three editions of Skyrealms of Jorune, plus Sholari James, plus Sholari, plus Borkelby's Folly, plus the White Wolf articles, plus the original Skyrealms Inc. essays, plus Annals of the Tan Soor Historical Society, plus the Gomo Guides (Thoneport and Tan Iricid), plus Segment: Sho-Caudal... and if we can get a full copy of Sarceen's Knowledge (or someone who does the input from their copy), we can include that, too.

Those two should fulfill my hope to go out with a splash. At least out of 2019. I'm hoping for four releases in the next four months. Not too bad.

I think I'll use some of the next Day Joe (Monday to you blokes) to work on the art for Danstead Traveller. That's all it needs to get done, but artists just artn't coming through.

Saturdays are Day RPG, so I'll worry about more Jorune then.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Memories of Jorune Past

I don't know. Found it on the web. Cerberus? Hypno-dog?
I have no pressure on me to produce the newest material, so Jorune is relaxing back to the point where I can get nostalgic about the games we had. It occurs to me that other people might have similar memories to share.

One of my favorite scenes came with a player who ran with my games for many years in California.

The character was a Woffen who got things wrong - a lot. Extreme die rolls.

Hot Air Balloon Fail

This is the Woffen who was amazed at a Thriddle balloon that cold fly with no Ebba Isho. As told in an issue of Segment: Sho-Caudal, the balloon flew because it was a big bag filled with hot air from a little brazier with fire to feed hot air into the skyrealm shaped silk bag.

He had dice that tried to kill him, but was loyal to his dice and wouldn't use any other.

He did a critical failure on his Learn ... so we decided he got it so wrong that he believed that the reason the balloon could fly was that they set it on fire. Several times in later games he set things of fire to get them to fly.

The Power Hold Sword Fight Fail

This same character had Power Hold as his allowed dysha through every iteration of the system that would eventually bear the name "ORFA." He was in a running fight while on a thombo with another character riding a thombo. Terrible roll - fell off his thombo. His opponent turned and charged to swipe down at him.

Our Hero and a buddy who watched it all.
Our hero threw excellent advantage roll - 2 actions. He chose to do one now and hold one for after his opponent could swipe down at him with his sword. (Good move.) He was already in his dodge, which gave his opponent a penalty on connecting with a downswing. The second move was to throw his Power Hold. Excellent roll and grabbed his opponent, pinning his arms to his side... and his thombo ran on. His opponent was suspended four feet above the ground, arms pinned to his side.

This time our hero decided to give a little speech on his revenge on this helpless foe, and went into a backswing to deliver pure justice to this bad guy.

And rolled the worst he could roll. Tragic 20. 20 on a 20. The only way we could see that as happening is he went into his backswing and lost his grip on the sword.

We used a mechanic to give the Player some control - he permanently spent one of these points. The last one he had (thanks to previous tragedies). He used that last Oracle die to go back and say that 20-roll never happened. We re-narrated it to he just lost his balance on the uneven footing, so he still had his sword. So he re-prepared to strike the "blow of justice" at his foe, gave his speech ...

And rolled a 20 again! We agreed it was a duplicate of the previous scene.

The whole team was rolling with his bad rolls. No one believed he could role that badly that many time (there were episodes prior to the balloon and the power hold disaster). Players were offering him replacement dice. Begging him not to roll it again.

We were all having a grand time, including the guy with the cursed dice.

He picked his own doom and decided the double failure dictated he broke his weapon. I have to say he was very ethical in his fairness in balancing gameplay and bad die rolls, etc.

George Barr's version of dharmey.
The tails make great steaks. Yum.
Since we are dealing with non-metal weapons (Jorune is a low metal world), that made sense. So he was unable to succeed in the original swordfight on thombo-back, unable to strike an opponent being held in mid-air by a super success with Power Hold (four feet off the ground), spend his last Oracle point to buy away the failure, and failed with the same roll again... and broke his weapon

The Death Scene

Another time a Player was going to have to leave the game and we were just into the East Trinnu Jungles at a village where the Dharmey were mutating to get really big (we think it was because of all the ancient curses - the yellow circles with black triangles on them) and our heroes where hunting them down to exterminate as pests.

In a big confrontation fighting the monster mama dharmey protecting her eggs, one of the players wound up horribly wounded (I think a leg was torn off) and with a savage war cry, dove into the monster's mouth to stab at her from the inside, and her jaws were almost biting him in half. Quite a memorable scene, which is what the player wanted.

An Invitation

We had fun. Sometimes we had some solid action, but we had fun. I'm going to ask some of my players to post their own memories.

______

I'll post some more favorite moments. Do you have a memory from Jorune that still makes you think gaming was the second-best fun you had? (I hope it was second-best.)

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

ORFA Tweak and Danstead

A Jorune in France helped with some good edits on the ORFA Jorune, and while going through to do edits I discovered a complete SNAFU.

Sigh. All of the derived skills or the Social Characteristic vanished. Poof. Regular and Isho-related. It was there once upon a time, but - a puff of smoke.

No one mentioned it, so it would lead me to believe people either have not read it or think I meant to send it out that way.

But... better to find it than not find it.

And the cover for Danstead will be a rework from Teves art to include the lothern Kym said she wanted on the cover. And a bit more.

Progress, but definitely not perfection. Is it ever.

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

It Keeps Growing

Working on SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL #13 the intent is to wrap things up. There are a couple of other projects to be completed, but they are all stand-alone.

An unpublished Jorune, where Miles plays homage
to underground cartoonist virtuoso, Richard Coben.
This is a collection of notes and detail from my notes over the past quarter-century and - there is a lot! But I'm over 50 pages for this toodle—ooh, bye, y'all. Some pages at the moment and at least a dozen more pages, probably twenty.

The most expanded glossary is the one taking up most of the energy. But I hope it proves useful for some sholari yet unknown.

One person responded with notes for ORFA: JORUNE. Not from the US, of course, but someone. I'll be doing corrections and considering his suggestion to rephrase.

The fat lady is in the back, Lacing up her corset and getting her warm-up exercises out of the way. I just wonder who will be in the theater to hear her performance.

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Trudging to Kithaq

Experimental animation based on George Barr's art.
Even while fighting with a new opening on the leg and fighting to keep it, Jorune figures into my energies. Every time I turn around there is another piece I want to add to SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL #13.

But I've found a way to fold in these last references into an exiting project and closing the books on SSC. The things I have wanted to do is an expanded, if not full, a glossary for the determined Sholari. That would be the words, in various languages. But the full glossary would include the language from which the word is taken and suggested pronunciation. Locations in said glossary would be entered in ALL CAPS to make them stand out from the simple sounds.

At this point, there are approximately 3,000 words in the lexicon, without all of the casual mentions of districts, streets, business names, and other details with which writers have peppered the lore over the past 27 years - since the publication of the Third Edition.

I am currently going through the Fanzines since that is the only lore there is. It is clearly unofficial because after fighting for almost three decades, I have accepted that there will never be a fourth, official, corrected edition. It is like watching a parent strangle their child, but... not up to me.

I have taken the most recently expanded glossary and started the slow trudge through the Fanzines. So far I have included all four issues of Sholari, Annals of the Tan Soor Historical Society, and have started into Danstead traveler (I have all four issues in one document, but Kym has put surprisingly few new words into her travelogues, other than possible NPC names). After that will come to Borkelby's Folly, and the whole of Segment: Sho-caudal. I am debating going through Sholari James' work, but he pulled his work from my attempt to combine them into a "Collected" edition, as did the editors for Danstead and Borkelby. I don't have a full copy of Sarceen's Knowledge to go through.

Second and Third Edition Jorune,. I don' tknow from who.
Obviously, that project creates a lot of work ... all the meat and no potatoes. So I will fold this last work for a full lexicon into a commercial version of ORFA: JORUNE. Not that I expect a stampede for such a product through DriveThruRPG.com. I will also make a free version of ORFA available for gamemasters to use in whatever setting they find appropriate. And my notes for a pulp setting, my main Earth-based fascination, will also be released through the same channel.

On the side, I am programming a PDF to allow me to generate ORFA: JORUNE characters and export them to graphic sheets so that with the DriveThruRPG release there will be a collection of races and occupations, mixed up to create some interesting characters as starting points for whatever new sessions fresh sholari can put together.

I will finish the Jornne introduction video that will take the ALIEN LOGIC introduction as a jumping-off point to introduce more of the world to a new population.

When I step away from Jorune, I really want to leave behind something that next poor fool who gets the addiction will be able to pick up and run with to whatever goal he/she can envision.

Things seldom wind up the way they began.

---

Google has been juggling it's coding and today I discovered that two posts I thought had been made to the Jorune blog were, indeed, made to other blogs I maintain. No one there mentioned it and I don't think there ws enough to worry about transferring everything. I'll have to watch my loggings in the future.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

The Magilla of Jorune

The PDF for ORFA: JORUNE has been sent out to SEGMENT SHO-CAUDAL subscribers. 44 pages, of which about 35 are Jorune specific - only 10 pages of system and character generation. That's all that is needed.

This was played in California, Colorado, North Carolina, and at several conventions around the country. It is intended to allow newcomers to Jorune and/or role-playing to get into the world and play. Experienced players can get a game going, and there are races that can be chosen. And get a game going.

I think getting a game going is - key.

I will be posting fully generated NPCs to view the system and see how you might like a new game. 

It can be found on archive.org by searching "SOJ RPG" and the whole batch of free files will pop up. About 800 pages. 

(Or if you ask me nicely in a private message, or returntojorune@gmail.com - not as a response here.)

That is all.

Sunday, June 30, 2019

The Henny Penny ORFA

I've been juggling a LOT. The ORFA: Jorune, originally promised in an early issue of SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL, is up to the Henny Penny Stage.

Who will help me bake the byritt?

I will send you the PDF with the 98% complete text with a character sheet. I ask for feedback. I don't get it, but I'll ask. Pro forma.

Character sheet - back cover - Isho and Langages
Status is:

  • ORFA System, complete. I will take the ORFA from Jorune for rework to a Pulp setting and focus on that for a bit. I have this thing for Earth, July, 1937.
  • Character Generation, complete. Really. I have opened several races for Player Character option. I have also closed some races because I think they create an imbalance of knowledge and power that makes for a crappy gaming experience.
  • Isho (the Special Effect for ORFA: JORUNe0, complete. And I mean COMPLETE.
  • Character Sheet, complete.
  • Racial Descriptions*: Incomplete.
  • Price list: To be added from pervious.
  • Cover**: In process.
  • Programmed PDF: Abandoned.***

* A few paragraphs. Will happen, just a detail for the final release. I think most of you know how to describe a Woffen.
** I have a couple of unpublished Miles Teves roughs that I will use one as the foundation for an ORFA: JORUNE cover. And I'm pretty clear on which one to use. Teves will be treated as "pencils," and I will provide "inks" and color.
*** Programming the fields of the PDF was getting too time-consuming. I decided I will do a version for me to use to pre-generate the characters promised in Sholari v2n1 and other parts of the SSC project, export to a workable .jpg for character sketches from the mythos. For a free project, more than required. I am okay with pulling the plug.

From Super Secret
Jorune Project X. Bwah ha ha.
ORFA: JORUNE will be a Creative Commons free download. I may make a print version available on DriveThruRPG.com, but only expect to sell about 20. 20 seems to be the magic number for Jorune projects.

ORFA has two basic ruled: Rule #1, have fun. Rule #2, Sholari Rules. No arguing. Period. The system requires you build a Target Number and a roll of 1d20 (translations are provided). You will know success or failure and from that success the degree of success (such as damage). One Roll Fits All. Simple. Combat becomes deadly fast and can almost happen in real time after a couple of run-throughs. Throwing a dysha is as simple as throwing a knife. All of the goals for a playable Jorune are met.

After the Henny Penny phase, ORFA will be sent to the SSC subscribers. It does not count as the Beyond subscribers list - just fulfillment on an old promise.

SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL still grows, but I'm spinning off pars into separate releases. Like the ORFA: JORUNE. I also have "Jorune Bashing," which may be folded into the final SSC #13 release.

I am also focusing on video. An Introduction To Jorune which includes the video from the Alien Logic game (with my voice, possible re-recorded with new music) and details on the editions, covers, intro to the world, and races that goes up on YouTube is the goal. No date set.

I will leave the offer for advance subscriptions to my next five commercial products, none of which have been named on this page. Support just allows me to buy groceries and wrap up my Jorune. If you want to sponsor the arts you can go to a PayPal donation page for the next 3, the next five, or a donation of your own choosing. I think I produce enough to make it worth your investment. The page is here.

Several of the subscribers have said nice things to me, and I appreciate the feedback. People who white at me, that I didn't do what they had in their head what they wanted me to do but never said so - pfffffft. (Tthe sound of a raspberry.) People who name something that needs correcting, or help me make corrections (including spellings, even of Joruni words), are gold. I really do appreciate them. The people who said the nice things are jewels to be appreciated and set in the gold filigree. To put in the memorial for Saress.

That's right, I killed her. Assassinated in the Allonkarb family squabble. The dharsage took damage, too. Nyah.

This week I gave up ownership of the skyrealmsofjorune.com domain name. The new owner will release such information as he sees fit on his schedule. I'm remaining available to help where I can. But, another door walked through.

I really do feel that with I take the sign out of the window and turn off the lights, I will have done it right.

There is a fnord in this posting.


Who said "Can't Get No Satisfaction?"

Well, they're WRONG!

It's getting finalized to the point where a cover is becoming an issue. I have an unpublished sketch for Jorune from Miles Teves I am considering redrawing to make a cover that is both original and draws from the Delineator of Jorune. (Not to discount the other talents who have added to the visual mythos.)

I'm speaking of ORFA: JORUNE. It is finally coming together. I may even make a print version available on DrivethruRPG.com.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

An Interruption in Service

I don't go into great detail on my medical stuff these days. People don't like that. And it is distracting. Let's just say that as the result of my most recent medical - 'focus' - I am distracted from the speed completion of my projects.

Which is not to say that I am not working on things. Just not things as quickly as I would like. Something every day, no matter what.

That means I am doing the next project, SONG OF ORPHANS, while I am waiting on final edit pass on CLIMBING THE SPIRAL MOUNTAIN from the acknowledge editor in Connecticut, and I am continuing work on the Jorune projects - SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL #13 (and final) and the ORFA: JORUNE write up.

Every day. A few hours on one of those. Or the marketing side of all of it.

And I have more that could be plugged in for activity not related to these four. Like - art. Drawing for the cover of COLLECTED DANSTEAD TRAVELLER. And a new interest - pour art. Using liquid acrylic in a diluting medium to create very organ, uncontrollable interactions of paint, medium, silicon (WD40), a heat gun... it will be easier to share the results than explain, when that gets done. I think of it is a visual interpretation of the Isho flow or a naull. Probably in this next week - the space is being cleared.

Should I even mention the indexed version of RECOVERY READER?

You know, I'm starting to see that I do have a "style" in my use of language for posts here, the companion blog (Oh No, Not More Damn Joe Stuff), Facebook and personal emails. I create words to explore concepts or relationships. I use the comedic "pay-off" structure regularly. I like violating expectation in those pay-offs. I love adjectives and adverbs to describe. I have improved my conjunction problem (reducing my run-on sentences). My use of ellipses (and its cousin, the hyphen) has been reduced.

All of which is for the benefit of my readers.

I have a couple dozen, but it's the thought that counts. I hope to have more in the near future.

Thursday, June 13, 2019

ORFA: Jorune

The long-promised ORFA: Jorune is about to get real. Filling in details on creatures of that world and brief racial summaries for gameplay. There is SO MUCH material through the free archive.org files - hundreds of pages.
This has been a long time coming, but my subscribers will be getting their copies before long.
The character sheet is being programmed in Acrobat to allow type-in for a clean character sheet and simple calculations for the automatic numbers. Five Stats, Ten Derived Skills for everyone, five possible Isho Derived Skills, 10 benefits from background concept, and pools of points to spend on Named Skills under each Stat. The sheet has full Isho and Languages/Cultures on the back. Quick and general references on the front. 
I hope people find it's worth the wait.
ORFA: Jorune Character Sheet - Front

ORFA: Jorune Character Sheet - Back


Friday, June 7, 2019

13 and ORFA

ORFA: Jorune and OFRA: Pulp
should be out shortly.
More than a week since my last. Drama on the hoof, but Jorune again provides a nice escape from the reality of this world.

SSC #13 just keeps growing. I seriously have to take a beager bat to the new things that come up or channel them over to another world where I can have a shot at some serious money from them.

I have about 20 subscribers whose subscriptions are coming to an end.

I have about a dozen who have bought "the next... 3, or 5" projects. They will get it. I think I will end the Advance Subscription offer at the end of this month. Next three, or next five whatever they are. They'll be more expensive on DriveThruRPG, but the advance money is nice. Supports me while I'm in the spew-Jorune mode.

But most recently the final version of ORFA was completed, and I am working on the ORFA: JORUNE and JORUNE BASHING, which I consider to be part of the SSC project.

Then ... the more.

JORUNIGRAPHICA will take me about two days of serious sit down to complete, and another day or so to lay out. Part of the SSC, too.

Beyond that, I have the COLLECTED volumes and GOMO GUIDE: TAN IRID.

I hope to have all this out by the end of the year. It will be released as it is done. No real schedule. Depends on how much time I need to get away from this planet
.

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Peace

I'm working on SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL, the JORUNIGRAPHICA, and beyond (of course).

I am happy to report I have come to a point of peace with Jorune. I will continue to give energy to that world in appreciation of what it's given me, but the pressure seems to be off.

I'm very gratified with the response to the "Advance" subscriptions to the next few projects. And I have coded this little army as "Full," which means they will get whatever Jorune I come up with. The PDFs at least. I'm not yet to the point where I can afford to print and mail hard copies, but I believe it is the material they are receiving. Not the artifacts.

I will end the Advance link shortly, to keep from getting later pressure, and I will do the bundle of the completed Segment: Sho-Caudal

So the list Jorunalia may grow. But I'm not committed to any of it beyond the fact that I will continue producing. (I do like making up words that carry the meaning I intend. I was doing that long before Jorune.)

And the latest thing for me to produce is a video to invite people into Jorune. I'll post it to YouTube, but it will feature the history of the game, the editions and supplements, the fanzines, the computer game, and whatever else seems appropriate. I'll use the introductory video from ALIEN LOGIC (until I'm told to cease and desist), which has my voice, and expand into a survey of the materials, the world, the races, etc.

The idea is to have a video where a wanna-be Sholari can point his/her players for a common agreement of the world and the beginning of the game.

But I'm more relaxed with it. I am getting my novel CLIMBING THE SPIRAL MOUNTAIN gussied up for its cotillion presentation to the world with some promotional efforts. You might like it if you walk around on this planet and want to see inside someone else's journey. And the fantasy novel SONG OF ORPHANS will follow, a different world with some low-level magics, reflecting my interests long before Jorune came into my life.

And there is a good chance that - good lord willing and the creek don't rise - I will finish THE ANGEL OF DRAIL. I know the story, I just have to take the time to spread the gossip from the little knothole of a view I have into that world and those people. I deal with a lot of Thivin and Trarch, who have always fascinated me.

There is so much more to Jorune than just Tauther being shanghaied to do favors to scuzzy nobles from Burdoth.

But the peace of working is nice. I like sharing nice.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Distraction

It was part of SSC #13, but it has acquired a life of its own.

For several years I wanted to do Jorunigraphica, but a simple article for the last issue of SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL has grown beyond all reason.

This is Jorune. You didn't know that? Really? After all this time?
Jorunigraphica was to be. reference to the geographic locations of Jorune, where a Sholari might be expected to run a team through some kind of romp and circumstance. And I thought it would be nice to do a one-page map as a programmed PDF. Roll. your little mouse over the map and a pop-up would give you where, in the body of Jorune matrial, you would find information about that spot on the map.

So I started doing that. Programming buttons with pop-up messages isn't all that difficult and I've done that before.

But restricting it to fanzines means I'm looking at about 600 pages of material to wade through.

So it may spin off, wildly threatening to this planet and there could be no survivors.

Sigh.

I think it's because I had a good response to my "Next Three or Next Five" posting. That encouraged me and while working on SSC #13 I thought I needed a break. And gave birth to this monstrosity.

I blame support.

Saturday, May 18, 2019

Topsy

In UNCLE TOM'S CABIN, the slave Topsy was asked how she was raised. "I wasn't raised - I just growed," she said. I won't get going on the paternalistic, racist nature of the characters presented, particularly out of historical context, but the quote applies.

And so it is my Jorune.

I was thinking I had SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL #13, CHILDREN OF BOMOVERIS, and GOMO GUIDE; TAN IRICID, was all I had left to be done.

Oh, there is ORFA (One Role Fits All) for Jorune. Well, that, of course.

And the promised JORUNE BASHING article I casually mentioned I would do back in the first issues of SSC. Of course, finish that.

But the COLLECTED series. That is COLLECTED BORKELBY'S FOLLY and COLLECTED DANSTEAD TRAVELLER. But I lost communication with those editors, but long time Joruni ___ put me back in touch with Ray Gillham. So, Borkelby's back on the boards. I have not had a response from Kym Paugh since she went into hospital two years ago, but I'm hopeful.

And I finally decided to with the COLLECTED SHO COPRA JOE*. Yeah. My stuff. Properly edited in one volume from Sholari v1n1, v1n2, v1n3, Annals of the Tansoor Historical Society, and my articles from SSC, all gathered up into one volume. (But not my stuff from the Gomo Guides or Sholari v2n1). Hard copy.

Okay, Those. But...

Oh. The novel. ANGEL OF DRAIL. Yeah. I already know the full story, it has been outlined, so its just the petty matter of writing the whole... yeah. That. Okay. Put that on the list.

Stop it!

One thing I've done with the past few print projects - I set up my recent DriveThruRPG titles to make the PDF the big purchase, like $12, and the hard copy is $14, with a free PDF included. I do pay some royalties to folks who have been working with me - others have been kind enough to refuse royalties.

I feel like a mobster from the old Hollywood gangster movies. "They pull me back in..."

The problem is I'm leaving Jorune because of energy and finances. Energy in the sense of my available time on keyboard or online, and finances because - I don't have them. I need finances. I'll take filthy lucre in almost any form. Dollars, Pounds, Euros, Zloties, Rial, Yen, Rupees, Bhat, Pesos, Bolivars... really. Collect them all. My medical stuff, which I'm told put people off, requires I have finances to do things - particularly in this country with its criminal medicine for profit system.

Ahem.

So I've decided to revive the old "Advance" schema used previously. in the past four years I've averaged one release every three and a half months, so I think I have the track record to put out the offer for the Next Three, or the Next Five, Jorune releases in PDF format, in advance of public release. Whichever titles they may be. Or you can choose the option where people, who might feel so inclined, to just make a general contribution to keep me, and my projects, moving forward.

The "Next Three, or Next Five", link is here.

And I have to get back to work.

____
* I may have already mentioned that I chose Sho Copra Joe as my nom d'Jorune to reflect my feeling about my relation to the world. I don't consider myself to be a master, but a student of Jorune learning as much of the world as I can. And I might be the Most Elevated (Sho) Student (Copra) on this planet. I can accept that, with its ego. I'm not a Sholari, the most elevated teacher, but content to always be in a position to learn more. Which can only be shown to me by other people revealing their vision of that world. 

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Winding Down

My naull is rich in Cie-Ebba.
The torch of Jorune will pass and I am about to make an offer to people who supported the Return to Jorune project over the past several years. I think I have enough of a good reputation of completing my commitments in the past that people will be open to what I offer.

I made contact with Ray Gilham (thanks to Matthew Pook) and his Collected Borkelby's Folly project moving again.

Efforts continue to find Kym Paugh (of Danstead Traveller fame) to get her collection going again.

And I am chewing Segment: Sho-Caudal #13. Bakers Dozen. What is the Joruni word for "Baker"? Maybe Baker's can't count.

A while back someone suggested I gather all my material, give it a proper editing, and release that, too. That means Sholari #1-#3, Annals of the Tan Soor* Historical Society, and all 13 issues of Segment: Sho-Caudal under one cover. Edited.

I'm warming to that.

The finale will be the campaign that fueled my California group from 1992 to 2001, The Children of Bomoveris.

I am looking forward to seeing what other people bring to Jorune.

* A couple of people complained that it is "Tan Sor." No, two different words. Tan Sor is the low gate of Tan Iricid - the security gate non-servents of the Mountain Crown must use to enter. It is Corastin controlled gate where a visitor presents a giddyne for admission. The Tan Soor is the high gate, for the students, the servants of the Mountain Crown, enter. Attempting to pass through the Tan Sor without permission of the Corastin guard will get you flattened. Entry through the Tan Soor without proper credential may lead to prolong imprisonment, interrogation, and flattening. That will be explained in the Gomo Guide: Tan Iricid. And has been hinted at repeatedly.

Saturday, May 4, 2019

Groovy

I completed SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL #12 and got it out. Nice.

I posted notices on the Yahoo Jorune Group, which seems to be completely dead, and the Shambo in the Shenter page on Facebook, which is mostly dead.

But I got a request for information and that let me review the state of the Previews. Too old. So I did a new preview - 55 pages, including all twelve covers. Too big for most email gateways - over 20 Megs. But I don't want to cut it down. Maybe I can improve the compression, but until I do there are a couple of options.

  • A link. You can download the sample through this here link. Share it with anyone you want to share it with.
  • A Google Disk option in emails, but some people have trouble with the Google Disk.

But my tiny brain got hooked on it and I did a different introduction to Jorune. There are already three introductions through the links to archive.org. But I decided to do a document/PDF in the "new" format - 8.5 x 8.5. This introduces the game, the editions, the supplements, and the fanzines, including GOMO GUIDE: THONEPORT and SHOLARI v2 n1. With links to sales on those two with DriveThruRPG.com. And, of course, a link to the SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL page.

Which resulted in one sale in the first 12 hours it was up, and the inquiry that prodded new sampler.

The Sampler #3 and the GETTING INTO JORUNE PDF are intended to be shareable. Send them to anyone you think might be interested. Post the link where-ever you think someone might get the Jorune infection started.

If it is just me posting, people are annoyed. If three or four people were to comment on such posts or make their own posts (gasp), it could be taken as more than one crazy guy.

Very few people view this blog so it could be taken as a conspiracy.

---

The final version of the file has been uploaded to archive.org. Share with anybody you think might be interested. https://archive.org/details/GettingIntoJorune2019Final_201905

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Finally

New Field Adminstration Center
Under Construction
SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL #12 has been mailed out.

What was the world the Colonials left? What were they hoping to find?

This issue is all about the Colonials, Flights One through Three. Including your application for Flight Three.

And a photograph of Katija Jorune arriving on the world she had predicted.

Other bits that may be of interest.

I'm tired.

And Blogger will not let me post as Return2Jorune. Oh well. 

Contact if you are interested in getting the whole set of 1-12, or cherry picking form the series. 

Friday, March 29, 2019

Moving into SSC #12

I'm waiting for the editor who has the text for SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL #12 to send me the final and then the issue will be laid out and sent to subscribers.

This issue has the theme of THE BLOOD OF EARTH. It gives the magic pixie-dust required for any star colonial project - FTL transportation. Jorune becomes the first world to benefit with a new way of analyzing the composition of extra-solar worlds resulting in a target for the first attempt at colonization.

There is consideration that life probably already exists so the spectrum of possiblities enteres the mix. Robotic probes show indication there is high level life - probably cities. There are seven moons and a complex model of energies flowing between the world and satellites. What is Isho?

That information becomes part of the mix for the first military-diplomatic expedition to identify the realities of the new world and, if it can be done safely, establishing the first bases on the planet. They report back that there are at least three separate biologies actively sharing the planet and at least seven intelligent species (and a couple of semi-intelligent species), only one of which can be declared "Native."

It was dubbed "Jorune's World," which was shortened to "Jorune," but the races who call this world home share the name given by those natived - "Sho-Caudal." It is not a name, it is a description. Sho implying the highest, Caudal is the mix of air, water, life, and this strange energy saturting the world and its inhabitants, contemplated with the subtleties the arriving humans, or "hoomanzi," struggled to comprehend.

Why would anyone come to Jorune's World? What were they hoping to find? What were they running from?

This is an imperfect collection of the documents circulated to create the Colonial population, the models of the intial settlements of less than 100,000 individuals and their ideas of what the "new world" should be.

Jorune was a world of hope for the hoomanzi. It was salvation for the Thriddle. It was betrayal for the Cleash and an unstructured open place to work the savage ways the Ramian were given as the warrior race for the vanished Lamorri.

And behind it all the quite Shantha move through their underground tunnels, to their underground cities, to live in harmony with their beloved Sho-Caudal, in life and in death. Their thoughts remain their own, speaking through their Thriddle archivists and diplomats.

There were no Iscin races, there were no Thivin, there were no human mutations to compete for the new lands. There were thousands of years of history across the disconnected parts of the planet readers discovered with first edition Jorune and the wonder of the Second Edition Skyrealms of Jorune boxed set.

SEGMENT: SHO-CAUDAL #12 will explore that beginning, with an application to become a Colonial.

It is also the fulfillment of the 12-issue promise made more than a year ago. I delivered much more than I promised, and I feel good about that.

Issue #13 is being pulled together because some people bought one issue and subscribed to twelve, others subscribed to twelve and were extended because of some foul up on my part. Thirteen will contain the last of my 25-years of notes. Descriptions, cultures, histories, maps and more. I will publish that to close this chapter of my Jorune-life and so that some new Sholari can take the ideas and build them for a Jorune of their own. Maybe their Jorune be run with their live group. Or maybe it will be shared online, as I have done.

But we will talk about #13 after #12 if is the hands of subscribers.

Monday, February 25, 2019

Classic French Jorune

I don't think it is the source of skyrealms, but I love French painters. Who knows of a flying mountain before Magritte? I know of the Land of Green Ginger, but ...


Friday, February 22, 2019

Hey. Exposure.

How nice. A couple of months ago I was asked to participate in a video podcast with Steven Devaney (editor of the next big move for Jorune) and the show host, Matt Finch. Took us a while to get our schedules to mesh, but we finally succeeded. I was told the show would be ready in about three weeks, but it's barely been two and ... here it is.



It was a lot of fun, even if I found like someone was squeezing my trid-nodes in the first few minutes (maybe I need to do these awake).  But Steve and Matt were fun to do this kind of nostalgic run with.

I feel okay about it. Maybe someone will get interested in Jorune.

It is still worth the exploration.

Groovy.


Wednesday, February 13, 2019

A Boost

Stephen Devaney and I were asked by a the host to participate in a video blog for a YouTube channel. We've been dancing, trying to get all three of us in line for a recording session. Tonight, everything came together and we had the chance.

It was talk of things Jorune, with a particular focus on aliens, the art of gaming, and all of the incredible people who came together to create the original game, including the art, the iterations of the editions, including the computer game. We spoke about the fanzines and a new breath into the old Jorune body for the current generation of gamers - a D20 version of the world for gamers.

Most of this will be familiar to readers of this blog, but if you've wanted to expose your friends to Jorune, this may be the way to do it. Who knows. It may mean Jorune will get a chance to find a wider audience.

I'll post the details as soon as we're told the blog is ready to post on it's YouTube channel.