| I don’t just like games; I’m a foodie as well. On Fridays, I publish a drink or cocktail recipe that I enjoy as an accompaniment to some sort of game. These aren’t necessarily drinks I’ve invented, but they are superior potations that gamers who tipple are liable to enjoy. |
In a far-future science-fiction roleplaying game (it was basically the Traveller
universe), I played a Greek starship captain named Sophia Soulis. Unscrupulous doctors had genetically enhanced her to be able to move with blinding speed, but they hadn’t worried about the serious metabolic disadvantages that would result. Sophia was plauged by occasional bouts of epilepsy, a massively increased need for food, and strong dependence on an illegal drug. (Yes, her set of abilities was inspired by Miles Teg from Frank Herbert’s Chapterhouse Dune.)
She drank—often and heavily—as one of the few escapes from the discomforts of her physical disadvantages and the need to keep her illegal genetic modifications hidden. Loyal to the long-dead civilization of her ancestors, the Greeks, influenced her choice of potables. She opted for the strongly anise-flavored ouzo.
I don’t like anise. And I’ve never tasted anything with a stronger anise flavor than ouzo. Inspired by the (apocryphal?) story of method actor Dustin Hoffman insisting on eating garlic soup while he starred in Death of a Salesman simply because that’s what his character would do, I brought along a bottle of the stuff to each session and tippled while we trawled the stars looking for work while avoiding the galactic authorities.
Many countries have a national anise-flavored drink (Sambuca, pastis, raki, anisette, and so on). This Greek variety is very sweet without becoming syrupy. As I said, I’m no fan of anise, but I actually do like ouzo from time to time. (My wife hates olives but love olive tapenade, which tastes more like olives than olives themselves. Perhaps this is a parallel case.)
I’ve never been to an ouzerie (nor to Greece, for that matter), but I can recommend that ouzo is best enjoyed cold, with a small glass lasting a long time.
And I can certainly recommend bringing a character-appropriate snack or drink to the gaming table (with enough to share for those who are interested, of course). For instance, I knew a guy who brought pickled herring in sour cream to any session in which he played his Viking character. This Scandinavian delicacy repulses most people who hear about it (though I loved before I became a vegetarian) energized the roleplaying. The other characters were from more “civilized” parts of the game world, and the rising smell of vinegar-preserved ocean fish and thick sour cream added greatly to their disdained reactions to this northern barbarian.
Next time I play, I think I’ll create a character who enjoys outrageously expensive single-malt scotch!
July 27th, 2007
| This is a write-up of an NPC from a pirate-themed GURPS campaign I’m currently running. Based largely on the Seas of Daring, Seas of Dread setting presented in Ken Hite’s amazing excellent GURPS Horror, 3rd edition. The setting does somewhat resemble that of a popular movie trilogy, but this is purely coincidental. I’ve had to leave out some details because my wife, a player in the campaign, does read this blog. |
Captain of the sloop Fata del Mundo, Ernesto Medina y Soto has managed to keep a low enough profile that he and his prate crew travel the Spanish Main with impunity. They take just enough to live large and have even earned a reputation as employable for extra-legal activities that require a ship. They’ll honor any paid commission to the letter, even having gone so far as to hand over to one employer a fortune in plundered doubloons they took from a captured ship when no one would have been the wiser.
Having worked the Caribbean for better than twenty years, Captain Medina y Soto is no stranger to the supernatural happenings that abound just beyond the edges of civilized society. He keeps rock-salt–loaded pistols at all times for the occasional zombie, meticulously observes those “superstitions” that have kept the dark forces of uncreation away from his ship, and damn well what the Inquisition is really after. He’s a damn good shot, too.
Medina y Soto is a lech. Any woman who spends more than half a minute with him will have to fend off his advances. Fortunately his advances—though ardent, passionate, and sincere—are also easy to rebuff. He takes rejection in good grace, seeing it as part of the challenge to overcome all demurs.
Medina y Soto is astonishngly ugly. He is not just fat, but profoundly so. His skin is marred by acne scars, and a generous wen lies to the side of his nose. And his conviction that any form of personal hygiene will make him vulnerable to duppies and darker things means that he reeks most foully. No amount of elaborate and colorful dress—which he does affect—cancels out his smell.
This makes it all the more astonishing that his personal charm is often enough to win over the good graces of even cautious maids.
He talks loud, lives large, and acts at all times with unshakable confidence. His considerable bulk only adds to the sense he projects that he belongs in any space he occupies. And the cruel jabs and demeaning bluster he hurls at his crew is backed up by not one whit of real threat. He loves his comrades, and they know it.
Captain Medina y Soto generally shows up as an employable entity with a ship for parties of PCs who don’t otherwise have access to one. Early in a campaign set in the magical secret history of Seas of Daring, Seas of Dread, he can also be an invaluable mentor, initiating gormless PCs into the terrible realities that await them on the high seas and giving them a few tools to help them survive just one more day.
GURPS stats
Ernesto Medina y Soto
Attributes [165]
ST 15 [50], DX 12 [40], IQ 14 [80], HT 11 [10]
HP 15, Will 14, Per 14, FP 11
Basic Lift 45, Damage 1d+1/2d+1, Basic Speed 5.75
Advantages [87]
Ally (Crew) (50% of starting points) (Group Size (6-10); Constantly) [48], Charisma (3) [15], Fearlessness (2) [4], Signature Gear (Fata del Mundo (a sloop)) (20) [20]
Perks [1]
Alcohol Tolerance [1]
Disadvantages [-46]
Appearance (Ugly) [-8], Fat [-3], Lecherousness (12 or less) [-15], Odious Personal Habit (Doesn’t bathe . . . ever) (-2) [-10], Social Stigma (Outlaw) (-2) [-10]
Quirks [-3]
Almond-sized wen on the side of his nose [-1], Keeps a skin of sack with him at all times [-1], Keeps two pistols loaded with rock-salt shot at all times [-1]
Skills [57]
Area Knowledge (Carribbean) IQ/E - IQ+0 14 [1], Boating/TL4 (Sailboat) DX/A - DX-1 11 [1], Brawling DX/E - DX+2 14 [4], Gunner/TL4 (Beams) DX/E - DX+0 12 [1], Guns/TL4 (Pistol) DX/E - DX+7 19 [24], Intimidation Will/A - Will-1 13 [1], Knife DX/E - DX+1 13 [2], Leadership IQ/A - IQ+2 16 includes: +3 from ‘Charisma’, [1], Merchant IQ/A - IQ-1 13 [1], Navigation/TL4 (Sea) IQ/A - IQ+0 14 [2], Occultism IQ/A - IQ+3 17 [12], Ritual Magic (All) IQ/VH - IQ-3 11 [1], Seamanship/TL4 IQ/E - IQ+0 14 [1], Shiphandling/TL4 (Ship) IQ/H - IQ-2 12 [1], Shortsword DX/A - DX-1 11 [1], Strategy (Naval) IQ/H - IQ-2 12 [1], Tactics IQ/H - IQ-1 13 [2]
June 28th, 2007