Before the Storm The last weekend we made an officially sanctioned work excursion to Melaka. Gray of KakiTabletop initiated a communication with Pay Fong Middle School in Melaka. From there the school sent me a formal invitation via the workplace. I had been invited to run some TTRPG sessions for the secondary school students for their English Language Week. And Saturday Morning, I was slated to give a talk about the benefits of TTRPGs in language education. Melaka is even further south than Kuala Lumpur, which gave me pause. After a quick discussion with the home team, we figured that we could pull it off. Plus it would be a new experience for me. The last time I ran games for secondary school students was back in the 1990s. However, because of personal reasons Gray was not able to make it with me, so it would just be Irfan, Ain […]
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STA: With a Fine-Toothed Comb
Star Trek: Emergency Deep S01 E08 “With A Fine-Toothed Comb” Stardate: 58552.74, 22nd July 2381 (0720 hours UTC) Location: Gondolin Station, Cor Caroli III. The Norway-class USS Östergötland NCC-72227 is en route back from the ocean world Trychnos to Gondolin Station at Cor Caroli III, a Helios class habitat, with a captured damaged Orion Lightning-type starship in tow. En route, Operations Officer Lieutenant Commander Tosk the Studious requests wormhole traffic data from Starbase Deep Space 9 because of the Gamma Quadrant tech found on Trychnos. Captain Greg Ellison is contacted by Gondolin Station’s commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Ola Piotrowski who requests a meeting with the Captain. Tosk also suggests a memorial service for Lieutenant JG Velek and Specialist Randall Loomis who perished with the shuttle Mälaren. Rest and Repairs Upon arrival at Cor Caroli a day later, Cetacean Ensign Kremzeek docks the ship at Gondolin Station. They all note the […]
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Invigilation at Semester’s End
It has been awhile since I invigilated an exam, as my own course is 100% coursework. No exams. I am a bit rusty at this. But this can only mean one thing: the end of the semester is nigh. And that means another thing: a whole lot more of grading, filing and planning for the next semester.
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STA: Three On One
Star Trek: Emergency Deep S01 E07 “Three On One” Stardate: 58550.35; 21st July 2381 1020 hrs Location: Trychnos, near Cor Caroli Suddenly three Orion Lightning-class blockade runners appear in the blue skies of the ocean world Trychnos and destroyed the Type-9 shuttle Mälaren. Captain Greg Ellison orders red alert as the USS Östergötland confronts the Orion vessels. One Lightning nosedives towards them from an altitude of 10,000 metres while the other two peel off elsewhere. With a sensor scan, Lieutenant Commander Tosk the Studious easily determines the Orion ships’ shield frequency. On Ellison’s orders, Tactical Officer Lieutenant Libby dos Santos fires a phaser beam at the two other ships that peeled off. The sudden show of force causes one of the two to bank towards them on an intercept course. The dolphin Conn Officer Ensign Kremzeek increases the Östergötland‘s altitude to a position between the two ships bearing down […]
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Hi New New New Office
Back in January I wrote a post when we had to vacate my old new new office. After a few weeks of slowly bringing my stuff in, I am now using my new new new office for the first time. The a/c works well. All the lights too. I requested the help of the building’s cleaning staff to sweep and wipe dirt and droppings of the local fauna. Although I was alone here today, it felt somewhat comfortable. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be bringing in more stuff from the old office, most of which are now stored beside the dining table at home. Click on the picture below to expand it. However, a dire question arises. How do I run RPG sessions here if I do not have any chairs for visitors?
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Doom Agents: Stealing Crate 037
We had the room at the library for 2 hours. The group activity with my students took only 30 minutes. So, I introduced them to tabletop role-playing games. I thought that using Mini-YZE (with my own mods) would make it simple for them. Easiest setting to run for new students would be the Doom Agents setting. It is contemporary, and I can emulate modern spy and action moviews with it. DRAMATIS PERSONAE Chamice, Engineer – Tey Jack, Medic – Ooi Agent 47, Sniper – Danis Sniper Agent 47, Medic Jack and Engineer Chamice are assigned to a mission near Manaus, Brazil. The Approach The team, in an off-road vehicle, heads south into the jungle in the late afternoon. It is raining heavily and before them river with a strong current block their path. The bridge has been washed away. Chamise and Jack study the waters, then guide 47 to drive […]
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Hari Raya Haji 1444H
For Aidiladha, we returned to Sitiawan where Ain made nasi minyak and ayam masak biryani. Here are some photos of the first day of Raya in Sitiawan. Click on them to expand. After taking photos, we went for a drive to Lumut. For the first time in a long while we pulled over and walked at the promenade (See photos). It was peculiar. Vacation season, but not a lot of humans at the pier as it usually is. Because of a medical emergency, we could not go visit the folks I wanted to visit this time around. We spent the second day of Raya at the Manjung Hospital. It was physically and mentally exhausting. In any case, we got to speak to the Middletown team via Discord early on the second day – which also wears away at my somewhat weary soul. So long since we were able to meet […]
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STA: On the Trail of the Unseen
Star Trek: Emergency Deep S01 E06 “On the Trail of the Unseen” Stardate: 58550.35; 21st July 2381 1020 hrs Location: Trychnos, near Cor Caroli The Return to Trychnos On yellow alert, the Norway-class USS Östergötland NCC-72227 returns to Trychnos from Gondolin Station around Cor Caroli III without Commander Morpheus Drake who is infected with an Andorian Death Fever (harmless to humans), deadly to Andorians. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Saladin Chau remains with him on Gondolin Station. In the meantime, river dolphin Cetacean Ensign Kremzeek from Delta shift has been ordered to take his place in Alfa Shift. He gladly takes the Conn station on his grav walker. They debriefed Andorian First Mate T’lath of the SS Takoyaki who confirmed that something invisible collided with them in orbit. Sensor records from the ship itself reveal debris fragment of material manufactured in the Gamma Quadrant. A detailed orbital scan reveals where the […]
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RPG Chapter in Book
Once upon a time, before the onset of the plague years, I ran a Laundry RPG campaign at work. You can read about it here. Since then, one of my players Dr. Noriha has been writing research papers about using games in language learning. She has been using our campaign notes! Along with Dr. Ina, I am also the co-author of a chapter in book entitled “Naratif Dalam ‘Gamifikasi Permainan Penglipur Lara’: Menjana Pemikiran Kreatif Dalam Pengajaran Dan Pembelajaran“. Translation: “Narratives in Tabletop Role-playing Games: Generating Creativity in Teaching and Learning.” The title of the book is Wacana Ilmu dan Kemanusiaan (Knowledge & Humanity Discourse). First of all, I am grateful for the writing team for involving my activity in their research. This tracks with my own research of employing RPGs to improve speaking skills. Secondly, I will be pushing using “Permainan Penglipur Lara” as an official translation of “Tabletop […]
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Two More Lines
So for the second time, I have contracted COVID-19. I was infected the first time last year. It seems this time the effect is a bit more severe compared to the previous time, with my body temperature reaching 38.1° Centigrade for over two days. Even after registering with the MySejahtera app and applying for Quarantine Leave from work, things went on as usual. I ran online classes – thankful that my wits are still holding up. The only blow was that my friend Dan (and Star Trek Adventures player over Discord) was supposed to come for a visit. Because of this, he was forced to cancel. All in all, I think I have to monitor myself for Long COVID. How will this infection affect me in the long run? Has it been affecting me neurologically? I have no idea. Addendum: Ain too became infected the day after I was. We […]
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STA: Where the Trychnos Currents Lead
Star Trek: Emergency Deep S01 E05 “Where the Trychnos Currents Lead” Stardate: 58542.09; 18th July 2381 0945 hrs Location: Trychnos, near Cor Caroli Last time on Emergency Deep, the Östergötland undergoes her first First Contact mission… Arrival at Trychnos Assigned to investigate the distress call of the SS Takoyaki NAR-7789 a Federation merchant starship, the USS Östergötland NCC-72227 warps to the uninhabited ocean planet of Trychnos, two light years from Cor Caroli. The Takoyaki reported a violent collision with something invisible in orbit. The collision caused them to fall into the atmosphere and into the ocean below. The Takoyaki is now underwater and needs to be rescued. Upon arrival, Lieutenant Commander Tosk the Studious detects the Takoyaki‘s emergency buoy in stable orbit and downloads information that shows the merchant ship crashing into something invisible, tearing off her port nacelle. Using sensors, they confirm the crash coordinates in the ocean and […]
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Multi-Reunion at Mando Mayhem
Sometimes, being away from old friends can be an isolating feeling. Not this past weekend though. We travelled to PJ on Gray‘s invitation (with Imeel, another GM) to run Star Wars RPG sessions at the Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club‘s event entitled Mando Mayhem. I did not know what to expect as I have never gamemastered in public for visitors before. How fun would it be? Would I need to explain the rules too much that it detracts from playing? Would there be people who would not enjoy the sessions? The four sessions I GMed have been chronicled in another blog post. Day One at Jaya One Besides the new friends I made like Imeel, Hanna, James and Syed, a whole bunch of old friends also dropped by. For the first time, I had three different circle of friends showing up and interacting with each other. There was the old […]
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EOTE: The Mando Mayhem Sessions
Here are the actual play write-ups of the four sessions I ran at the KakiTabletop booth during the Mando Mayhem event organised by Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club. You can read about the reunion of friends during the two-day event in this blog post. Session 1: “UNION TROUBLES” (Saturday 2023-05-20; Rebellion Era.) DRAMATIS PERSONAE: 41-VEX, Droid Colonist (Hanna) Lowhhrick, Wookiee Hired Gun (Imeel) Dash Pash, Human Smuggler (Jason) Story resulting from Session 1: Upon landing in Mos Eisley, Tatooine, Dash Pash, Lowhhrick & 41-VEX are apprehended by Imperial sandtroopers. Apparently, three weeks earlier a YT-1300 freighter named Millennium Falcon launched from Mos Eisley and broke through a blockade. Dash Pash’s ship Cash is also a YT-1300 but painted with shades of pink. The Cash had landed safely in Landing Bay 41. Before they could object, the Imperials threw them all in a holding cell in a security office across the […]
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Hari Raya Puasa 1444H
We departed home evening two days before Raya, and travelled our usual route over the mountains. We stopped for dinner at the Gurun rest stop. The food was not bad. Then Irfan pointed the car east and headed towards the mountains. We took our time. Irfan carefully manoeuvred us around a traffic accident site near Baling, then we stopped for a shut eye for at least over an hour at the Gerik junction rest stop. After sleeping I got some coffee and roti telur and took over from Irfan at around 3 am. We ignored the Panglima Bayu junction and headed for Tanah Merah. It was almost dawn, so we pulled over after the new elevated road for sahur. After that, Ain drove us all the way to Pondok Lubok Tapah. Then Raya happened – among other things.
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Rania Pre-Aidilfitri Visit
It is the day before Hari Raya. Based on our annual Eid schedule, we will be spending Aidilfitri in Pasir Mas. On the eve of our journey, we received visitors from Rania and family who will be spending their Aidilfitri Day One here up north with Farid’s family. It was great that Nia and Irfan had some fun together. Next day, we will depart for Pasir Mas in the evening, passing over the mountains overnight and hopefully arrive in Pasir Mas before Subuh.
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STA: Behold, A First Contact
Star Trek: Emergency Deep S01 E04 “Behold, A First Contact” Stardate: 58465.9 Location: Paulson Nebula. In the Paulson Nebula, USS Östergötland NCC-72227 is immobilised by a tractor beam from a 1.2 km-long space creature. It fires a magma missile at them. On Captain Greg Ellison‘s orders, Tactical Officer Lieutenant Libby dos Santos‘ phaser shot disrupts the tractor beam, allowing them to break free. Scanning the creature, Ops Officer Lieutenant Commander Tosk the Studious finds that its tractor beam works on a higher dimension allowing to grab ships through their shields. Part Deltan, Ellison uses empathic abilities on the creature & finds that it’s confused & in great pain. It connects with Ellison telepathically, who convinces it to stand down. Meanwhile, Conn Officer Commander Morpheus Drake easily evades the magma missile. Before going in to investigate, Science Officer Lieutenant Leopold Hill aboard shuttle Hjälmaren at the nebula’s border is ordered to […]
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