In which I Dust off the Blog, Pay Homage to the Iron Crown and Unduly Alarm Myself

Let's See if I can Get Back Into this Blogging Thing

I haven't gamed in months! Haven't really worked on anything game related either, though I've got a campaign idea, kicking around in the back of my head. More on that, anon. Bought some stuff, though.

I.C.E., I.C.E., Baby!

Rolemaster! It's not just an RPG...

It's The Law!

Boxed set, with the three main 2nd edition books, a setting module and a little something extra, the Creature & Treasure book.

Brisco: "Can we play it?"

Me: "Yeah, but I'd rather start you out with D&D."

Brisco: "Why? Is this more complicated?"

Me: "Yeah, you can say that..."

Brisco: "Well, I don't really have to know the rules, anyway."

True dat!

Oh, No!!!

So, I open up the box and start inspecting my new, used Rolemaster books. Part of said inspection being sticking my nose into the middle of the books and giving them the sniff test, just to make sure that...

"WTF?"

It was fairly faint. Undetectable, unless you stuck your nose right up to the pages. But there was the unmistakable odor of... something. Something that smelled too damn similar to mildew, for my comfort level.

Fuck!

It wasn't damp, or musty, though. Real pungent. Faint enough that my olfactory apparatus quickly filtered the odor. I couldn't quite get a handle on it. The books themselves, looked fine! No moisture damage, or staining.

Still, mold can be invisible and on your RPG items, isn't something to take lightly. That shit can spread to adjacent items! 

Oh, the Horror!!!!!

I couldn't release the Rolemaster stuff into my general collection, until I was sure it wasn't some sort of moldy growth! So, with no other option, I sought an outside opinion.

Everyone has at least one Superpower

My ex-wife has a super-sniffer. Something that's caused me no small amount of consternation, over the years. So, I consulted her and her nose.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"What?" An ex-wife can imbue a staggering amount of wariness, into that one, simple sentence.

"Smell this and tell me if it smells like mildew. I don't think it is, but..."

So, she smells it. And makes the kind of face that someone with super-olfactory powers might make, after sticking their nose into a litter box. She sniffs it again.

"Cheap ink. And a little bit of tobacco smoke."

"Cheap ink?"

"Yeah. I used to be a typesetter, remember? That's cheap ink. Very, cheap ink."

Huh. Cheap ink I can live with. My own nose completely failed to detect the cig smoke.

Le Sigh

So. I now have Rolemaster. This means, there's no reason to put off my long-planned campaign, to collect the I.C.E. Middle-Earth supplements. 

"Ka-fucking-ching!"

Except, I plan on finishing Judges Guild, first. I'm getting closer. :)