doombringer

Pathfinder Miniatures Battles Unboxing

2012-01-12T19:35:00.000-08:00

Huge Black Dragon, perk.

They be goblins!

Introducing Rend Blackhand! The orcs look a little like Warcraft orcs, but they do have the advantage of being easily spottted on the field.

Lizardfolk Champion and human guardsmen.

Where wolf? There wolf! Seelah and the kick ass Specter.

Half orc, gargoyle, giant rat, gnome

Duid, dwarf warrior and a realy cool half elf cleric.

This elf doesn't do much for me. Human ranger, based on Happs Bydon from Kingmaker 1.

Sleeping cap rogue, mummy and snakes

Wolves, spider, and zombie.

Ogre, minotaur and medusa.

Ettin, and troll.

Chimera and Giant spider

Frost Giant (spare hand on base) and manticore.

Vampire, lich and succubus

Vamp, 1986

2012-01-12T13:13:00.000-08:00

It's been a Burn Notice marathon in the house for a couple of weeks now and wanted something totally different. Rumaging through Netflix I come across Vamp, from 1986.

I'm totally expecting a cheesy 80's risque comedy, something like Bachelor Party with fangs. What I got was so much better. The movie opens with a scene right out of a serious horror movie, a flashback sequence to a medieval monastery, robed monks, men dragged up onto a gibbon in a great hall, and a rumbling basso extolling the value of a final sacrifice. Those expectations of a serious movie are tossed aside when we find out it is a lame fraternity initiation, and the pledges in question find the whole scenario ridiculous. In a surprisingly well acted speech, AJ, our handsome protagonist, proposes an alternative, he'll get them a stripper for their party and they get in the frat.

So, it's comedy time, right? You have the athletic, handsome protagonist. The slightly less alpha side kick, and a road trip to a strip club. They add in Gedde Watanabe to the group, the goofy Asian rich kid with a car. Should be time for pithy one liners and over the top laughs.

You think since we are going to a strip club it will feature copious T&A, right? Not exactly. There is some very tasteful on stage sexiness, but it's really tame. We see a couple of stage performances before we get to the star of the show, Grace Jones as Katrina. It's an avante garde art piece, not at all what I was expecting.

This was Grace Jone's first movie role, and basically, she is playing herself with fangs. She doesn't have lines really, but she doesn't need to say anything to own the scenes she is in. It's pure physical performance.

It never realizes the comedic potential of the set up or cast, totally under utilizing Gedde Watanabe, but it does manage to be a half way decent horror movie for the era. There are some great little visuals, like the undead kid in the alley, Billy Drago as an albino redneck vampire crook, and the practical effects of the vampire's "game faces." These vampires lead a sad, humorless existence, and dream of better places. Their immortal lives are filled with the drudgery and ennui that living night after night in a strip club would bring.

It's a remarkably stylish, well produced movie for what it is. The whole thing is set in this dingy industrial area, basically shut down at night save for the strip club. Everything is lit in violets, greens, crazy over saturated film effects, fog and neon. Realistic would have been expensive, instead they went for visually distinct. It is basically a comic book done on film, and might be a little ahead of it's time in that regard.

Stand out performance in this flick has to be DeeDee Pfeifer, younger, hotter sister of Michelle Pfeifer. She's ditzy, sweet, and the most vivacious presence in a movie filled with walking stiffs.

If you liked Dusk Til Dawn, you should appreciate this slightly more innocent precursor.

Game Geeks #154 Legends of Anglerre by Cubicle 7

2012-01-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

As 5th edition is announced I find myself once again trying to concieve a game that hits all my buttons, one that I could use to tell stories and adventures in my chosen fantasy world, Agastasi. This sounds lke a possible candidate. I should look more into it.

I've been wanting to give FATE a try anyway.

Best Horror Music Ever!

2011-10-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

Old Man's War.

2011-03-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

I hate it when reviewer's refer to a new author as the second coming of an old, established author. Specifically, Tolkien in the case of fantasy authors or King for horror. Even so, I feel have to admit that John Scalzi has channeled everything that is great about Robert A. Heilein into his first novel, Old Man's War, and breathed a new life into it, much as he has his futuristic soldiers.

So, is John Scalzi the new Heinlein? No, I would never insult either man by pigeonholing him as such. This novel is a war story, much like Starship Troopers, that contends with man's ambivalence to war, peace, love, and what it means to be human in specific, literal terms. It is genuinely funny, humorous as only real people can be. You come to really care about those you meet, and when they inevitably die in ways that may surprise you, you know it is coming, but it still impacts. He avoids the easy pay off, and gives you something more satisfying in it's place.

One could easily declare the book predictable, even cliche if they felt so inclined. The drill seargent does, despite his protests, come to have a grudging respect for our protagonist John Perry. The common man becomes a conscientious soldier and accidentally becomes a hero due to nothing more than gumption, luck and perserverence. He even get's the girl, in a sense. It is a story told countless times since we have told stories beside the camp fire. It is the details that make this story worthwhile.

I first became aware of John Scalzi as the technical consultant to the ill fated Stargate: Universe. What failed in that show was not his fault. Consistently SG: Universe managed to get the science plausible enough to pass a layman's muster and kept it's bible consistent. The same applies here. He details enough of the science behind his skip drives as to make them interesting to the science geek, without fawning over them long enough to have the mathematicians laugh at him. He understands the nature of humans and what would happen if a 75 year old was suddenly rebirthed in a superhuman, virile, damn fine looking body. Yes, sex. Lots of sex. He shows you aliens you would not expect, and lets you know that the his universe is one scary, strange, not at all friendly to human place.

All of these details make the same old story fun to follow, and let him get into one of those tricky concepts that we've given a new name to, but we've been playing with it a long time too. Transhumanism. For those unfamiliar with it, transhumanism is both a philosphical exploration of the potentiality of the technological transcendence of baseline humanity, and also a science fiction trope that explores the same fundamental intellectual space without so much pretention. Whether we question the nature of humanity by examining our fear of the Other, through the questioning of what happens when one of our own goes rogue, or by postulating on the effects of our minds being placed in another body, machine, or network, we are still looking for validation of our existence - and in the case of soldiers, what we fight for.

We fight for what we know and love. Whether that is a memory of a life you once lived, or what friends you have in this life, or merely those who you serve beside. In the end, no matter what technology has done to change us, we are fundamentally human and live and die like anyone else.

Sure, it's deep if you let yourself think about it. Much like Heinlein though, he doesn't drown you in speculative science or philosphy. He tells a fine war story though a narrator you can relate to. It's action packed, cool, exciting and fast paced. Things HAPPEN, and then happen some more. It doesn't bog down in down time or long contemplations of the abyss. These soldiers don't have time - because when they do it gets them killed.

I am looking forward to acquiring the next book. Incidentally, this novel is the first I have ever purchased for the Kindle. True to my nature though, I intend on seeking this out in hardback, preferably a first edition. I found reading it in electronic format fitting, as the protagonist also had to contend with a new means of acquiring information. Though I have to say, having a brain installed in your mind is probably a little more jarring than electronic paper.

Kingmaker Miniatures - Gnome Sorceress

2010-09-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

Cthullu Swimming

2010-08-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

OK, its really just a thinly veiled excuse for jiggling.

Sunday's Modelling Techniques From Around the Net

2010-01-03T07:43:00.001-08:00

I'd done wetblending in the past but never really mastered it. This is a really nice, simple technique most players and painters should be able to get down.

This one is not so much an explanation of a technique as it is an example of how far one could go with these models if they really wanted to.

Brilliant Conversion work

2010-01-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, not mine. I will be using some of his techniques though.

Ravenwing First Days

2009-12-31T14:02:00.000-08:00

The last few months of my miniature painting has been devoted to Space Wolves and it's time for me to go back to my first love in miniatures, the Dark Angels. I have never been very consistent in my painting, usually a few miniatures here and there for use in Dungeons and Dragons, or the occassional miniature just to waste some time. When I first got into painting was around 1996, I bought a selection of miniatures at a con, Deathwing terminators. I painted them to what at the time was a decent standard, and have over the years amassed a fair number of Dark Angel and Imperium miniatures. My terminator collection is farily large, tons of basic space marines, devastators, and loads of scouts. I've never really been into the vehicles, but now I am looking towards an actual fieldable army.

For Christmas I got the Ravenwing battleforce, and I am finally done assembling the bikers. The Attack Bike is mostly complete, but I have set him aside to allow the glue to set. The bikers have just been primed, and I should be able to start painting on them tomorrow.

The land speeder is still up in the air, I haven't decided what to do with it just yet. I have two other landspeeders, both of which are damaged. I think I shall make one of each primary weapon arrangement, and the newest one will be a Typhoon class. I am holding off making a Master of the Ravenwing model just yet, mostly because I think I would like to buy the Sammael on this Jetbike model once I am comfortable with my Ravenwing method, and also because if I am going to do a Master of the Ravenwing land speeder I would like it to be on one of the old school models, that basically looks like a sled with an engine stuck to the back.

I spent more time than I probably should have with the assembly of these bikes. I took the option of equipping the bikers with flamers and melta guns, so I had to do some minor conversions. I found that my usual method of pinning with paperclip works especially well with plastic arms, I heated the tip with my lighter and shoved it into the pin hole, worked perfectly. I tend to like to paint the body of the rider seperately from the vehicle so my space marines are only sitting on the bikes, not currently glued down. In the case of the seargents I have left the torso unglued for the moment.

I am not going to do anything ground breaking with the paint jobs, they will be traditional Ravenwing troops, all black with highlights, red and white iconography and festooned with decals. I dont expect to do any free hand on these troops, but I will probably paint over the decals to give a smoother look.

One thing - I love these new battleforce boxes. They are filled with tons of additional bits and components for use with all kinds of Dark Angel vehicles and troops, not just Ravenwing. Of particular interest to me are the dreadnought leg armor sections, which I am going to retask into a Heresy Era terminator armor for Belial, Master of the Third Company.

Canis Mostly Done...

2009-12-29T21:11:00.000-08:00

Canis Wolfborn

2009-12-29T16:32:00.000-08:00

From Drop Box

Njal Stormcaller Complete

2009-12-29T16:30:00.001-08:00

From Drop Box

Old School GW - Leman Russ

2009-12-29T16:25:00.001-08:00

I recently bought my friend Charles an old Leman Russ figure from Ebay and painted it for Christmas.

From Drop Box

Emma Stone - Zombie Slaying Hotness

2009-12-29T16:05:00.000-08:00

From Drop Box

Njal Stormcaller WIP

2009-11-05T20:18:00.001-08:00

Njal WIP

This is a gallery of the first stages of painting Njal for a friend.

All Hallows Eve RenFaire Aftermath

2009-11-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

Happy All Souls Day ye ghoulish revellers!

From Drop Box

SyFy Babe - Julia Anderson

2009-10-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

So, I admit what really grabbed my attention about Julia Anderson (Benson actually, but her IMDB entry is still under her maiden name) is her recent scene in Stargate Universe where her ample assets are highlighted in her drab olive tank top. Military colors never looked so good. Thing is, having seen some of her other work, specifically Right to Die, I have to say she has some real presence and is a fine actress. Stargate has not really allowed her to showcase this yet, but I expect it is coming. The interview below on her methodology is interesting. I think she can have a good career ahead of her. If it were not for her statuesque beauty I would expect roles outside of sci-fi and horror, but unfortunately tall buxom athletic women rarely get out of the genre.

Behind the Scenes - Julia Anderson ("Anna")

Road to Victory | MySpace Video

Julia Anderson Nude Scene - The funniest videos are a click away

Dungeons and Dragons Surface

2009-10-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

Surfacescapes Demo Walkthrough from Visual Story TAs on Vimeo.

Just a proof of concept, but it is so damn pretty

Crimson Throne: Investigations and Journeys

2009-10-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

Over on RPGcentric Tony Law gives some pretty solid reasons why Adventure Path's don't work for his group. No gaming group is the same, but at least in my case the players have really taken to the idea of the adventure path, at least in one case more than I think is necessary.

The Crimson Throne Adventure Path is not all that linear, I find. Certainly less so than the Rise of the Runelords. I've taken the information from the first 3 modules and used it to create an image of Korvosa, aided of course by the Guide to Korvosa. I find that it makes a much more believeable game to foreshadow future events, and especially important that NPCs that will play a part later be introduced in some small, but memorable way. There are several pages of events which should occur at some point in the campaign, but aren't tied to a specific timeline, and the adventure assumes that the players will get to them at some point, rather than forcing a specific path. The only failing in this adventure path is that it is not written with my style of gaming group in mind, and it is almost necessary to have read most of the path in advance. Luckily I am about 2 years behind in terms of publication time compared to when I am running it.

We've been running Crimson Throne now for a couple of months, and technically they have only managed to complete the first module the Edge of Anarchy. Whether through my own immeasurable skill or blind luck I've managed to get the players so interested in the plot that they are investigating the unsolved mystery of Neolandus Kapeolis all on their own. The unfortunate part of that is that the adventures really do not expect the players to care about these details and assume that all will be revealed in due course, when the modules present the players with the information. My player's weren't satisfied with that.

At the end of Edge of Anarchy it is stated that there is approximately 60 days before the first events of Seven Days to the Grave. I planned to do a couple of small stories to bridge the gap between the players, create bonds, and build characterization. I expected once these events passed I would allow time to pass and begin the next adventure. Instead they started asking questions. Using connections, real and fake, to gain access to investigations. I could have simply let them get to dead ends, but they asked the right questions, pursued lines of investigation that really made sense. I used the information presented in latter adventures and rolled with it. Now they have hints of what happened, some leads that are simply beyond their reach and enough rope to hang themselves with.

Just where I want them.

Queen Ileosa has offered them a chance to serve Korvosa, gain lands and title and it just happens to get them out of the city. They accepted. So I will be interjecting a version of Conquest of the Bloodsworn Vale into the campaign. It should be fun.

I think I have done a decent job of building a sense of the city and the characters within it. They seem to have a detached fondness for Sabina Merrin, even guessing that Sabina is essentially decent but caught up in the Queen's wake. One of them has begun a relationship with Vencarlo Orisini. They are still very much three seperate people that happen to have some goals in mind, but I like it. I think that it makes for a different sort of game than we have experienced in this group in a while.

I'm looking forward to some simple adventuring before darkness descends. Give them a chance to be Big Damn Heroes before they have to face the hard stuff.

Olvia Munn On Dating the Undead

2009-10-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Video Games - E3 2009 - Attack of the Show

Terrain In Action

2009-09-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of shots of my terrain right before use in game. This uses a couple of different sets in use here, namely Worldworks Castleworks Ultimate, Villageworks, Dungeonworks, Chunky Dungeons, and the Himmelveil standees. I'm also using some Village on the Cheap pieces, and a map I got out of Dragon Magazine.

Doombringing T-Shirts

2009-09-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.myspace.com/xdoombringerx

I've never heard of this band, but I am digging their taste in shirts. I may have to buy one of these for the sheer hell of it.

TerrainLinx Build Review

2009-09-23T11:02:00.000-07:00

I posted a preview video for this system a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of the release. I bought it immediately from the WorldWorks website, as it had not yet been released on Paizo or RPGNow, which is where I buy most of my pdfs. I started off doing a timeline of my build, but to be honest I am not very good at keeping up with such things. I worked on this over the course of a week, in the evenings and a Sunday afternoon. In all I would say I spent roughly 14 hours, most of which was spent watching some television as I did so. I rarely devote my full attention to projects like this, instead choosing to use it to fill my hands as I watch or listen to something else.

5:50 PM Monday 9/7/09

I began by printing seven 6x6 base mounting forms, a couple of linx tabs pages, and two 3x3 base mounting pages. This was just enough to cover the piece of scrap foamcore I happened to have. I use framing foamcore, which I buy at Hobby Lobby. It is denser than most of the product you will find in office supply stores or on the shelf in most arts and crafts places. I would soon find out that it was also thinner than WorldWorks designed for.

6:00 PM
I use a Fiskar's brand paper cutter for most of my bulk work. I am pretty good at freehanding straight lines, but the convenience of this cutter was well worth the $25 Mrs. Doombringer paid for it. I cut through the excess on these pages in about 5 minutes. Each 6x base had a 3x6 base on the same page. This was just my first batch, so my only goal was to make enough to fill the half sheet of foamcore. Printing and cutting took a grand total of 20 minutes. First cuts always take a little time as I insure which lines are actually the cut lines and which are the spacers.

6:21 pm
WorldWorks suggests printing these forms on adhesive 8.5x11 label sheets. This would have the effect of reducing glue time and avoiding spray glue, but to me seems expensive. I like using 3M's Super 77 spray, pictured above. I have used several others, and while it is a tad more expensive has several benefits. Firstly it is not as affected by humidity in my experience as some of the other products on the market, and secondly a single, even coat has always been sufficient. It's extremely low water content makes warping negligible and I have never had an issue with ink bleed through. In Houston's humidity the low water content and humidity resistance are really important.

6:27 pm
This is my extremely fancy glue station in the garage. Key factor in spraying anything is to be sure that the glue or paint is properly shaken. I find that the length of time necessary to have a smoke is a perfect timer. Please, don't try this at home I could blow up any day now.

This process took less than 10 minutes, including laying out the pieces and burnishing the pages to help insure a smooth layout.
6:40 take a break for dinner, and to allow the spray glue to cue for a while. It sets almost immediately, but I like to give it at least 20 minutes before cutting on it.

7:30
Cutting the foamcore was by far the longest part of this process. I tried out a new device I'd recently bought, a freehand FoamWerks brand cutter that would allow better 45 degree cuts and straight cuts. The packaging claims that it works with any straight edge, and I had given it a few test cuts on smaller projects already. This would be my first use of it in any significant way. You can see the cutter pictured below. My current verdict is that the blade is not sufficient to my needs. First I had issues with the blade sliding up as I made my cuts, secondly the blade is not strong enough for single pass cutting. With a hand blade one should make a minimum of three cuts in foamcore*, but with a cutter I expect to be able to make single pass cuts. Also, because of the way the cutter is designed working with a steel ruler is not exact enough. The blade sits out 1/4 inch from the base, which means that one must estimate a quarter of an inch of spacing back from the cut line. This is too imprecise for me. I may consider trying this once again with the actual cutting guide designed for it, but right now I don't have a high opinion of the device.

I did a test cut of a single piece of foamcore to make the sure the sizing would be correct to fit into a folded paper floor tile. I found that the instructions were a little imprecise on this point, and my thought on which should be trimmed was correct, had I followed the instructions to the letter as I read it, it would have been oversized by a half inch on one side. Easy fix. Scoring, folding, gluing and burnishing the first piece took almost a half hour. It seems like a long time, but whenever I build my first example of a model I'm extra careful. This is where I found the problem with my foamcore. Since my foamcore is slightly thinner the under folds have to made to match the paper and not the line of the foamcore. When burnishing I found that this caused the outer edges to buckle outward slightly and raise up so that the surface had a slight lip to it. While not the original design I found this solution to be workable and gave a nice organic feel, without looking like I was covering a mistake.

8:00PM
Cutting the remaining foamcore bases, cutting, scoring and folding the tiles, as well as cutting the initial batch of linx bases took the remainder of the night. In all I did six more 6x6, nine 6x3, and 4 3x3 sets. This left only gluing to complete the first batch.

I stopped right at 10:05 PM

Gluing and burnishing took me another hour the next day. I didn't keep track of time, but I spent a total of three hours between watching TV and on commercial breaks and managed to get another batch prepped. This brought my total to 20 6x6 pieces and a couple more of the 3x6. I just could not bring myself to cut more 3x6 foamcore pieces and kept those scraps in my papercraft binder for future use. Should they be needed.

Sunday I printed and folded the special tab walls. I made a selection of 20 walls split equally between 3 and 6 inches. Mrs. Doombringer helped me edge them with brown sharpie. Total build time was nine hours.

Below you can see the example layout I did as well as an example building created with the wall pieces.

In review I think the design is solid. I find the wall pieces to be well designed, and the floor tiles to be more than adequate for city based gaming. This ties in well with my current Crimson Throne campaign. It is an elegant solution to the linkage issue that Worldworks has been trying to perfect, and it would not be hard to alter previous designs to work with this new design. Some minor photoshop work and one could "linx" most of the sets they have produced over the years. It is a little more time consuming than the previous designs, but this design has the benefit of being more durable. Having glue under the surface of the face, as well as the underside gives the piece better endurance during play, and I expect to see less peeling at the edges.

* I will admit that I rarely use the three cut method. I did framing once upon a time and I am fairly adept as slicing through on a single pass. When using the right kind of blade and willing to dispose of them regularly one can save a lot of time with strong deft strokes.

Lovecraft in the Wall Street Journal

2009-09-17T13:24:00.001-07:00

Wall Street Journal Article on H.P. Lovecraft

by JOHN J. MILLER
Tuesday, March 15, 2005 12:01 A.M. EST

For a man who didn't believe in the afterlife, H.P. Lovecraft sure is having a remarkable one. Few people had heard of him when he died at the age of 46 on this date in 1937, and fewer still had read the stories he sold to tacky pulp magazines. Nowadays, however, Stephen King and just about everybody else in the know recognizes him as the 20th century's most influential practitioner of the horror story--a claim he arguably clinched last month with the publication of his best works in a definitive edition.

If our country's literary canon has a dress code, then surely it involves those shiny black jackets covering the volumes produced by the Library of America. Lovecraft's new one runs for more than 800 pages and includes 22 novellas and short stories with titles such as "The Horror at Red Hook," "At the Mountains of Madness" and "The Thing on the Doorstep." There are now 25,000 copies in print, which is an above-average number for the nonprofit publisher. (A book of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" and other writings, released at the same time, has an initial printing of 19,000.)

As with so much genre fiction, Lovecraft's oeuvre isn't for everyone. Some people just can't see past the wooden characters, overwrought prose, and fantastic speculations about the nature of the universe. The dialogue occasionally descends into Howard Dean-like howls of "Eh-ya-ya-ya-yahaah!" Edmund Wilson once quipped that the only horror in Lovecraft's corpus was the author's "bad taste and bad art."

Yet it is difficult to deny his enormous importance in a field of literature whose roots stretch back to the Gothic novels of Anne Radcliffe, the prescient nightmares of Mary Shelley, and the macabre mind of Edgar Allan Poe. Even the most respectable authors have taken advantage of the conventions these writers created and refined. "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James, after all, is a pretty good ghost story.

Pathfinder Campaigns: Timeline Lamashan 4708

2009-09-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

Miniatures as Art

2009-09-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

Among my hobbies I include miniature painting, and have done so since 1995. I have always had some interest in art, and my first foray into miniature wargames was not to actually play the game, but to paint the figures. Some of my early work was also, in some ways, my best. They were Warhammer Fantasy miniatures, the simple plastic high elf spearmen that came in the boxed set. I used techniques I learned from painting and from various crafts I had dabbled in over the years. My style was not the usual however, and certainly not the 'Eavy Metal style of Games Workshop. Since then I have improved in many ways, incorporating some of the 'Eavy Metal style into my own techniques. Every time I pick up the brush though is a new experience, and I am far from a master of the craft.

1995 is kind of a middle ages of sorts for miniatures. Games Workshop, or Citadel as their miniature line was called, was really coming into their own, Ral Partha was creating much better sculpts than they had in the past, and there were numerous contenders creating fantasy and sci-fi lines for gaming, such as Grenadier. In comparison to the early sculpts of the 70's and 80's these new miniatures were significant improvements. The quality of these miniatures would only increase as companies like Reaper began to produce en mass, impacting the sales of the previous generations giants.

In the past decade miniatures have nearly become art, and the number of companies making quality product has drastically increased from a mere handful to dozens. Some of the most engaging, interesting, and well crafted sculpts aren't coming from Citadel or Reaper but much smaller studios in limited numbers.

The miniatures that really intrigue me are not those created for use in game, but those created for the sake of art itself. I have been aware of Altar Modelling for some time, and have long been impressed with their skill and the unique creations they have presented. As yet, unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to buy any of their pieces, much less paint one. My time and money has simply been spent elsewhere. They took it upon themselves to create a miniature based on art from the late Ottoman Empire, and it is stunning. This miniature, pictured below, is not just a game piece, it is a work of art unto itself and created such that devotees of the craft may render their own sensibilities onto it. Miniature painting can be just a hobby, but in this instance I believe the hobby may be elevated to an art, shared by sculptor and the multitudes of painters around the world who attempt to elevate this supine resin woman into something beautiful.

You can see the progress of the paint job and the untouched sculpt at the Altar site, linked above. They also have a selection of paintings from the same Ottoman artist. I did not realize until today that Altar was a Turkish company that focused their efforts on Turkish art and culture, and the promotion of miniature gaming and the hobby in Turkey. That's pretty damn cool. Up to this point I had merely seen their miniatures on occasion and been impressed with the level of detail and the unusual subject matter.

Pathfinder Campaigns: Timeline Rova 4708

2009-09-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

For some reason I have been wanting to actually tie down the dates that events in my campaigns occur. So, I have found me a nice excel doc that works a calendar for Golarion and I am filling in the dates as best I can. It will also help me create a time line for any more fiction I write, as well as adding some verisimilitude to the campaigns when I refer to a date in game.

Crimson Throne Fiction Part 1: Hasif

2009-09-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

Esme loved her job most days. The Posh and Turtle was a nice gig, the owner was a sweet old fellow and the patrons were polite, rarely rowdy. I might have been the aftereffects of Pesh in their systems, but Esme could hardly complain about that habit. She even liked the Turtle they kept under the glass floor, it ignored her and everyone else most days but from time to time the old reptile would give her this long thoughtful look, and her tips would be better the rest of the day. The only real complaint she had about working this bar were the damn druids that would protest outside, as if they had nothing better to do. This was one of those days.

Four of the dirty scalawags were marching up and down the avenue right in front of the Posh’s door. A pair of bored looking Korvosan Guard watched their procession sipping on complimentary hot tea from the Posh, no doubt. One of them was actually wearing a ridiculous turtle costume seemingly made from painted bark and canvas. Esme really didn’t want this so early in her day, but what is a girl to do? Half anxious and half determined Esme pulled up the collar on her coat and with lowered head pushed herself forward just hoping to get to the door. It wasn’t enough.

“How you like makin’ a livin’ off a defenseless animal – a noble beast that deserves better than being gawked at all day?” His breath was rank, a physical mist that shocked poor Esme out of her stride. His robes were ratty things, cast offs it would seem and barely covering his wiry hairy frame.

Esme’s only response was a disgusted squeak and to fall without grace onto her rear, soaking her skirt in muddy rain water. The wild haired druid did not miss his opportunity and descended on her, his arms and legs straddling her as he leaned far closer than any stranger had a right to. “Maybe we should put you in a glass bowl and watch you? Maybe you’d do well under the water for days on end soaking and bloating, naked and half forgotten?” Panicked now, Esme scrambled backwards feeling fabric and skin tear against something rough and sharp on the cobblestone road. Her eyes cast about for help but saw the guards coming to her aid were accosted by the wild man’s friends pulling sacks of some sticky filthy substance and throwing them at the men’s feet, seizing them in place.

“Let’s see what you’re like under your shell, huh?” Esme flipped onto her belly inelegantly, trying hard to push away from the man but his arms were long and fast, filled with sinuous muscle and she felt his dirty nails dig into her skin as he ripped her cloak from her back. She sobbed as she struggled away, flinging an arm back wildly, flailing and missing her attacker. The guards were shouting, telling her to run, to not fight. She didn’t think she’d be fast enough.

She struck a wall unexpectedly, and sank to her feet surrendering to whatever injustice was to be done to her. She heard a heavy cracking sound and wet spray across her back and neck, followed by the painful sobbing of someone that wasn’t herself. The wall she leaned against moved, and she realized somewhat embarrassed that it was a man, in dark weather stained robes, larger than any man had a right to be.

The druid was unconscious, just inches from her, his nose broken and blood pouring from his mouth. The others ran, diving off the boulevard into the bay; the guardsmen unable to escape their bonds in time to capture the ruffians. Unconcerned the mountainous man ambled slowly past, hardly even glancing at the soldiers stuggling to free themselves from the goo, or poor Esme who’s day was upside down.

“You saved me and you’re not even going to let me say thank you?” Esme finally managed to find her voice and shout after the man.

He paused, perhaps considering, and finally responded, “I didn’t do it for thanks”.

“Hasif doesn’t do anything for free, miss,” the older of the two guards interjected, “count yourself lucky he didn’t charge you for his time.”

“You’re right, guardsman Canetti, I don’t do anything for free,” the massive man spun on his heel, far to swift for someone of his girth and came back at the two pinned men with a certain menace in his eyes. From his robes he produced a bag of some sort, clutched between his thumb and pinky so that the remaining three fingers floated above like a spider’s appendages. His next words were in no language Esme spoke, fluttering dark syllables that strained the ears, and as the guardsmen pulled their arms back holding sap and sword the mountain, Hasif, gestured pulling the black slime from their ankles and feet and compacted the mess into a neat, perfect sphere which he gently laid upon the ground. “I’ll send a bill to Citadel Volsheyvik for your rescue, officer.”

Canetti laughed good naturedly, and Esme suspected the two knew each other in some personal way.

Esme managed to get to her feet, and hesitantly reached out to touch the man’s arm, though she was only able to reach his wrist comfortably, as if she was a child looking up at a father. He towered over the guardsmen, too large to fit in the door of the tavern if he had so desired. “Please, I don’t have much money, but maybe I could pay for a meal? Or three?” she added, realizing just how much there was to him so close.

The man looked down at her quizzically, dark eyes and sallow skin, brutish looking. A groaning wet sound came from his belly in answer, ignoring whatever his mind might have decided.

“A meal will be fine, just one,” his smile was predatory, a wolf’s grin and with a sigh he seemed to shrink in on himself, clothes and bones and muscle receding before her eyes until he was merely tall, and no longer a thing of mythic proportions. Her eyes grew as quickly as he shrank and laughing the man simply said “wizard.” As if that was enough explanation for it all.

Supernatural Season 5 Premier!

2009-09-10T18:01:00.001-07:00

Sympathy for the Devil.

The Prophet Chuck! Can't get enough of that.

Dean is such a badass. Now working the angel mojo on the sly.

Sam has picked up new tricks too. Still a whiney putz.

We have a scene in Delaware and no Thoroughgood? Who Do You Love better get played.

So Lucifer has to have a vessel, like any other angel. This solves one of the bigger problems I expected, namely how do you make Lucifer impressive enough to be worth screen time? If there is one dissatisfaction I have with this show is that the demons are all the same, and the least impressive of the effects they have done on the show. The Genie was far better as have most of the ghosts. I would have liked to have had a glimpse of something in that blinding light when Lucifer arose, some hint of his infernal majesty. Instead we will have some normal looking dude from Delaware that flashes glowing whites eyes occasionally.

SLASH FIC LOL Dissing Dean, WTF

Michael "toughest son of a bitch they got". Gotta love Bobby.

Bobby possessed is a very bad thing. I really hope they give us a flashback as to how they managed to get into him, I always assumed Bobby was pretty well protected.

Who is this playing the returned Meg? Seems so familiar. Hot.

Bobby died well. Resisted possession and took himself out. He deserved a good death. Apparently Mrs. Doombringer is right and Bobby is too awesome to die. He gets stabbed with the demon slaying knife while possessed and still lives. That's epic levels there bud.

OK then. Dean is now a sword. All kinds of Freudian overtones there.

Ah, I see Zachariah is an evil conservative angel, denying health care to Bobby and Sam. He even supplies the health problems.

I love that God has finally shown his hand, or at least a hint that he is not the absentee landlord that Zachariah makes him out to be.

The previews look awesome. Glad to see that Ellen and Jo will be coming back.

The Vampire Diaries Episode 1

2009-09-10T17:22:00.001-07:00

I'm going in to this with very low expectations. I've never read the books, but I have taken a quick look at the wiki. So one of the more immediate reveals is already known to me.

The first scene did not do much to help that. Running a guy down on a lonely road, the Lost Boys style lifting of the nameless female victim, it was very predictable. Body count 2. Animal Attack.

Before the first commercial break we have a scene in a cemetary with thick fog rolling in in bright sunlight, and of course a damn crow. Raven maybe?

It's not all bad though. The main character, Elena, has some screen presence, very pretty and believable. The vampire obviously has at least a couple of ranks of Dominate, and I have to say that the effect with his eyes is nice. Rather than the Buffy-verse scrunchy face or glowing red eyes the veins around the eyes go dark and everything gets cast in shadows. Very cool looking really.

I'm liking the soundtrack actually. It's a nice mix of supposedly edgy euro-style rock, but anything is better than the usual music in these 90210 style shows.

Stefan is played by Paul Wesley who I really thought was good on Wolf Lake. I haven't seen him in much else but he blends thoughtful and badboy well.

That Salvator has a descendant in the town that knows his secret is nice. There could be some intersting interactions between an older looking descendant playing the part of uncle, when of course the vampire is really the elder in the relationship. Of course we get to see a locket with a picture that looks a lot like Elena. JUst have to have the old reincarnated love don't we? It's fine in a RPG but it's been done way to much. A similar looking woman would have been fine, especially if they make it out so that she was a descendant of the original.

The cute friend who apparently is a psychic is kind of cool, as long as they don't bring in a new supernatural phenomena every week it would be nice to see a world where there is a not a single instance of the paranormal.

Matt, the brother is a druggie, but one with a heart of gold. He has a thing for the town slut. Unfortunately she goes for a walk alone in the woods after her boyfriend tries to force himself on her. So, fog rolls in and body number 3. I hope Mystic Falls has a high enough population to last the season. Oh turns out she isn't dead. Our first spawn?

Ah the brother get's revealed the first episode. Mrs. Doombringer exclaims "look! more pretty vampire boys!" He's played by Ian Somerhalder who I liked in Lost, so it's not all bad.

I kind of like the honesty of the blonde. Not sure on her name. I can appreciate that she recognizes that her life is basically a competition to gain approval and acceptance, that she can voice the insecurity she feels at being seen as nothing more than a pretty, very friendly girl.

Ah crap. The music reverted to something that sounds like the Fray. And overlaid with narration. I'm really not a fan of narration, but with diaries in the title you just can't get away from it. Elena invited him in without any preamble, I wonder if he would not have been able to otherwise?

Check this comparison of True Blood, Twilight and Vampire Diaries.

Crimson Throne: Four Sessions In

2009-09-10T10:34:00.001-07:00

I'm not one of those gamers that sweats the small stuff. In truth I am much more of a "storyteller" style DM than I am a tactical one. I enjoy the big combats and the tactical nature of the game, but the story is why I play. When I started this new campaign I had in my mind to do a very laid back sort of experiment. Essentially I would run the Crimson Throne AP as written, with no more conversion work than I would normally do for game prep, using the new Pathfinder Core Rulebook. So far it has been a success. The games have run smoothly, and only a few times have we really needed to look up a changed rule. The most common thing for me to alter in the course of the game has been adding Combat Maneuver Bonus and Defense to the stat block of enemies, but in each case this has taken only a moment.

We've made some mistakes, usually because we assumed the Beta rule had not changed. The largest mistake so far has been assuming that Turning Undead was still a function of the cleric's Channel Positive Energy feature. This completely altered a battle, but was not really game breaking. We've adjusted and the player has bought the Turn Undead feat at third level to grant the ability. The player rightly guesses that undead will feature prominently in the game.

If anything surprises me it is that the rogue player's NPC bodygaurd she bought with Background Points (see my earlier blog post on this) has been one of the more effective characters so far in combat. I expect that eventually she will end up using this character to get combat advantage whenever possible. The problem with this background option so far has been that aside from the Status that the cleric bought the NPC is by far the most useful and powerful. I may have to adjust him to a NPC class with low stats rather than a normal fantasy array with a pc class. Since it is possible he may just die I am not too worried about it though, at this level death means rolling a new character and NPC's don't have the advantage of being replaced just because he gets himself killed. I won't go out of my way to murder him, but sometimes things just don't go well.

Cue evil wringing hands.

Don't Be that Guy

2009-09-05T08:26:00.001-07:00

http://veryofficialblog.com/2008/08/17/dont-be-that-guy/

Shared via AddThis

Japanese Wierdness Is Not New

2009-09-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

Wiki

Tavern and Chamber Music for Medieval and Fantasy Gaming

2009-08-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

TerrainlinX - More Paper Toys

2009-08-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

WorldWorks is about to release their newest and (hopefully) final version of their terrain building design, and appropriate to my current campaign it will be based on a city design rather than dungeons. I've been making paper terrain for a long time, starting off with the models that Wizards of the Coast made available on their website for the long dead Chainmail game. I made a lot of mistakes back then, especially using the wrong kind of paper and not using a decent printer. I've bought and used models from several companies, Fat Dragon, Fingers and Toes, DirtCheap and of course Worldworks. Worldworks has a design aesthetic to their surfaces that really appeals to me. It is a good mixture of realism and obviously rendered art, rather than attempting photo realism.

Worldworks have used various building systems over the years, starting with common free standing walls in their early DungeonWorks and CastleWorks sets. These had many problems, most notably that merely moving your arm too fast could blow the things down. These systems also required the creation of a battleboard, essentially a singular piece of foamcore that would serve as the base and floor of the project. Upon revisiting the Castleworks idea Worldworks decided on modular floor tiles and the "linx" system. Walls also were placed on bases and connected to the other pieces using the same wedge-like linx tiles. Eventually this idea would be refined somewhat for later sets like ExteriorWorks: Hinterlands. The point of this very brief history is that they have continually modified, adapted and evolved their product. I can appreciate a company that takes the effort to really improve on their craft.

As I developed my skills in papercraft I would often modify the designs, or work out my own methods as I found their instructions or designs inefficient. Of course just when I had gotten to a point I was comfortable with my modifications they would present a new product with a similar change, only much more refined. It's very easy as a hobbyist to look a product and say "I can do better", what I like is that this company takes the time to say the same thing and make it happen.

I am really excited about this new linx style they are using. The video is certainly very pretty. What concerns me is the obvious need for precision cuts. These box like tabs that will be used as connectors seem very dependent on exacting cuts and folds, and very good tight glue work. This may be why WorldWorks has decided to build compatibility with the CraftRobo and Silhouette automatic cutters into these new sets. I'm not yet sure I want to buy into a $229.99 device (for the Silhouette). The potential problems I see come from weakened folds and badly fitted joints causing stress on the complete build. Ideally these automated cutters would reduce the likelihood of inexact cuts and folds. The other concern I have is in printer accuracy. It is an unfortunate fact that printers don't make the exact same print every time, there are always slight variances. These may be caused by inexact rendering, or paper slightly out of adjustment, to mechanical discrepancies in the print head. I am a little concerned with the cutter and the printer not being on the same page so to speak.

These potential problems are something that are inherent in any form of craft, and not a slight against this product. This is obviously built by a professional with the best equipment and tons of experience, but if these automated cutters can make this possible to the hobbyist, or even the novice that will be an amazing thing.

Space Hulk

2009-08-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Games Workshop announced a limited release of Space Hulk and as much as I would love to, I just can't bring myself to spend 100 dollars on it right now. There's no doubt that the box is worth it, and this video tells you why.

The Terminators are Blood Angels and while gorgeous, covered in Blood Angels iconography. If they were Deathwing, or even more generic marines I could convert I don't think Beth could stop me.

Crimson Throne - Regency England

2009-08-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

http://regency-throne.blogspot.com/2008/10/campaign-resources.html

This is a fantastic idea, and a great alternate use of an Adventure Path.

The Anathema Part 1: Basic Construction

2009-08-21T06:17:00.001-07:00

This is from the Firstlight set by Worldworks. I have owned these for quite some time but never really got around to trying to make them. Eventually I ended up discarding these from the current build, and may turn them into a shuttle or small fighter.

This is my first attempts at layout, which I spent way too much time on. I did not like the designs that come with the pdf, which feature the bridge and "tub" on the sides of the vehicle, aft from the main body. I wanted a forward bridge and a more streamlined design. Mostly I played with it while watching the Tudors on Netflix.

This is the first build of the cargo bay. Originally I intended on making these bays modular, able to be removed from the main body and used as either detachable cargo containers, or portable command stations. I've since changed my mind and built them directly into the craft. I have some other plans along those lines.

This is just a view of the original Firstlight skins on the exterior. As you can see I made some mistakes in construction, but I almost never get them right the first time. In some ways I wasn't worried about a perfect construction because I knew I was going to resurface and add detail work.

First shot of a nearly completed primary deck. You can see here the bridge and the airlock. I decided against a functional airlock, partially because of my intention on building a lower deck and also because I ran out of room and did not feel like doing cuts on my structural walls. You can see I need to do some work still shading in the cut lines.

These are the same rooms pictured above resurfaced. You can also see the majority of the ship and the open doors frames, for which I still have to build removable doors. I've also added the fitted roofs for the cargo containers.

This is the science compartment, which includes Engineering and Astrometrics. I am not completely happy with the floor in this section, I had some technical problems with the reactors and so there is some buckling. My mistake was building this section on a separate set of papers as base and then adding it to the main body. I got ahead of myself and it damaged the project.

Open cargo bay with heroscape figure.

Thrusters

Reactors

Crew Quarters

Aerial view, that blank space is for a turbolift. The chevron shaped pieces on the sides of the ship are for escape pods. Those are modular.

View of astrometrics sensor array.

Sony unveils $300 slim PS3... enough of a reason to buy one? [I Heart Video Games]

2009-08-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

Sony unveils $300 slim PS3... enough of a reason to buy one? [I Heart Video Games]

The Wolfman

2009-08-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

I'm really looking forward to this. I'm not Benecio De Toro's greatest fan, but I think this movie will be incredibly well done. I expect it to be a very serious, well crafted treatment of the subject.

Back in the Pathfinder Saddle Again

2009-08-19T08:08:00.001-07:00

Back in the Pathfinder Saddle Again

I took a break from fantasy gaming for a few months for several reasons, not the least of which was I got married and was not going to be running a game on my honeymoon. So for the majority of the summer I have played the new Star Wars Saga edition game using the Dawn of Defiance campaign path from the Wizards website. I loved Saga edition, but hated that really bad adventure series. Running modules is still a relatively new concept to me and I find that my original reasons why I created my own still stand for the most part. Paizo’s adventure paths are the exception to the rule in my opinion, and I feel no particular shame in running those adventures for my friends.

I have the New Testament of Fantasy Gaming now, the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. I received mine early (on the 10th) like a lot of subscribers but I haven’t felt much need to write about it before now because I haven’t really had a chance to delve into it. I am not one of those rules guys that can literally sit down read the whole book and speak for hours on it. I can say that it is a very pretty book, easily one of the best produced game books I own. I like some of the final changes, and others I am still leery of. I like the removal of plate armor from Clerics, but I am still not completely sold on the change in concentration. We’ll see how it plays out.

Saturday I started the Curse of the Crimson Throne. I’ve made some changes to our usual play style for this campaign. First I am actually using a point buy system for stats. I find that whenever we roll stats someone ends up with a distinct and unfair advantage over the other players. Despite the fact this is a cooperative game it is less fun when one character is omni-capable and yours is mildly incompetent. Secondly I instituted a very basic Backgrounds rule based on that used in Storyteller system games. Each character was given 7 points to distribute amongst various categories that would be fleshed out in game. I also allowed the players to choose two Traits from the various Pathfinder Companion books they liked, and I gave them a third trait based on their prelude story which connected them through Gaedrin Lamm. Everyone also ended up with a very minor magical item. I am sure to some this would sound like I opened the candy store, but I play with only three people and I find that they are much less likely to be destroyed in the first fight if I give them something to balance out the numbers.

I really liked the Harrow cards in play. In addition to drawing principal cards for each player based on their primary stat we also did Harrow readings strictly by the numbers for each character. I was able to easily work the cards into readings that were general enough to be universally dire and work some specific events that I know of into the prophesy. I think it will add a nice touch to the campaign.

We only had time on our opening session to play through the individual preludes and the confrontation with Gaedren Lamm. I think the roleplay went pretty well and I think the session went smoothly. There was not a lot of the new rules in play, only one use of a combat maneuver.

We have also begun a wet paint wiki for use in game, and Beth was kind of enough to write session summaries while in game. I’ve never had a game secretary before. I kind of dig it.

Warriors of Darkness Review of Pathfinder

2009-08-16T07:06:00.000-07:00

The TNG You Never Knew You Knew

2009-07-12T20:10:00.001-07:00

Gamestops Should All be Like This

2009-07-11T05:34:00.001-07:00

Video Game - E3 2009 - Attack of the Show

SciFi Games and Music Part 1: Mechwarrior 2

2009-06-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

Music plays a large part in my games, always has. I've talked a little bit of heavy metal and it's influence in my fantasy gaming, but my science fiction games have tended towards a more synthetic sound. Balancing music and voice is a difficult proposition when you have several people talking, usually at different volumes and the details are important. So I tend towards more ambient sounds and unobtrusive themes for science fiction. One of the best soundtracks I have ever had was for the game Mechwarrior 2. Check this sample out. It perfectly balances an evocative sound, science fiction sound effects and themes, 90's era action movie feel and unobtrusiveness.

Guillermo del Toro on Wired

2009-05-27T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hollywood thinks art is like Latin in the Middle Ages—only a few should know it, only a few should speak it. I don't think so. - Guillermo del Toro

Wired Interview with Guillermo del Toro on the future of film making.

I love this man.

Another Buffy Movie?

2009-05-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

Source: ICV2

This is definitely a WTF moment. Apparently there is some movement on having a remake of the old Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. This will have nothing to do with either the television series, or Joss Whedon. I'm still trying to get my head around a remake of a movie from my lifetime, much less one that spawned a television series with such a rabid following. The business sense of trying to make a Buffy movie in which Joss Whedon is not involved is also questionable, as his extremely devoted fans will likely be incensed at his exclusion.

Network TV in the Fall

2009-05-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

I have become a huge fan of some shows and now that the Networks are announcing their fall Schedules I feel I should way in on some of the decisions. I will start with what I like that they did and then go to stuff that aggravates me. So off to the good things.

Well Bones got renewed for TWO seasons. The show is have very good ratings and the producers have committed money for 2 more seasons. The ratings continue to go up for the show and the chemistry of the cast especially between Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz is very tight. Plus, since I love the show; I love that it is continuing.

Fringe has been officially picked up! I like this type of Sci-Fi. Its about the science. Add in cool conspiracies and bad people that you like (Dr. Walter Bishop for example) makes it all good to me. Spec Agent Olivia Dunham seems a bit weak but I think that's actually part of the plot not poor acting. Walter is my favorite character and I always look forward to what he will say or do next. I am glad it coming back and committed for a full season.

Dollhouse is renewed for a short 13 season. I am glad the Joss Whedon will actually get some more time to give us what he is trying to do with this series. It has loads of potential and did get allot better after the first 5 episodes. I have heard that Fox demanded the bland stuff in the start (reminiscent of the meddling on Firefly) Eliza Dushku is pretty bland of an actress but as the show went on I kind of got her in this roll. We will see what Josh has for us next season and I wish him luck.

Lie To Me is also getting a short 13 episode renewal. I have been a fan of Tim Roth for many years since i saw Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Gary Oldman and Roth were awesome in that. Tim brings that kind of performance to this role and I just cannot get enough of it. The rest of the main cast are well done and add a deep dimension to Roths character. Its like a police procedural in format and in that way its formulaic but its done well. With 13 more episodes I bet it will show that it has long legs.

Chuck is renewed! On the surface its just a fun poke at stereotypes with National Security on the line but under that surface is a deep and rich with Chucks family life and he search for meaning. And with Yvonne Strahovski and Adam Baldwin in the show its always fun to watch. Glad its sticking around!

The Mentalist renewed for a full season. i am very very pleased with this as I thin its one of the better Police procedurals out there. The cast has come together and the acting is tight. The underlying thread of "Red John" A serial killer that killed the main character's (played by Simon Baker) family pops up regularly enough that the tension is always there.

Castle is coming back also. I have always liked Nathan Fillion I like how he blends humor into everything his says and does. This police procedural is very formulaic in that he is a writer tagging along with the NYPD and he give great insight into every case. I also like his partner played by Stana Katic. They have a good report with each other and both an attraction and secret tension (she is a BIG BIG fan of his books that she tries to never let on, he has a big enough head already). I also really like the relationship he has with his daughter played by Molly Quinn. She keeps him grounded in the world.

Last and definitely NOT least is Supernatural coming back to wow and amaze me for another season. Well they went and did it. The Hunters raised Lucifer from hell. Good job Sam and Dean Winchester!!!! We we all know what has to happen now. The fearsome twosome of this show have to go out and not only kick Lucifer butt but make the Angles pay for arraigning his release. yes that's right the Angels made sure the Lucifer rose. I am sure there will be hell to pay ( sorry pun meant)

Well I went very long on the good stuff so I'll end this post now. Ill get another post for the stuff I did not like that they did.

Officially Sick of Remakes and Rehashes

2009-05-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

And simultaneously interested in seeing most of them.

Every geek does it. We leave the theatre and talk to our friends about how we would have made the movie, or sit around the game table and talk about how much we would love to make a movie of this or that franchise. Yet we whine that all Hollywood is doing these days is making remakes, or reboots, or simply movietizing existing IP like GI Joe or (my god) Monopoly. I would love to see something original take off, but the fact is that Hollywood is scared to expend serious cash on anything that is not a known quantity. Even remarkably succsessful director/writers like Rob Zombie are unable to shop original material (such as his T.Rex project).

I blame George Lucas, personally. His damn prequels opened the door for this constant resurrection of existing properties.

Sometimes I get the impression that the guys directing and writing these movies are like me, they've dreamed up all the ways the could improve a character or a franchise and this is their chance.

Take the new Sherlock Holmes for instance. Unlike all the previous film adaptions of the worlds original greatest detective the writers of this movie have gone to the source, and his character is much more like written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Every film version I can remember has had him dapper and smart, a proper English gentleman. Here he is a debauched bohemian sort, rough and tumble and from the trailer a bit of a lech. Since he is being played by Robert Downey Jr. this is really well cast. He may as well be playing himself. This movie will certainly have more overt supernatural elements than the original works, and their film adapations, and also be much more action oriented. I also suspect some heavy steampunk elements, which is interesting specifically because if I am right it will be the first time that it comes to a mainstream work outside of anime. (Yes, the Golden Compass looks like it has steampunk in it, but I would say that it is not since it works on entirely fantastical energy sources, not steam.)

Then we have the new Clash of the Titans. With Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes it certainly has a good start with respected actors. I loved the original, still do but I am looking forward to a current take on that work. Harryhausens stop motion in that film was some of his best, but it is dated now and I think with proper budget a new generation can be introduced to Greek Mythology, some of the original pulp adventure stories ever told. Clash of the Titans might also be the big break for Alexa Davalos who plays Andromeda in this version. I'm something of a fan, so I am hopeful. I even posted specifically about her on the other blog, it's sfw so don't be shy.

Clash of the Titans Redux Babe: Alexa Davalos

2009-05-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

I'm such a sucker. I loathe that Hollywood seems to be completely unable to create anything resembling new, but then I get all excited when they remake something like Clash of the Titans. Hell, I am even a little interested in Sherlock Holmes even though it is really just another excuse for Robert Downey Jr. to be, well, himself.

The new Clash of the Titans is shaping up really nicely. Especially with my old Angel girlfriend Alexa Davalos. She played the electrically charged mutant Gwen Raiden on the show, and since has done a bit of work including the Chronicles of Riddick, the Mist and Feast of Love. She lived through two of those three movies.

Anyway, lovely girl. I've enjoyed her work so far, and I'm sure I will be going to see this as soon as I can.

Curtain Calls

2009-05-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

The likelihood is that my Rise of the Runelords campaign will come to a close this weekend. There have been several delays, some short evenings, and it may actually not finish for one reason or another. I think most non gamers would be surprised how much emotional conflict a game master can experience about this situation. Despite using published material, a rarity for me, this campaign has taken a lot of work, and quite a bit of my creative output. So, part of me is actually nervous about the completion of this campaign, because I don't know that it will be as satisfying for myself and the players as I would like it to be. I also don't really feel the story of these characters is complete, yet in almost every other way I am ready for this to be over, to move on to new stories.

Monday Babe: Fujiko Mine

2009-05-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

I never said all the babes would be real people.

I'm not your usual anime snob, the so called Otaku. I don't mind English dubbing and I don't treat anime with any more reverance than individual shows deserve. In fact I treat anime exactly as I do any other movie or television show, on it's own merits. One anime that consistently meets my approval is Lupin III. For those unfamiliar, think of Lupin like a 70's crime movie, specifically the sort that Micheal Caine starred in like the Italian Job or I suppose like the American caper, Oceans 11. The protagonists are loveable rogues, each one a specialist. Fujiko is the bad girl, the infiltrator, the double crossing succubus that usually leads Lupin astray.

I love the bad girl.

What I love about Fujiko is that she is as competent, maybe moreso than the hero. She uses her feminine wiles to get what she wants, but in truth is moderately chaste. She plays Lupin over and over again, but deep down she does love him. Of course that doesn't stop her from leaving him hanging in the wind if it's time to blow. She's tough, a badass, quick tempered, vicious, and wicked.

Lupin the Third is one of the most influential anime of all time. It has spawned many of the themes and artistic elements that we now think of as anime. Cowboy Bebop, easily my favorite for greatest anime of all time (series, if we are talking movies I am going with Ghost in the Shell) is especially influenced by Lupin and Faye Valentine could be the reincarnation of Fujiko.

Youtube video, embedding was disabled

This is a video of Fujiko set to the Cutey Honey theme. As an aside, I've never actually seen Cutey Honey.

TSA Now Quashing Freedom of Comics

2009-05-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

ICv2 Link

Normally I will not be talking about politics here. I enjoy thought provoking entertainment, but generally I prefer that it be somewhat ambiguous, or at the very least not directly tied to the events of today. Basic story, a comics author was detained and put through additional screening due to carrying comic panels from a book based around 9/11. His life seems to have imitated his art, since the plot involves a man whose job it is to postulate worst case scenarios, and is a suspect when one of them comes true.

Star Trek Review

2009-05-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

I just got home from seeing Star Trek in IMAX at the Silverado 19 in Tomball. I have to say this movie was everything I hoped it would be. Those of you who read my first blog entry know I had some reservations about this film, but in general I was hopeful that Abrams, Orci and Kurtzman would uphold my high opinion of their work. Instead, they impressed me beyond my expectations, well above.

I am still basking in the afterglow, so my emotions are compromised, but I believe I can accurately state that this movie is by far the best Star Trek movie in terms of acting, production values and excitement. Some small part of me still holds up the Wrath of Khan as the best example of Star Trek on the big screen, and it is if your measurement is the Star Trek that grew up with.

Advertisements and interviews have told us that this new Star Trek is not our father's Star Trek. This is misleading. This movie was a distilled, refined, re manufactured bit of cinematic genius that took everything grand and amazing about Star Trek and made it fresh. Star Trek had staled over the years, become staid and antiquated. This film was made for today's audience and it was done just as I hoped it would be. It was Star Trek the way I would have made it, had I money, backers, a film degree and a resume that gave me nearly carte blanche to do as I saw fit.

Even the time travel premise, which I had my strongest reservations about, was not nearly so hokey as I feared it would be. It was treated with some courtesy and respect, and in the end explains every change to this reborn franchise with aplomb.

I could spend a lot of time on the casting. Every major role was cast perfectly, by an actor who could bring that characterback to the big screen, and not merely ape the efforts of it's original actor. Save Kirk, played by Chris Pine. This, however, is not my father's Kirk. This Kirk is so changed by the events of this timeline that to acted the same would be a disservice. Chris Pine was extremely likable, funny, smarmy, arrogant and endearing. In other words, Kirk just a little more flawed and lacking Shatner's distinctive and oft mocked staccato delivery. That staccato was very much a part of Kirk's j'ne se quoi, that ineffeable quality that made him larger than life. Pine's Kirk has that particular drawl of a man who really doesn't have anything to lose.

There are so many things about this movie to love. It was shot beautifully, there is a scene where the Enterprise rises through the rings of Saturn that was breathtaking. The scene showing the Academy of Science on Vulcan was perfect. This movie showed, rather than told, why these crew members were so influential in the success of Star Fleet. You understood that this crew was quite literally the best of the best, the most capable and talented cadets Star Fleet had mustered.

Everything I loved about the original series was in this movie, and divorced from the baggage I feel had born down the show over the decades. May Roddenberry rest in peace, but the Utopian principles of the Star Trek universe had never been fully realized, and as each writer attempted to bring it to the fore it became muddied and confused. This Starfleet is still a humanitarian force, a peacekeeping fleet to bring civilization to the frontier, but these men and women and others (in the case of genderless aliens) are not hippies in space. The repartee between the cast in this movie was almost Whedonesque in it's delivery, but I've always thought the contention between Bones and Spock was a huge influence on his writing.

I loved it. Simple as that. I came out of it hopeful for the sequel. I left the theater nearly buoyant with how damn good it was. I was impressed with how well they handled this movie, but nearly as importantly the class they showed in the small things. That Majel Roddenberry received special mention in the credits, that Leonard Nimoy's appearance was no mere cameo but meaningful and important, despite my fears it would be another so called passing of the torch and nothing more. I even loved that in the end credits the original theme was played.

As much as I loved it, I never was able to completely immerse myself. I watched this movie with a critics eye. Even so, I just could not find much to dislike. I noted details like the initial theme was played on a flughel horn with a bell mute, easily one of the most sonorous sounds in creation. I had a small, tiny, insignificant complaint. I felt the villain was weak, unexciting, but then Star Trek has never really been about the villains (Khan, withstanding).

This movie has changed my opinion of Abrams and his cronies. I've always liked them, but now they have entered the extraordinarily small pantheon of directors and writers that I will always give my full attention to. I now trust them in a way I do few others. That Kurtzman and Orci are fans was apparent, and that they chose not to listen to the wailing and beating of breasts from those most vocal of internet whiners was exactly the right thing to do. They followed their own vision of Star Trek and put their own artistic vision on the screen, and it was damn good.

Night of the Demons Babe: Monica Keena

2009-05-07T19:26:00.000-07:00

I never really watched Dawson's Creek, but I know Monica Keena from way back in Snow White: A Tale of Terror. She is probably most famous for her turn in Freddy Vs. Jason, from where these two clips come from. Most of her work has been in television, with appearances on the staples like CSI and Law and Order. She isn't really a B-Queen, but she has all the necessary attributes of one. Cute, comes across as just a little easy, can scream and looks great running away.

IMDB Entry
Official Site

Night of the Demon Babes: Tiffany Shepis

2009-05-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

Tiffany Shepis IMDB page
Tiffany Shepis Official Site
Tiffany Shepis first appeared in Tromeo and Juliet, and has turned that role into a long and storied career of gore, violence and skin. She's appeared in a metric ass load of horror movies, usually of the b- variety, music videos and magazines. She stays busy with photo shoots, at several movies in production at a time. The project of hers I am most looking forward to is the remake of Night of the Demons.

Still Roleplaying After All These Years

2009-05-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

Why do I still play roleplaying games? Certainly, when I first started to play Dungeons and Dragons by the actual rules I never expected that it would still by my hobby all these years later. I always had a fascination with the idea of role playing games, even before I knew there was a term. We of course played make believe games as kids, usually Star Wars (where we beat each other with sticks) or even Battlestar Galactica, where one of us dressed like a Cylon and walked around like a Zombie. We made up complex little rules about what constituted a kill and what you could do as a Jedi. It was tons of fun, and when I discovered choose your own adventures like Endless Quest and Lone Wolf I was hooked. In those days no one sold Dungeons and Dragons books in South Texas, and mail order was not an option for me. So we made up our own rules by dredging what we could from those worn out paperback adventures, and made stories up that were silly, gory, and bastard children of He-Man, Lord of the Rings, Conan comic books and Thundarr the Barbarian. When I saw Fire and Ice and Wizards that got smashed up in there too. It was fun, and I can't say that the basics of what I enjoy have changed much over the years, merely refined and the number of inspirations has drastically increased.

I play for many reasons, the most important of which is entertainment. I enjoy the interaction, the experience of sharing the experience with my friends. I enjoy the storytelling aspect to be sure, and despite my inability to finish a novel I consider storytelling to be one of my better talents. A very dear, long lost friend once told me it was what I was born to do, and I have always taken that to heart. Gaming doesn't have to be about deep stories, or even particularly good ones. Gaming has the advantage of being perfectly fine as a straight up dungeon crawl, entirely about taking the enemies stuff and dancing on their bodies. It can, with the right group, be about shared storytelling and may explore any theme or element from literature or film.

I prefer to balance the deep and shallow, myself. My games are a nice family pool rather than Olympic dive pool or inflatable kids pool.

Characters in my campaigns have been stalwart warriors, swashbuckling knaves, sly tempting enchantresses, dangerous sword wielding wizards, insane megalomaniacal thieves, inhuman murderers, undead champions, sneaky archers, assassins, knights, brigands, priests of the temple, acolytes of forbidden gods, and in on case, your average working Joe, who for a year was king. In terms of roleplay, any of these concepts could exist in nearly any game, I understand that. The stories I tell in my games focus on epic struggles for the survival of man, of order and chaos, and free will vs. fate. These campaigns have been set in eras roughly analogous to our Dark Ages, a medieval period, and a late renaissance like Age of Reason. Religion, politics, faith, agnosticism, and adventure have all played important parts. The games have featured elements horror, both gothic and cosmic. Other stories have been romances, and relationships and family have also been major components of my games. Certain families have been played as player characters and NPC’s over the course of several generations and throughout the eras.

In one of my pretentious moments I called what we did Fantasy Noir gaming. Our games featured antiheroes, both as players and npcs. One of the most iconic of the player characters, which eventually became an NPC in later games was a death knight, though his exact nature later changed to be more in line with the story. The choice of death knight as his race at the time was a matter of convenience. This particular character was from a 2nd edition game, so the choice of a templated human warrior was not available in the rules as written.

In terms of plot the games always dealt with shades of gray in the characters actions, as well as the surrounding world. Some of the greatest heroes of the day were forced to commit acts they regretted, and sometimes had to make choices that caused the death of hundreds to save thousands, if not more. The villains on the other hand were often respectable, even admirable in their restraint or motivations. Not all of the villains are quite so human, however. In my world there is a dark stain at the heart of creation, flaws in the very fabric of reality that gave existence or name to things that should never have been. There are the Mehshia, the neverborn souls of beings so foul that God prevented from birth, and were barred from the House of Souls, and now wait on the edges of creation for a chance to live, corrupting everything their decaying spirit touches.

The game is, oddly enough, in some ways a Christian Dungeons and Dragons game. I have never made any attempt to hide that the principal god, the creator god, is in fact the same as the Islami-Judeo-Chistian god. Despite that, and the strong correlation between certain existing and historical manners of worship and ones in game, it is also a world where other gods exist, many of which are actually more proactive in the world, actively pursuing their agendas and aiding their flocks, whereas the creator allows his children to find their own path, even if that path leads to divinity. There are gods of the earth, celestial powers, forbidden entities beyond sane comprehension, ascended beings, avatars of concepts, and philosophies made manifest. These many and varied gods interact with the physical world directly and through intermediaries, and it would be difficult to deny the existence of the divine, were it not for the power and ability of mortal wizards (in this case used to describe any person who uses magic) who exhibit many of the same miraculous abilities.

I have spent some time trying to design my own system, mostly due to the fact that I have never played a game system I did not modify drastically to suit my needs. In game play I like the idea of complex, full characters, with a balance of simulationist and gamist elements. I prefer open character creation, rather than classes, but like the idea of classes for ease of use. In other words, I would prefer that players be able to create a character as they picture them, rather than being forced to take a package of abilities and make it work for the character concept.

The campaigns that would become my game world began with 1st edition Dungeons and Dragons, continued through 2nd, and 3.x. I have used Iron Heroes, Arcana Unearthed, and non d20 systems as well. Other d20 systems that have been borrowed or experimented with have been True Sorcery, Call of Cthullu D20, Stormbringer d20, and Slaine. Short stories were run using the world of darkness system, mage in particular, as well as GURPS. One off games were done with Amber and Legend of the five rings. We even thought about using Chill once, but decided it was a little too silly.

Gaming allows me to explore my creative side, and utilize my various artistic interests simultaneously. I enjoy making terrain, painting miniatures, designing mechanics, creating stories, and sharing these things with my friends. Simply, gaming is a hobby that I can enjoy in my solitary moods and is a great social way of spending an evening.

While amateurish, here is my attempt at mapmaking in Photoshop.

Night of the Demons, schlock made manifest

2009-05-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

Night of the Demons

I have a particular fondness for schlock horror movies. I mock them sure, but there is something soothing in the buckets of blood and gratiuitous T&A. There is one coming out soon called Night of the Demons that seems to be a remake of one I saw in the late 80's. It really would not matter if it was not a remake of that movie, it shares the same basic plot as about a dozen or some flicks of the subgenre. Kids go to a party, or are stranded in an old mansion. Things get out of hand. People seperate and get all giggity giggity with one another. Demons/vampires/Zombies/Stripper Assassins ensue with the ass whopping and mayhem commences. One does not gauge the quality of a schlock horror movie on plot. You may judge it for its gore, whether realistic or fake (and sometimes fake is good), you can judge it on the quality of the scream queens and their erstwhile heroes, you may even judge it on lighting, but plot and acting are not the measure of a good bad horror movie.

Night of the Demons may be the greatest movie of this sort ever made. Maybe even up there with Toxic Avenger or Kolobos. Why? Because I have never seen a movie stack the deck with so many babes that was not produced by Vivid Entertainment. The orginal movie had some merits, like a neat animation at the opener (dated I am sure, now) and the ubiquitous Linnea Quigley, the other Queen of Horror. The first being Jamie Lee Curtis. This movie though, they not only have an appearance by Ms. Quigley herself but also Tiffany Shepis star of many a low budget gore fest. You will know the name of Shannon Elizabeth. Monica Keena and Bobbi Sue Luther may be new to you, but I assure you if nothing else they have screen presence. The best thing about this movie though is the inclusion of Diora Baird, and the world needs more of her.

The great thing about this kind of horror movie is that it doesn't have to be anything more than gore, boobs, cheap thrills and fun. It is a carnival fun house, a Tunnel of Love. The whole idea of this movie is to completely forget what is going on and just enjoy the pretty women and disgusting bad guys.

In the next few days I will post up some of the other ladies in the movie, maybe even a retro pictorial of Linnea Quigley. For now I leave you with Diora Baird.

I really don't know much about Diora Baird. I've seen her in several movies, on television and Playboy. She's done a fair bit of modelling over the last couple of years for men's mags like Maxim as well as some more women friendly work. I do know she is classically gorgeous, in that particularly American way. She is tall, busty, blonde and freckled. She can appear either intimidating or approachable, in both print and film. I don't know that I can call myself a fan of her acting, but she certainly keeps my attention when she is on screen.

District 9 Exciting new sci fi movie

2009-05-04T15:43:00.000-07:00

District 9.

http://d-9.com/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/

The best looking science fiction movie coming out in the near future is coming out of South Africa, not something I would have ever imagined. With all the rehashing so common in Hollywood something fresh like this is a very welcome change. The quick rundown on this movie is that an alien race has come to Earth, and rather than be feared or even idolized as one might expect they have been forced to live in slums, made pariah and hated. Coming from a South African director you can imagine that this movie is really about apartheid, a period of history just closed and yet so few in this country know anything about. The director first came to the stage directing shorts about Halo, the Xbox game. I never had any interest in the now flat lined HALO project, so I have not seen his work previously. This movie will be another of the pseudorealistic hand cam movies, I am almost certain. While the trend of hand cam shooting is overdone, I do see the use of that technique when trying to create a sense of verisimilitude when creating a false documentary of a science fiction scenario.

I'm not linking any videos on this movie, the website is worth visiting though so check it out. I am definitely interested in this movie, which unlike so many genre movies lately is not a rehash or a sequel. I think, like Children of Men this will be a tad more cerebral than most flicks lately, but with better special effects.

Secondary Blog

2009-05-04T07:35:00.001-07:00

This isn't a blog that focuses on half naked chicks and celebrity gossip, but it is one that will occassionally contain adult (or juvenile) material. Never porn per se, but I am not adverse to the occassional flash of nudity or foul language. I'd be R-rated under any system of measurement. Yesterdays blog post about fantasy art is a good example, the subject while valid is impossible to describe without some colorful descriptions or imagery that might offend someone out there. While tasteful, I think, it did contain some material that bosses might find objectionable, whether that boss is someone who signs your check or your wife. I personally enjoy these things, but I understand others qualms and I have no intention of this being an "adult" blog. So, I will be putting the more salacious material on a secondary blog - SLSFWdoombring.blogspot.com. It is linked in the blog roll to the side. I am not sure it will be updated as often as this one as it is really just an overflow of the material on this page.

SFW: Monday Babe of the Day

2009-05-04T07:06:00.000-07:00

Katy Perry. Alright, I will admit it I kind of like her songs the first dozen times I hear them. Thing is, even after her songs become annoying I still think the woman is amazingly hot. I think that is enough commentary. Here are some pics and videos.

What I like about this is her reaction when everything goes wrong. She laughs about it, sincerly it seems. I dig that.

Chelsea Lately - Katy Perry

Oak Ridge Boys Cover White Stripes

2009-05-04T05:06:00.000-07:00

RPG: Fantasy Art, Ecchi Gaming, and Pathfinder

2009-05-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I really think my RPGs at 34 are more juvenile than they were at 17. I wish there was some defense, like it was key to the story or that the sex and gore jokes served to lighten the dark mood, but no. Really, we just think it's funny. My group is a pair of couples, one married one engaged, so it's not as creepy at 5 guys sitting around talking porn. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

When we started this campaign we designed the characters to be like anime. The three sisters were all born on the same day, each to a different mother, same father. Weird. Each sister filled an anime stereotype. Ramona is slender, red hair, dressed well, very quiet, studious and secretly a bad ass. She even wears glasses when not adventuring. Isabelle is tall, muscular, buxom, dark hair and skin, with just enough scars to indicate she is a tough bitch but still be hot. Desdemona is extremely short, violet eyes and were it actually anime purple hair. Extremely busty to the point of improbability with a short temper and imperious attitude. Anyone who has watched any amount of anime series has seen these characters in some way. Most of the campaign has been these three characters sniping at one another, coming to each others defense when someone else gets involved, or cracking jokes at everyone else in their vicinity. The two priest characters with them aren't that anime actually, but that's because anime male characters tend to be either annoying because they are just so over the top competent or they are little weasels like Shinji.

Of course, while our intention was to use anime style for comedic effect, sword and sorcery fiction has always had a touch of sexualization in it's art and it's content. My introduction to fantasy was not JRR Tolkien, it was Conan. My uncle collected Conan novels and comic books, and had in his house fantasy sculptures, swords, and other collectible items that first intrigued me and eventually fostered a love of the genre that has remained with me all this time. I never knew that uncle well, he was not fond of children, he was short tempered, he was really set in his ways and died in an offshore accident when I was 13. We are a lot a like despite never having known him well, our tastes and personalities are very much the same. Those books he had probably got my attention because of the nearly naked women, I'll admit. Yet the female characters of the Conan stories were hardly meek damsels in distress. They were cunning, intelligent, savage, capable and in many cases equal if not better than the men, even Conan. This was especially true in the L. Sprague deCamp stories, but his were my real introduction to the genre. It was not until later that I read Robert E. Howard.

Fantasy, in my mind is not just about magic, dragons, and adventure. Sword and Sorcery fantasy, or perhaps Sword and Sandal fantasy is as much about physical idealism, romance born not out of chivalry but struggle and desire. Romance in one form or another plays a part in most forms of fantasy from Arthurian tales, to Micheal Moorcocks doomed anti-heroes, to the fantasy anime of today. Middle Earth aside, very little fantasy is written with protagonists that are average Joes. While the Hobbits certainly represented every man, the common simple strength that good men posess, most fantasy protagonists are larger than life. They are strong of mind and body, they are beautiful, potent, towering in their rage and expansive in their generosity, they are like unto the heroes and gods of our forbearing cultures.

Anime styled art, while not to everyone's taste takes the idea of physical idealism and institutionalizes it into a stylistic form immediately recognizable. Games like Lineage and even Warhammer Online are heavily influenced by the nuevo baroque styles of games like Final Fantasy, itself drawing on the big eyed small mouth, insane proportions of traditional anime. I'm fascinated by the level of detail used in the costuming and character design in these games. While certainly the prurient details of the female form are the focus I love the attention to detail in the clothing and weapons. Most importantly, it differs so much from the historic that while likely impractical and improbably make an entertaining divergement from the familiar armor of the middle ages.

From the first session the ecchi jokes and fan service began, never mind that the only audience was ourselves. Fights invariably ended with armor or clothing being shredded. If there was any conceivable way that gore might fly, it landed in Desdemona's cleavage. Half the fun for the group has been new and inventive ways to slaughter the enemy in such a spectacular fashion that Desdemona needs to be cleansed. Poor little wizard now memorizes spells just to keep herself presentable. The jokes weren't limited to her. Little mousy Ramona apparently draws in anyone with a title, who fall madly in love with her despite any complications of race or station. Isabelle with her monk husband spend most of their time at home in their rooms, playing Joe Cocker singing you can leave your hat on, and her belt of giant strength too apparently.

Even the bad guys come out of a bad anime series. You have pontificating giants covered in runes. You have tentacled horrors from beyong time and space (no hentai, thanks). The lamia are all half animal bondage queens with animal familiars bad attitudes and spells. Ogrekin and Mamma Graul were definite lowpoints in the campaign in terms of ewwww factor. The amount of detail I used with Mamma Graul might have been too much, even for my jaded crew.

The campaign has been like Sorcerer Hunters, or Dragon Knight or any of those other ADV fantasy ecchi series from the 90s. It alternates from silly, to completely juvenile, to actually serious. Most of the characters have experienced real development and growth. Oddly, most everyone is read to move on. I kind of expected that the campaign would be hard to close out, but I think once this is over with and they've defeated Karzoug they will happy to see these characters and their plot lines as background in the wider world. In some ways, what is to comes is better as narrative than interactive play. This campaign really delved into the camp and the fun parts of fantasy literature and gaming. I expect the next Pathfinder campaign will feel more gritty, more like A Game of Thrones than Terry Pratchet by way of Lin Carter.

Dungeons and Dragons, even when called Pathfinder, is really about the exploration and adventuring not ruling and administrating. It's not about raising a family and building a college and monastery. It can be done, but it should be part of the game rather than it's focus. Some things are better left off screen, which is a little ironic considering some of the things that have been said at our game tables. I think we will come back to these characters in some way, perhaps after the next long term campaign.

Paizo's Golarion has interested me in ways no other published setting has, perhaps because in a lot of ways it is what I tried to do for so long with my own. Where I was trying my best to play a game in my neverfinished novel, they merely set out to make a game world. They succeeded in doing everything I wanted out of a game without the baggage of trying to make it fit a vision of a novel. Many of their sensibilities are the same as my own, as are our influences, Clark Ashton Smith, RE Howard, HP Lovecraft, japanese animation, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (don't mock- for most people it was the first sci-fi and fantasy blend they saw), Stargate, and the collected whole of science fiction, space opera, fantasy and horror of the last century. Even their art style, largely that ofWayne Anthony Reynolds has a great deal of influence from anime, and has intentionally strayed from the traditional designs of history insteady choosing to remain internally consistent rather than excessively strange nor too closely cloven to our European ancestors. Besides, a little skin never hurt anyone.

For an explanation of ecchi I included two videos. The first is what ecchi used to be like, a kind of cute, more or less chaste excuse to draw skimpy clothes on anime chicks and put them in positions where nudity may occur. Fan service is when an anime will gratuitously insert either nudity like a shower scene or close ups of the anatomy for no other purpose than titillation.

For a more extreme version of ecchi, which I have not seen but understand is really just softcore hentai you have Queen's Blade. Aside from the pink bunny girl (which apparently is a slime creature masquerading as a woman) the art style here is really a bit like my players have always described, including the wildly impractical armor.

Supernatural: Detour to Hell

2009-05-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

In all my 34 years I don't think there has been a show that I have consistently enjoyed as much as Supernatural. From the first episode till now it has been a constant gripping, hilarious, dark, classic rock, babe and beer filled ride in an Impala across America. It's Route 66 with guns and voodoo. It's Highway to Heaven, except apparently they detoured to Hell. I'm sure the Impala could take KITT. This show is like every good road show written large in black sharpie with demons, ghosts and reapers set to a better soundtrack. This show rocks.

This season could have been the one to fail. Introducing angels into the mix, ramping up the mythology could have ruined the show. Instead, they managed to make it even awesomer. That's right, awesomer. This is as close to fanboism as I get here folks. I even used bad grammar to make my point clear.

Misha Collins has good things coming to him. His portrayal of Castiel and his host Jimmy has been some of the best television acting I've seen in a long time. As Castiel he somehow manages to make such an inhuman character at once vulnerable and implacable. He doesn't even have to say anything, his stoic unwavering gaze evinces both the steely resolve of a pulp fiction private dick and the pain of one suffering from a crisis of faith. That's with just a look. I'm looking forward to seeing his career progress.

Anyone who didn't watch last night's episode should probably stop reading now.

I'm a little sad to see Castiel got called up to see the boss and has been reindoctrinated. The idea of watching an angel fall, not from pride or wrath but honest questioning of a boss he's never seen, and his empathy for the humans he is meant to shepherd was great television and one of the things that has made the inclusion of angels into the show a good thing. I am going to give the writers the benefit of the doubt and hope that this change will be more interesting than where I thought they were going with it.

Sammy, Sammy, Sammy. You dumb son of a bitch. Ruby has been playing your ass all along. She has been playing the long game with your bitch ass and you fell right in line. At least she picks hot meat suits right? Now, you are some kind of half demon vampire spawn psionic demonslayer (CR12). Good thing your brother and Bobby have some sense. Seriously, where in that massive melon of yours did you think that drinking demon ichor was a good idea? Ends justify the means, my ass. It's a demon, surely you might think she has some ulterior motive, like maybe setting up your flesh to be the perfect host for a risen Lucifer? Rory needs to have a guest star and set you straight.

Damnit, no new episode next week. The preview looks damn good, and I suspect that some of what we saw there is not going to be exactly as it appears. Dean giving up and serving the Lord without question? Righteous man indeed.

Great episode, great televison, awesome angels and Sammy, jeez man I hope Dean and Bobby get you back in line. Thing is, I have long suspected the only way to really satisfactorilly end this show is with you turning all Dark Side. BTW, I am sure Lucifer is actually your father.

Cue Skywalker whining.

Fringe: Dramatic Irony Fail

2009-04-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

So, last night Fringe decided it was finally time to reveal that Bell, founder of Massive Dynamics and Walter Bishop's former lab partner was funding ZFT. This was not exactly a startling revelation, in fact the amazing thing is that the characters could not come to this conclusion beforehand. Of course we are privy to details that Olivia, Boyle and Peter lack, and while Walter probably remembers more than even we know he is playing it close, and for good reason. This discrepancy between the viewer's perception and knowledge and the characters plight is the very heart of dramatic irony, a technique used extensively in drama and slasher horror. Unfortunately it really just fell flat. This could be Olivia and Boyle's fault, I imagine among the human emotions she struggles with surprise is one of the more complex, and Boyle is so grim and dour that satisfaction must be completely alien. Or, it could be that this sort of irony really does not play out so well over the length of a television series, and when used it must be hinted at sparingly rather than slapped across the face every other episode as Fringe has done. In a similar show, the X-Files it was genuinely a shock to Scully and Mulder when it was revealed that Skinner worked for the Cigarette Smoking Man, a plot line that ruminated about for a good season but done in such a way as to force the viewer to question Skinner's true motivations and maybe even the Cigarette Smoking man. It was also subtle enough that it was believable that no one would suspect his collusion. Unfortunately in this revelation on Fringe we merely feel the characters have caught up, no real dramatic change has occurred.

In last week's episode we have another bit of dramatic irony, in the continuing revelation of just how bad Walter was we learn at the very least Olvia (Little Olive) survived some sort of fiery accident, but from the video I am guessing that her chemically induced psychic power is pyrokinesis. If so I suspect her emotional flatness is a result of her controlling her emotions to keep this power in check, and she has been doing it so long she doesn't even realize that she is anymore. I am basing this purely on other sci-fi sources where pyrokenisis is tied to one's emotional state, and uncontrolled emotions generally means bad, bad things for the rest of the cast. I suspect that this is going to come into play soon, and while we know (suspect) Olvia's true potential no one but Walter does in the show. Well, Bell of course, but Spock knows everything.

As a side, I would love to have a mock up of the ZFT manuscript to add to my collection of random crap. I think it would be a great piece of ephemera for my science fiction and modern horror games.

Samurai, Clouds, and Hubris

2009-04-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

I've watched a fair number of Akira Kurosawa movies over the years, and I've always really appreciated the connections between his films and American westerns in particular. As a casual observer of Japanese film and animation I was struck by the nearly anachronistic cinematography and narrative style. It seemed much older than a mere 24 years. Filmed in 1985 with a budget of 12 million dollars, it was the costliest Japanese film and a massive epic of a scale unseen in Japanese cinema. The story, for those unfamiliar, is based on a historic Warring States period warlord Mori Motonari but fictionalized with the character Ichimonji Hidetora. Whereas Motonari was blessed with three sons who served him loyally, Hidetora was saddled with three ambitious and treacherous sons, who when given the chance betray him. The similarities to King Lear became known to Kurosawa during the planning of the movie, and while it is often claimed that Ran was an adapation of Lear it is my suspicion that the movie is really an oblique autobiography of Kurosawa himself. Kurosawa himself made mention of Hidetora being a standin for himself, even his banner in the film is a reference to Kurosawa's name. It is in the film's faults and successes however that I see the most revelations about Kurosawa and his failing career.

I'm accustomed to long movies. Sometimes it seems like the only movies I consider to be great are ones that really should have an intermission in there. At 2:40 this movie felt interminably long, mostly because we saw it all 10 times. I have never seen a movie with a plot spend so much time on clouds. Clouds, just clouds, lazily floating in an otherwise clear sky. Very pretty. One scene would have given a sense of contentment, a glorious day before it all fell apart, that's all we needed. Also, Japanese soldiers seem to spend a lot of time running too and fro in full armor, brandishing their weapons and performing circle dances. There are at least 5 battle like scenes in the movie and each of them showcases columns of men just positioning, and repositioning, and doing circle dances. It got old, real fast. I wanted to love this movie, but found I could barely stand the repetitiveness of these scenes.

Kurosawa, like Hidetora, was the elder statesman, the conqueror of cinema. He had forever changed film, not only within his own country but in America and France. His methods and style were imitated and worshiped by many within the field then and now. By the time he was making Ran his name carried with it too much baggage for most to risk. He was a perfectionist, perhaps irrationally so. He had extraordinary expectations of the respect due to him. He did things his way, be damned with the consequences. While his style had changed film forever, it had grown and yet he refused to. So, with the largest budget he ever had at his disposal he did exactly that, bigger, grander, and more Kurosawa than ever.

The movie felt like it was made in the 60s.

There is genius in this movie. Hidetora played by Tatsuya Nakadai, done in the style of a Noh actor while every other character save Kaede was done in a more contemporary manner was a brilliant blending of traditional Japanese art and modern film. I cannot find fault with any of the actors, particularly some of the lesser roles such as Tango or any of the generals were impressive in their place. It is a beautiful piece of film. From the opening frame to the credits it is gorgeous, a mixture of wonderful set and costume design and natural grandeur. There is no doubt it was an artful film, but it truly needed a firm editor.

Befitting a tragedy influenced by King Lear there is no happy ending in this film, no one comes to a good end, and everyone deserves their fate. I wonder if Kurosawa also came to understand that his unrelenting nature was the cause of his decline, or whether he really felt that treacherous Hidetora was the hero of this tale.

Strangely I got to thinking that I would have been really interested to see a live action version of the Last Unicorn done with some of his style. The connection here is Lear, don't think too badly of me. A live action Last Unicorn should focus on clouds and fog and the natural world as the true imagery of the movie while the actors would be shadows on the wall to give voice. Amalthea would be perfect as a Noh inspired waif, forlorn and really merely a human shaped vessel for pain and sorrow. Lear would be the same, a gaunt towering scarecrow of spite and boredom.

They even both start with a boar hunt! I am telling you, a Japanese Last Unicorn movie done in his style would be amazing.

Gnashing and Wailing - Summer Geek Films

2009-04-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

The first two blockbusters of the summer are most certainly going to be X-Men Origins: Wolverine and J.J. Abram's Star Trek, both will most certainly cause much gnashing of teeth and wailing within the geek community. If there are two groups of geeks out there that can match the fervor and slavish devotion of Brownshirts it is Trekkies and X-Men fans. Worse yet, Gambit fans - who almost have as many sexual fantasies about the Ragin' Cajun as Sonic fans have about the blue hedgehog.

I'm looking forward to Star Trek. I've always had a love/hate relationship with the various television series and the movies. I am hoping that this movie, a reset will have more of what I love, and less of what I hate. Unfortunately, since it will still begin with yet another time related plot, and at least the elder Spock making an appearance, it starts off with some worrisome baggage. Despite that, I think that Abrams will bring to the movie some slick production and excellent film making. I am hoping that this will really be an excellent high budget science fiction action movie. I'm also really digging Karl Urban as Bones. I've been a fan of his for some time, and the clip I have seen of him and Kirk on a shuttle is awesome. He is not merely a caricature of DeForest Kelley but still maintains the particular ornery charm of the late actor and his most famous character.

The Wolverine movie confuses me. Amidst the other Marvel movies the X-men franchise stands out as being the most distinct from the comics in terms of story and origins being different from the printed sources. Spiderman, Ironman, the Fantastic Four, even Daredevil and that atrocious Elektra movie stayed close to the source material, whereas X-men existed in it's own pocket continuity. Wolverine seems to stray from the established X-men film continuity even further. I enjoy Hugh Jackman and I'm very interested to see Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth but I really don't see why they feel the need to have Cyclops in this film. In the movies there was no indication Cyclops or Xavier had any knowledge of Wolverine prior to the movies. I don't understand why they feel the need to break established movie canon, especially with the X-men First Class movie in the works.

Both movies presales of tickets are higher than last years breakout success Ironman, by some 25% in the case of Wolverine and even higher for Star Trek, I expect both will do remarkably well. Personally I am looking forward to seeing Stark Trek in Imax and I'll go see Wolverine, but my expectations are significantly lower.