Rivers Of London

Rivers Of London, coming to a small screen near you, possibly.

More Spider-Verse on TV?

Yes I would like more Spider-Verse please. Thank you. Good.

The MCU RPG

Today I discovered that Marvel Heroic followed a pitch to a Thor RPG based on the film. Marvel responded by suggesting the Marvel Universe instead. Not the MCU though.

After Sunset Beach

With a lot of the players missing tomorrow, one floated the suggestion of a “Beach Episode” for From The Dust. I do have some side episode ideas, but I think they’d be most fun with the whole gang. And as they’re vampires, probably not at the beach.

Backstage, no one can hear you squee

Also on 4/26, Sigourney Weaver dropped in on Alien: The High School Play. And the play is now online.

A L I E N

Free League announces an Alien RPG on Alien Day (4/26 in US notation) shortly after the 40th anniversary of the original film. Designed for one-shots and series, with different expected body counts. More about the timeline and the ready-to-go one-shots in this io9 interview.

*snap*

So... what would you do with the Infinity Gauntlet?

Avengers: Endgame

I may have teared up a little. Spoilers written now to be dropped in a week.

And here we are.

Avengers: Infinity War again

It feels rather different with Endgame half an hour away.

“We will deep fry your kebab” still gets a laugh in its home town.

Down with the sickness

Last few days for The Contagion Chronicle Kickstarter.

Earth Day

I first saw the Extinction symbol five years ago, thanks to Warren Ellis.

Dead By Dawn 2019, Day 4

You Might Be The Killer was inspired by a Twitter joke between Sam Sykes and Chuck Wendig, and might in turn inspire a slasher-comedy one-shot.

Dead By Dawn 2019, Day 3

Cutterhead could inspire a LARP. But don’t.

Dead By Dawn 2019, Day 2

Heavy Trip could inspire... Toon maybe?

Dead By Dawn 2019, Night 1

The Nightshifter could be inspiration for Geist: The Sin-Eaters.

The Continental Check-In

The Continental goes live for the premiere of John Wick 3: Parabellum, in one of those mini Secret Cinema style not-really-LARP interactive theatre show things.

The Wick-iverse somewhat resembles the Vampire family of games, with the Continental being more than a little like the vampire meeting places called Elysium that so many LARPs happen in, so making an official not-really-LARP of it amuses me greatly.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer, BOOM! 4 and Angel 0

So five weeks after issue 3... and the same day as Angel issue 0... how long till issue 5? Because I... kind of want to know what happens next...

Notre-Dame burned, but not to the ground.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Heritage

Vampire: The Masquerade - Heritage is now on Kickstarter.

Nationals 2019: Day Two

A vampire uses Ryan as a human shield. Julie attempts to distract him.

Julie: “You don’t want him, he's not a hot-blooded male!”
Ryan: “Oh, just kill me now...”

The Mandalorian is coming

And judging by this description of the exclusive trailer for Celebration, Werner Herzog will apparently be recognisable! Werner Herzog action figure not confirmed but theoretically possible!

Nationals 2019: Day One

We found the mysterious Third Urban Fantasy GM after he was not at the opening ceremony.

Five, due to one no-show.

I had to reup VLC after having to resort to the Dropbox link for the titles.

“Okay, gonna go do a bit of light grave robbing.”

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker

The Rise Of Skywalker first trailer at Star Wars Celebration

As the third in this new trilogy, I am going to keep having to stop myself calling it Rise Of The Skywalker, but I’ll cope.

“We’ll always be with you.”

Nationals 2019, Day Zero

Shocked at the price of photocopying in the place that doesn’t use sort of grey paper...

Heritage, Chapters and Blood Feud

Interesting to compare the three forthcoming Vampire: The Masquerade board games.

Heritage is a big long-running legacy game about ancients fighting for centuries. The character art is very classical and painterly in style as well as content, and the logo wouldn’t look out of place at a big museum gallery show, it all says this is a big history game.

Chapters is also a legacy game, but on a much smaller scale, with modern newly-turned vampires. The investigative focus and preview art of gloomy rooms and outdoor locations combined with the title always make me think of a true crime podcast like Serial, and the logo looks like it would fit one as well.

Blood Feud is more factional fighting but on a city level, the kind of thing that happens month-to-month in LARPs and the like, and sounds like it was designed for conventions and big game meets. The title and logo say This Is About Vampires most clearly.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Blood Feud

A third boardgame based on Vampire: The Masquerade post-V5, Blood Feud is a board-based MegaGame, which needs Storytellers and can take over thirty players as different factions, spread across two tables for different parts of the game.

Slayer Q&A

Kiersten White talks Slayer on Twitter with the hashtag shelfqueens. Some spoilers, as we get a hint of what’s to come in book two...

Nationals prep done!

... I think...?

Photocopies of rules briefing sheet came out weirdly grey. Will visit different copy place tomorrow. Have already sent myself everything, in case I somehow lose my folder but can get on a computer? And to the title sequence.

This is a good sign with over 24 hours to go?

I feel like I must be missing something.

It’s me against the world and the world is winning

Green Lantern: Far Sector

Far Sector, a miniseries written by N.K. Jemisin, introducing a new Green Lantern to a sector with an interesting problem, as part of the return of DC Young Animal.

A picture of a black hole

A picture of a black hole.

Relics Kickstarter

Relics is now live on Kickstarter.

Bias note - I playtested, and if it makes $27,500 I write an adventure.

Parks And Recreation at ten

Noted for, among other things, Leslie Knope becoming a downright hero after the first season, a starring role for HPLHS member Nick Offerman, The Cones Of Dunshire, and that final season set in the then near future.

BOOM! introduces Angel

After lots of old fans wondering where Angel is in the new BOOM! Studios Buffy reboot... he will be appearing in his own series, announced a week before the first issue comes out.

From The Dust 26

Things... escalated.

Santa Monica By Night

Santa Monica By Night, a short point and click homage to Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines from Outstar and MemoriesIn8Bit, as part of a developer Vampire Jam celebrating the announcement of Bloodlines 2.

Conpulsion 2019: Day Two

£2,180 for the Grassmarket Community Project!

Conpulsion 2019: Day Two

£792 raised at the charity auction. Yay!

Conpulsion 2019: Night One

This year I have (checks notes) nothing to do. Ahahahahaaaaaaa!

The Watch House finale

We played the final episode of The Watch House ten years ago. It’s been quite a time since.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Chapters

Vampire: The Masquerade - Chapters is a new roleplaying legacy board game, with miniatures for the defined characters, coming to KS in early 2020. From Flyos Games, who I admit I’ve never heard of but I’m not a board game expert.

Even if I never get to play the game... as is usually the case with board games... the mats and miniatures very look nice and possibly useful in a regular session.

(Noted on the game Facebook, set in Montreal after the Sabbat broke up, and the eight characters include the seven Camarilla clans and a Caitiff.)

It’s on a much smaller scale than Heritage in both subject matter and game style, a real contrast in styles and closer to the kind of Vampire game I run.

The miniatures will apparently be around 40mm scale, and hand sculpted by former Rackham sculptor Stéphane Simon, with the render just as a test.

The first miniature prototype is a great match for Brother Solomon, Michael’s sire in From The Dust. Now to get everybody else’s sire...

Paranoia: Happiness Is Mandatory

Lead a team of Troubleshooters in the new Paranoia CRPG, Happiness Is Mandatory. The trailer indicates that the voice for the Computer works well, although I always imagined it a little milder and a lot glitchier.

Venice Unmasked

Venice Unmasked for Changeling: The Lost, from Chris Handley of Darker Days Radio, out now on Storytellers Vault. It’s got plenty to get a Venetian chronicle going for Lost or other urban fantasy settings, or a Lost game elsewhere.

Joker

The first trailer for the standalone Joker film is out, a bit late for Batman’s 80th anniversary last week, with the film being out a few months early for the Joker’s 80th anniversary next April. Looks like... actually, it looks like The Dark Knight low-key take merged with The King Of Comedy, complete with Robert De Niro as a chat show host.

Not set in the 70s, I don’t think - sales sign street jugglers weren’t a thing back then - but with as much of a 70s vibe as Luke Cage, just for a different pop culture take on the era.

True of everything if you wait long enough

“Doesn’t look very comfortable,” Jannet Tarner said as she peered through the glass case at the remains of the Iron Throne, still in pride of place at the Museum of Kings Landing more than two hundred years after the founding of the Republic of Westeros. It had been treated for rust a few decades ago, and the crack in its foundation where it was toppled had been repaired as well as could be. The cushions added by the last Empress’s father were sadly irreparable.

The security guards in gold-stripe jackets watched the tourists parade past, on their way to the exhibition of a recently unearthed “dragon” skeleton.

Strange the things people believed in and fought for back in the day.

Avenge The Fallen

Avengers: Endgame final teaser as tickets go on sale.

“Do you trust me?”

Hugo Nominations 2019

The Hugo Award nominations are out for Worldcon in Dublin 2019 (featuring Brian half an hour into the announcement video - hello Brian!)

I suspect all the Marvel could split the vote for Dramatic Presentation, Long Form, and the two Doctor Who and two The Good Place episodes will surely do that for DP Short Form, potentially leading to a win for The Expanse, or maybe the new Janelle Monae album.

Roll For Alex

A charity bundle to help RPG writer and artist Alejandro Melchior with medical fees.

Happy birthday Morgan Davie!

The Bowie song title bookshelf

David Bowie song titles shifted to books and comics.

The Vampyre

Today is the 200th anniversary of the publication of The Vampyre by Edinburgh medical graduate Dr. John Polidori, which introduced the Byronic vampire as a lengthy diss on Byron himself. It came about during the Byron gang’s stay at Lake Geneva in The Year Without A Summer, which was also the genesis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

April

This year you’ll be able to spot April Fool’s stories because they sound plausible.