Saturday, 29 October 2016
Thorns
The Convention Of Thorns LARP, in a castle in eastern Europe, is underway right now. Bit jealous.
Friday, 28 October 2016
Harry Potter Miniature Game
Harry Potter Miniature Game coming in 2017 from Knight Models... hopefully they have the more today Fantastic Beasts licence as well.
Knight make gorgeous 30mm+ miniatures, including a Star Wars line I never heard about until it was discontinued and a Batman line including Animated Series versions. I haven’t played any of their games though.
Harry Potter never got an RPG because, as I understand it, J.K. Rowling didn’t want other people writing sourcebooks and adventures in her setting for publication. (Apologies if that’s not the case.) Not a problem with a miniatures game, so it’s nice to see something along these lines.
Knight make gorgeous 30mm+ miniatures, including a Star Wars line I never heard about until it was discontinued and a Batman line including Animated Series versions. I haven’t played any of their games though.
Harry Potter never got an RPG because, as I understand it, J.K. Rowling didn’t want other people writing sourcebooks and adventures in her setting for publication. (Apologies if that’s not the case.) Not a problem with a miniatures game, so it’s nice to see something along these lines.
Thursday, 27 October 2016
Wednesday, 26 October 2016
Tuesday, 25 October 2016
Grim London
Grim London lists murders, hauntings and other oddities by location in London. (Though I find its lack of Highgate Vampire puzzling.)
Doctor Strange
I’ve already seen the Doctor Strange movie due to its weird early UK release.
Ask me for spoilers and I will happily lie.
In the meantime, it doesn’t make that much use of the 3D IMAX-ness but a couple of the Ditko trippy sequences will lose something on regular screens. There’s more of the weaponised Inception folded space action seen in the trailers, but this is mostly shown far enough back not to be especially 3Dish.
It’s very very origin story, the pre-mystic origin is a reminder of just how much like Iron Man it is really and it doesn’t really address the wizards-can-do-anything problem effectively. But seeing this stuff brought to life is a geeky thrill, the cast get enough to do with their characters and their motivations, the bit where [REDACTED] is really cool, and the [REDACTED] is great fun. Stay to the end of the credits, not just the middle.
Ask me for spoilers and I will happily lie.
In the meantime, it doesn’t make that much use of the 3D IMAX-ness but a couple of the Ditko trippy sequences will lose something on regular screens. There’s more of the weaponised Inception folded space action seen in the trailers, but this is mostly shown far enough back not to be especially 3Dish.
It’s very very origin story, the pre-mystic origin is a reminder of just how much like Iron Man it is really and it doesn’t really address the wizards-can-do-anything problem effectively. But seeing this stuff brought to life is a geeky thrill, the cast get enough to do with their characters and their motivations, the bit where [REDACTED] is really cool, and the [REDACTED] is great fun. Stay to the end of the credits, not just the middle.
DriveThruRPG Halloween sale and treasure hunt
Go to DriveThruRPG, find the pumpkin, ghost, witch’s hat, candy or moon-and-bat symbols for free seasonal PDFs! Vs. Ghosts, the ICONS adventure Devil’s Night, a short d20 adventure called Horror at Gravehollow Hill, Pixel Dungeon Zombies, Haunted Locales, the slightly out of place Swashbuckling Adventures... and maybe more.
Trick or treat!
And there’s more on DT Fiction, Comics and Cards. (My first find on Comics is an RPG adventure!)
And no, not telling you where to look. Although I recommend the Halloween sale... ;)
Trick or treat!
And there’s more on DT Fiction, Comics and Cards. (My first find on Comics is an RPG adventure!)
And no, not telling you where to look. Although I recommend the Halloween sale... ;)
Monday, 24 October 2016
Crazyhead
Crazyhead is the new genre series from Howard Overman, creator of Misfits, and... well, it features one of his signature moves, let’s just say that.
In basic setup, it reminds me of Hunter: The Reckoning. Being about young women fighting secret demons and making jokes, a certain Buffy echo is there too. Just with more bodily fluids jokes. It sets out its stall with a pre-credits scene, then flashed back from, and doesn’t really push it as far as it sounds like it might from there.
The core question is schozophrenic or seer - or both? It seems to come down on the side of option B or C.
In basic setup, it reminds me of Hunter: The Reckoning. Being about young women fighting secret demons and making jokes, a certain Buffy echo is there too. Just with more bodily fluids jokes. It sets out its stall with a pre-credits scene, then flashed back from, and doesn’t really push it as far as it sounds like it might from there.
The core question is schozophrenic or seer - or both? It seems to come down on the side of option B or C.
Sunday, 23 October 2016
A small act of counter-stereotyping
Note to self: put a non-treacherous Quarren in this Star Wars game.
Star Wars is rich with archetypes that often move into stereotypes, but an entire species of Mind Flayers out to betray the Mon Calamari gets a bit... samey.
Star Wars is rich with archetypes that often move into stereotypes, but an entire species of Mind Flayers out to betray the Mon Calamari gets a bit... samey.
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| Trust me, delicious mammals. |
Saturday, 22 October 2016
John Carpenter
Off to see John Carpenter in concert tonight, playing some of his film scores as well as new compositions.
Halloween, The Thing, Escape From New York, They Live and Big Trouble In Little China - these are all the kinds of stories that gaming is built on.
I also expect to hear the likes of Night. The accompanying video... there has to be a workable plot hook in “using homemade VR to control an android to fight rival androids” I think.
(Addendum: If Virtual Survivor became the theme for a third Escape From movie, I would be down for that.)
Halloween, The Thing, Escape From New York, They Live and Big Trouble In Little China - these are all the kinds of stories that gaming is built on.
I also expect to hear the likes of Night. The accompanying video... there has to be a workable plot hook in “using homemade VR to control an android to fight rival androids” I think.
(Addendum: If Virtual Survivor became the theme for a third Escape From movie, I would be down for that.)
Friday, 21 October 2016
Happy Pelgrane Day!
Happy Pelgrane Day! Today marks the tenth anniversary of the first Gumshoe system game.
Scion LARP
Funded by the Scion second edition Kickstarter, a LARP adaptation from Damocles Thread Development. New to me, they’ve already produced a Champions LARP system.
Obviously the rules will have to cover major superhuman powers clashing.
Obviously the rules will have to cover major superhuman powers clashing.
Thursday, 20 October 2016
The X-Men and the retcon attack
With a new Wolverine movie, Logan, on the way, someone asked if they were a continuous story to catch up on:
They’re really not. 1 and 2 mostly are. 3 (The Last Stand) was but was then retconned to mostly not happen (along with the end of 2). Origins: Wolverine was a highly involved origin story involving at least three characters since retconned. First Class was an origin for the team set in the 60s. The Wolverine was a modern story for him after 3. Days Of Future Past was a sequel to First Class set in the 70s and a sequel to the others due to time travel and results in the retconning of 2 and 3. Apocalypse was a sequel to that set in the 80s (which also retcons some more of 2). Deadpool pretended that his appearance in Origins: Wolverine didn’t happen even though he’s played by the same actor.
I think that’s everything...
They’re really not. 1 and 2 mostly are. 3 (The Last Stand) was but was then retconned to mostly not happen (along with the end of 2). Origins: Wolverine was a highly involved origin story involving at least three characters since retconned. First Class was an origin for the team set in the 60s. The Wolverine was a modern story for him after 3. Days Of Future Past was a sequel to First Class set in the 70s and a sequel to the others due to time travel and results in the retconning of 2 and 3. Apocalypse was a sequel to that set in the 80s (which also retcons some more of 2). Deadpool pretended that his appearance in Origins: Wolverine didn’t happen even though he’s played by the same actor.
I think that’s everything...
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Tuesday, 18 October 2016
We saved the world. I want a parade!
Have you ever had a parade for the PCs? It’s a classic way to end a big adventure, but in the session?
This question came from watching the Olympic and Paralympic parade, with mini-interviews with some of the athletes.
Press conferences too - I’ve mostly seen these in superhero games, naturally. And of course they’re awkward, even when not interrupted by villains.
This question came from watching the Olympic and Paralympic parade, with mini-interviews with some of the athletes.
Press conferences too - I’ve mostly seen these in superhero games, naturally. And of course they’re awkward, even when not interrupted by villains.
Monday, 17 October 2016
Skin cell babies (they make our SF come true)
This is the future, part X: Mouse skin cells converted into viable eggs, mice born from them.
Sunday, 16 October 2016
Hallowe’en one-shots?
Hallowe’en one-shots? Maybe.
Though the Saturday is a leaving do for two society regulars, the Sunday is the last of the first five-week block for games...
There are some classics here. Since this RPG.net thread a couple years back, a recent example for this perennial topic, the Call Of Cthulhu 7th edition quickstart is on shelves, and yes, it contains The Haunting.
Though the Saturday is a leaving do for two society regulars, the Sunday is the last of the first five-week block for games...
There are some classics here. Since this RPG.net thread a couple years back, a recent example for this perennial topic, the Call Of Cthulhu 7th edition quickstart is on shelves, and yes, it contains The Haunting.
Saturday, 15 October 2016
Betrayal At House On The Hill
I first played Betrayal At House On The Hill six years ago chez Steve D, and I thought for six years that there was another “The” in the title...
Anyway, it’s a tile-laying boardgame of exploring a supposedly haunted house where some way through the selection of things the PCs uncover trigger one of the PCs to Betrayal! It leans heavily on theme rather than mechanics for its fun, and it’s good to make time to play it a couple times just in case the twist results in the endgame being one-sided either way - you can end up with the Traitor having all the items they need to win and standing in just the right room to do it, or completely unable to reach what they need, although more balanced endgames are more common.
Physical components are nice - a few miniatures, shiny tiles, solid chits, sturdy box.
Might have to properly figure out and play sometime round Hallowe’en...
Anyway, it’s a tile-laying boardgame of exploring a supposedly haunted house where some way through the selection of things the PCs uncover trigger one of the PCs to Betrayal! It leans heavily on theme rather than mechanics for its fun, and it’s good to make time to play it a couple times just in case the twist results in the endgame being one-sided either way - you can end up with the Traitor having all the items they need to win and standing in just the right room to do it, or completely unable to reach what they need, although more balanced endgames are more common.
Physical components are nice - a few miniatures, shiny tiles, solid chits, sturdy box.
Might have to properly figure out and play sometime round Hallowe’en...
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