The Crow and The Last Temptation

I was today old when I discovered thanks to Virtual Goth Night that The Crow was temp tracked with The Last Temptation Of Christ by Peter Gabriel and Graeme Revell was presumably told the copy the homework.

So now I have a spare album of vibes of The Crow score.

The Feeling Begins

#RPGaDAY2026 day zero

David Chapgman (Autocratik) and Anthony Boyd (Runeslinger) discuss RPGaDAY on video ahead of launch day.

RPGnet thread is up

Star Wars with D&D

Star Wars D&D collaboration coming next year.

WotC already did basically D&D systems for Star Wars twice, but not quite I guess.

Vampire: The Masquerade V6 playtest

DriveThruRPG link to all formats

This is an alpha playtest with feedback forms attached. And if the big swings go ahead I’m sure it will find an audience. I may not be in it.

Make it to Saturday, start RPGaDAY.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

I got Spider-Man versus the Hulk in live action, which I’ve wanted since I was about five, and it exceeded my expectations.

And also a fun Spider-Man movie, if kinda busy here and there. The bodily changes didn’t really do much except set up that it was possible for we could get another example.

I saw it in 3D because apparently that’s a thing again? The soaring used it nicely, as that’s one of the things it does.

Looking ahead

This week sees the V? panel and playtest which we'll get to see at least some of online officially and no doubt all unofficially.

And with Do Us Part concluded, maybe a change to summer Sunday evenings for a while, ahead of probably returning to GEAS in a few weeks depending on when and where.

And I feel I should offer something online to a couple grops as I have time.

But also questioning continuing my one current play-by-post after something I saw today.

I shouldn’t make any decisions in this mood.

Mage: The Ascension - Sunrise City

So for a summer special the PCs have been thrown back to the 1880s. I did this in The Watch House once so I suppose I deserve it :D

AP by Tanith

An action figure of Cara like this would be tricky. Porcelain doll yes, figure no...

Vampire: The Masquerade - Till Death Do Us Part

Our summer game concluded with a possible victory over somebody worse than us. I didn’t get the righteous death this time, despite trying by going to an enemy to try to reason with her. Ah well, there’s always next time!

The only way D&D got my money in the last decade

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves co-director Jonathan Goldstein says the script for a sequel already exists, but he’s not expecting it to see the light of day any time soon.

IGN

“I’ve got a great campaign written, I just can’t get a group together” is the peak D&D experience.

Lee Casebolt

MCU update

Ryan Coogler (SINNERS) back on Black Panther III with David Jonsson (Alien Romulus) as T’Challa’s son.

Shawn Levy (Night At The Museum, Stranger Things) on Ghost Rider, not III, with Ryan Gosling (Barbie) as not Nicolas Cage.

Both of those could guest star Blade. But GR is more rebootable based on previous quality.

Neuromancer trailer

I like how un-slick the Neuromancer trailer looks, streets that largely just look like advertising-saturated streets in a modern city.

In fact I now kind of wish they’d gone all in with that and made it a modern setting where the story-required cyberpunk elements are the only SF stuff present.

(Not an original idea - I remember William Gibson mentioning a plan to film one of his stories in Tokyo and just emphasise how cyberpunky it was anyway.)

Indiana Jones and the Sword of Pandemonium

Indiana Jones and the Sword of Pandemonium, the first miniseries from Marvel, set soon after Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Five issues starting in December, a reminder that news from San Diego Comic-Con is sometimes about comics.

The Alex Ross variant cover is an homage to issue 1 of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. And it’s getting a hardcover reprint set.

Batman: Caped Crusader

The nice people at DC (and I’m sure there are some nice people at Amazon Prime too) are putting up at least some of Batman: Caped Crusader season one on YouTube, starting here.

Inevitable comparisons to Batman: The Animated Series aside (Hamish Linklater eases up on the Kevin Conroy impression a little as he goes along) it’s a good time.

The Odyssey

The Odyssey (2026)

Big, Loud. Smart. Sad. Gloomy about the possible fall of civilisation but not hopeless. At times heckin creepy. Cuts the best joke in the original but has a couple of laughs along the way.

Matt Damon plays against type as the tricksy Odysseus, less so the troubled one. Momentarily distracted by knowing we can have a double bill of Jon Bernthal as a tetchy elder to Tom Holland next week.

Standout side trip to Hades.

The island of the Stormcast Eternals Laestrygonians was a bit much, but the behind the scenes story if hiring regular tall guys for the role and short buff women for the Ithacans is fantastic.

Tell me about a complicated man. Shaft!

(Okay, recent translator Emily Wilson brought that on and considered changing the word when she realised.)

The Haunting Of Hill House on stage

A world premiere, no less, at the Lyceum. A couple weeks after Halloween. Announced a hundred days before it...

Universal licences Atari

Having been unable to make a cinematic universe based on their successful, er, cinematic universe of actual stories, Universal just licenced ten 1970s-80s Atari games, including the story-friendly Adventure and Asteroids and the... less so Pong.

I guess it’s cute that they keep trying.

Good Society second edition

Good Society has a second edition coming soon with a quickstart at the Kickstarter. Which reminds me I never got around to getting the first edition.

Cara action figure happening

Found the long-haired Black Widow head, looked at available bodies that might work, bought one - X-23 from Deadpool & Wolverine. Right sort of height, decent articulation, plain grey trousers, black T-shirt and combat boots. The head is a bit high on the neck, but probably fixable. Now to look out my bits box for a sword, and separate the fingers and thumb on the right ungloved hand to hold it. Might remove the vest and T-shirt decal and repaint the sleeves so the T-shirt matches. if I get really ambitious, might Milliput on cargo trouser side pockets.

I would like to get a leather jacket torso and arms for her signaure look, maybe keeping the legs I got here, but given the current Jessica Jones is (a) in a two-pack with Daredevil for 55 quid and (b) sold out, that might have to wait.

There’s a reason I mostly did this for The Watch House during the run of Buffy and Angel figures.

Update update: found a Buffy figure jacket. Will see if the joints are at all compatible.

Update update update: found upper torso, took off X-23’s, not a perfect fit for lower torso or neck so some work still to be done. After that might go all in and paint her face.

White Wolf Dev Diary #1

Text overview and video roundtable a week out from Gen Con.

Sating positive and negative things about Hunger Dice and Blood Points. Hmmmmm.

A commitment to human made art, good.

More black and white?

Tim Bradstreet portfolio mention!

Vampires will probably be able to light their own cigarettes.

“This community really likes to suffer.”

“It’s part of the fun!”

Blooper reel!

It took me FOUR takes to stop saying "flom"

Debbie

Leaving the house achieved.

Leaving the house achieved.

Getting the new Buffy issue 1 not achieved as delayed by a week and seeing The Odyssey not achieved as the three in the afternoon Wednesday IMAX screening was sold out.

But leaving the house achieved.

Witch of the Vale and Melanie, All The Pretty Little Horses

Witch of the Vale and Melanie, All The Pretty Little Horses. An eerie sad take on a lullaby

Chelsea Wolfe, Cold

Chelsea Wolfe, Cold

I want the melancholy ghost movie this would be the trailer and end credits song for right now.

Merryshire Detective Club

Merryshire Detective Club, a cosy fantasy mystery RPG from Pelgrane, Backerkitting now.

You play amateur detectives in a cosy-fantasy setting. Your band of plucky investigators solves mysteries (quite often, murder mysteries) that crop up with remarkable regularity in the lovely little halfling village you design together.

One of the General abilities is called Risky Nonsense.

Anne Rice's Immortal Universe RPG

Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe coming to Backerkit this autumn starting with Interview With The Vampire.

From Renegade, so... a move away from them working on World Of Darkness?

Create your own stories of vampires, witches, psychics, and ordinary humans whose lives become forever entwined through love, loyalty, ambition, and loss. Together, you'll build chronicles that span decades, or centuries, exploring the emotional consequences and impossible choices of immortality.

The focus on drama and time sounds interesting.

(Update: I know someone working on it at the say-hello-online level.)

The Prince Of The City

Big fan of the “subvert expectations” Princes. The Gangrel terror who sees the domain as a personal hunting ground and the Kindred as their wayward pride. The Malkavian who hears every whispered secret and is pulled apart by its needs. The Solomonic Brujah classicist willing to sunder the infant. Tremere collecting occult gewgaws to destroy them in a manic scheme to buttress power. Oily Toreador sleaze in the model of Wincott’s Top Dollar. Lasombra who keeps a Domesday Book of every bit of prestation proffered or owed in the domain.

Justin Achilli

BLADE

How hard is it to make Blade? Come on!

Tacit acknowledgment that they just can’t find the current equivalent of that New Order Pump Panel remix.

Justin Achilli

I'd be curious to know what people remember from Blade that isn't Blade in black leather killing vampires

Kyle Marquis

-1 to movement checks

Based on podiatry advice I’ll be shuffling for a while, possibly a few months, but going to try not become even more of a recluse than I already am. I will go out and do a thing Wednesday.

Avengers Doomsday trailer

Behold. Doom is full clunky.

Little bit o' politics

“What’s today, my fine fellow?”

“Today? Why, today is New Prime Minister Who Didn’t Win A General Election Day!”

“... Again?”

Maybe it’s just me but the seventh Prime Minister in ten years announcing a glorious ten year plan seems... optimistic.

(I would probably be less snarky if I wasn’t pissed off by three of the four things he’s already announced.)

Football

Congratulations to the winner of Football, and that means no Football until the Winter Football in two years’ time, right?

Mage: Sunset City update

Stopped an ancient primordial nightmare putting humanity into an eternal troubled sleep.

Saving the world is always a nice feeling.

AP by T, playing Didi the Hollow One

Next, a miniseries of some kind.

Oh, and, I just realised I have an action figure head that would make a pretty good Cara. Hm.

Now looking for a body.

A deluxe Buffy, long OOP. The new Jessica Jones would work if not for the most ripped jeans knees ever. Might be too tall though. A plain clothes Yelena would be a better fit but they’d have to make one. X-23 but bare armed...

This hobby was easier back in the day.

Would need a gladius or similar shortsword too, obviously.

Jennifer Finch

Jennifer Finch, bassist of L7, has died at just 59.

Tone can be very important

The X Files theme in a major key

I am experiencing an indescribable emotion

Death Wishbone

The heartwarming story of a 1950s London family making a new start in Australia, from the perspective of the teenage daughter who falls for a roguish but good-hearted local lad.

Me

(To be fair most aren’t as dramatic. The Raiders March in a minor key just sounds like Indy’s in trouble.)

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter

Hammer just put Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter on YouTube in 4K free with ads!

And this is why I keep running Buffy

I have a terrible idea for a Sounds Like Hell episode. It must happen. If the player involved approves.

Ladytron, In Blood

Ladytron, In Blood, going for my Vampire playlist again.

The Peasants' Revolt

Wat Tyler and the Peasants’ Revolt getting a film, The Uprising, written and directed by Paul Greengrass. Looks dingy but otherwise interesting.

What I've Done

After this Oppenheimer edit, which Linkin Park song best fits the end of The Odyssey? In The End seems obvious but Leave Out All The Rest maybe?

Seven-Part Pact

Seven-Part Pact is now Kickstarting.

Up to seven play mighty wizards and each is also in charge of part of running the game in what is described as a GM-full game. And each gets a character-specific board game as part of play.

From Jay Dragon (Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast, Wanderhome).

Kieron Gillen and friends tried it and APed the results.

It’s about power, and hubris, and patriarchy/

As Gillen notes, big commitment RPGs are usually about time, long campaigns and the like, but his is intended for shortish games, with a one-shot design on the way, but about committing in that time, everybody prepping. He notes that his playtest group all GM games regularly.

I’d be curious to see if this encourages more formalised GM duty sharing games.

Mayday trailer

Mayday, a Cold War action comedy from the writers and directors of Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, starring Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh.

Buffy's best Monsters of the Weeks

You can probably guess 1 and 2 of these 15 at Reactor but plenty of interesting notes on why the listed MOTWs work.

Telefantasy Time Jump: A Ghost Story For Christmas

Telefantasy Time Jump gets to 1971, and a few months ahead too, with A Ghost Story For Christmas, noting some of the style that stands out in the series, a thought on breaking perspective and more.

Caledonia By Night: Merchant City's Secret

A Vampire: The Masquerade V5 MET LARP group is starting in Glasgow. Interesting timing considering V5 might not be going much longer. Although the MET book only arrived in 2024, so a new official LARP could be a while coming. We’ll see.

Sam Neill

Sam Neill on dealing with rejection, depression and imposter syndrome.

Small celebrity encounter

I saw Alex Ward on the way to the gig. He was crossing the road going the other way so I did not intrude.

Garbage at Edinburgh Castle

Garbage were amazing. I feel ten years younger. Except in my feet.

Kids today.

Netflix admit that TV channels are a good idea.

Making a literal cat in the Buffy RPG

Making a literal cat in Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Starting after four minutes of preamble.

"Yeah ours won't talk" as they noted when I mentioned having tried with Mittens.

They are new to the system, and one new to the show.

Bonnie Tyler

Total Eclipse Of The Heart, her most famous song, started as a test for a musical of Nosferatu.

The sacred texts

Just used the Wayback Machine to share some LARP advice from 25 years ago. Normal behaviour.

Which reminded me of this page, from a mere fourteen years back. Do’s and dont’s, convention one-shots and series, and the like.

Today's argument for physical media

ITV has put the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series on YouTube free with ads. They’re a delight, as I’m sure most of you know.

But the ads do not sync up with the ad breaks.

It’s enough to make me go and get my DVD box set even though that would involve going all the way to the hall and using a second remote control. Can you imagine?

The Furious

The Furious delivers on its promises.

Very much a Furie, which is a localised Taken with a down-on-their-luck single parent.

Issue with the opening which sets up a badass who then disappears, but outweighed by outbursts of badassery from various characters, as well as lots of moments like (low end spoiler here) the bit where one of the mooks goes to kick Wang Wei and he tangles him mid-kick with his foot and makes him hop backwards forcing other mooks out of his way through bad guy keepy-uppy.

Player character exchange programme

Currently playing two Vampire: The Masquerade games and each of my PCs would probably be happier in the other one.

Paris the Toreador events promoter and true believer Anarch with one point of Occult skill would much rather be fighting a Camarilla cult with a decent chance of winning, and Sorensen the Tremere occult investigator would be quite well suited to hunting memories implanted by blood magic as an Anarch domain collapses in the background.

Okay, this week Sorensen had to crawl through a tunnel under a cemetery and defend the coterie against flying bone shards, but Paris has had worse there too.

GEAS 2026-7

Ten weeks to GEAS being back, depending what we do for Welcome Week. No need to make plans yet. So of course I am.

Vampire? Gotta show up. Though by then we’ll know more about the next... iteration, if not edition? And might even have someone else running it, so could even do something less 101.

Buffy? Somebody has to. (glares at that Hulu guy)

Doctor Who? Somebody has to. (stares at BBC)

Star Wars? Supers? Etc.?

The Pod Universe: War Of The Worlds

The Pod Universe reaches its phase one finale (part one, part two) with a big summer blockbuster cast reading audio drama.

Had Tex-Mex to mark the occasion. Got my hair cut, not to mark the occasion.

The United States Of America

July 4th 2026, 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, laying out promises and hopes for what a new nation could be.

The US has been so culturally dominant in my lifetime, and so welcoming when I’ve visited and lived there, that it feels normal to think of it as a place to go, and as a setting for modern games. And I’m sure it will be again.

The nation of Apollo 11, Hollywood and New York, superheroes and Westerns, the Blues and rock and roll and rap, Emily Dickinson and Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King, and RPGs.

I hope to return there one day.

Titivillus Ex Machina

If Autocorrect was a man I would be in maximum security for what I’d done to him and all the other murderers would look at me with wary respect.

Greg Stolze

All the best

Haven’t done a wedding or other huge fancy party episode in a while. Hope it goes well!

SCHISM!

SCHISM!

Was not expecting one of those today.

Let alone one where the people being booted out are the bad guys.

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2026

The Film Festival brochure is up, Ewan McGregor and a Trainspotting reunion, some possibly interesting midnight movies, but most tempted by the Connery-induced juxtaposition of a retrospective screening of The Rock at Filmhouse.

No Chillo

Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo!

Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow!

Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!

Bombadilly dooly dillow

Bom de dillow hillow willow

Willow be dong dillow fillow

Tom be jugglin' an armadillo

Goldberry prefers a firm pillow

It's just her little pecadillo

Dong ding dong dillo dillo

Off we dance to Amarillo

Pillow dillo dee dong dillo

La dee dee dee willow pillow

Bong biddly bong bee hillo villo

Dongy ding dong dillo

By Bully The Little Stuffed Bull, after J.R.R. Tolkien

#RPGaDAY2026

#RPGaDAY2026 prompts are out, as as shared at Autocratik and FAQed at Runeslinger

Single words on the infographic but also an option for questions - I will likely do both.

And while some of the words suggest the glorious workers’ struggle, as the first word is Discipline and there are a few more like that I might well give the single word prompts to Vampire.

July

Happy Canada Day for one thing!