GM's Day Sale

The March Fo(u)rth GM’s Day Sale is now on at DriveThruRPG.

Neuromancer

Apple TV making William Gibson’s Neuromancer after people have been trying for forty years. Curious to see how the tech will work because you can do most of it now apart from minor things like retractable finger knives and private space stations.

Of course, nowadays the sky above the port being the colour of television tuned to a dead channel is black with a No Signal bar.

Discworld: Adventures In Ankh-Morpork

Modiphius has acquired the Discworld licence, and has announced an RPG. signup news here with a link to a survey. Aiming to Kickstart in the winter.

No word yet of a system. They’ve adjusted their 2d20 house system for different complexity levels but can they adjust it for characters who aren’t really competent?

(The survey mentions 2d20 among other systems when asking what we play.)

Discworld has previously had an official GURPS book with two editions and a supplement (as well as first getting RPG-ish eyes on with an introductory article in White Dwarf magazine in its early WFRP days) but a bigger line would obviously work. The main issue would be making it feel like Discworld specifically and not just like a typical fantasy RPG session going wrong in an amusing manner.

The licence says tabletop games, and there have board games already including a version of Thud! so there may be more there too, as the survey mentions those while focusing on RPGs and Discworld favourites. I would expect miniatures too, as they like making miniatures.

The trick is for it to be funny without people acting funny. Never get the impression that Discworld characters think of themselves as anything other than serious (while they may acknowledge the situations they find themselves in are absurd, they still treat them as serious issues to sort). Difficult to run/play. But yes, they’ll sell a few copies!

Ian

I'd put my money on it being based off one of the many variations of the 2D20 system. Its pretty narrative, reasonably light and tends away from DND style hack n slash, something that Discworld definitely is not. In all, the thing I am happiest about is that Discworld has not been licensed to WOTC. They've made a mess of so many things and don't show any signs of improving either. Modiphius is a solid company with a good track record and from my experience they have handled the other licenses they've picked up really well.

LIam

February the 29th

I feel that February the 29th should be a holiday. I mean, what else are you going to do with it?

The Crow (2024) photos

Empire shares first look photos from a Vanity Fair interview (read one free) with director Rupert Sanders. The first two are from happier times, the third shows what we’ll be seeing in the main story.

I have doubts, but I saw Wicked Prayer so I can do this too.

“I grew up listening to Joy Division and the Cure, and this movie is a bit like a Cure song – the beauty of melancholy.”

Rupert Sanders

Iwájú

Iwájú, a new animated series from Disney and Kugali, a family adventure in a solarpunk future Nigeria. (Trailer)

The series dropped today on D+ so I plan to spend an afternoon with it.

Our Brilliant Ruin

Our Brilliant Ruin is now live on Kickstarter. An entropic apocalypse approaches a fin de siècle world. What will you do as it all winds down?

Also important to me is making sure that everyone who wants it can have a copy of the game. We’re planning to make the full core book PDF available to everyone who wants it for free, whether or not you back the project. Your support helps make this possible (and hopefully ensures everyone at your game table has their own copy on game night).

Justin Achilli

Heart: Dagger in the Heart

Dagger in the Heart is a big 144 page adventure for Heart: The City Beneath, by Gar Hanrahan. Interest in Heart rising.

Buttons are good

The TV is now on its third remote control. The original lasted over a decade and was taken out by a cup of coffee, while the replacement lasted fourteen months and just stopped acknowledging some buttons, which does not bode well for the new replacement of the same model.

Moon lander Odysseus

Next time maybe do the expensive safety check rather than sending something to the Moon where it might fall over and lose half its operating window.

Brond

I just had a terrible idea for a reference leaning into the location and Gothic theme at the Glasgow Nationals, as ain’t nobody gonna get this, sadly. Brond, the 1987 Channel 4 miniseries based on the novel by Frederic Lindsay about a Glasgow Uni student who witnesses the literally winking murder of a child by the titular criminal / spy / perhaps I was being too literal but I always thought he was the Devil, and it gets worse for him from there. My brother had the theme on EP, and it certainly doesn’t hurt my theory. This may be how Demon: The Descent looks to a character on the outside.

Star Trek Adventures second edition

Star Trek Adventures second edition news signup.

So in today's big announcement; I worked on the Star Trek Adventures Second Edition RPG!

There's so much this new edition offers - as well as streamlined mechanics and support to play in every era of Star Trek.

Alison Cybe

Nationals playtests

GUGS playtested some Nationals games this weekend, seven weeks ahead of the event. I hear it went well! Though not many games are at that stage yet. Which is kind of a relief for mine.

A Haunting

My prompt for thinking about true stories was the documentary series Amityville: An Origin Story, hence my including the note about stories people claim to be true. Going from a true tragedy to a byword for schlock.

A True Story

Have you ever taken a true story, or a supposedly true tall tale, as the basis for an adventure or campaign?

I’ve borrowed elements for setup here and there - I’ve always wanted to base an adventure on scientists going into a dormant volcano to get data to better predict eruptions.

The invasion of Ukraine two years on

This act of evil and stupidity continues.

Tomb Raider RPG

You wait years for a Tomb Raider RPG and then one is announced nine months after the free one.

Madame Web

Madame Web (2024)

As I suspected when seeing the trailer:

Madame Web could easily lose eight minutes that didn’t work and a couple of costume choices and be a pretty fun movie taking an interesting idea and running with it, but I presume they were required to connect it to the titular obscure Marvel character.

Someone with Final Destination style sorta-helpful visions of the future trying to save people from a murderer, that’s cool.

Someone with one non-combat superpower having to take on a full-tilt supervillain, also cool.

Disgruntled hero having to deal with the kids she has to protect, also fun.

The stuff I’d lose which I assume they were stuck with:

ChatRIP

Delighted that after someone made an evil supercomputer it was undone by people messing with it, as has long been the case with evil supercomputers in SF. Shame they didn’t get it to sing Daisy, Daisy but we can’t have everything.

The Bad Batch 3.01-3.03

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

3.01: Confined

“Imprisoned on Tantiss, Omega adjusts to a new life.”

30 minutes plus credits including a two-minute Previously cut and scored for drama.

“When have we ever followed orders?”

The opening three episodes start with a slow-burn setup of Omega’s captivity.

Animation showoff bit: multiple scenes gloomily lit only by computer screens and dim overhead lighting.

--

3.02 Paths Unknown

“Following a lead, Hunter and Wrecker make a startling discovery.”

24 1/2 minutes plus credits. Despite not moving unusually fast, it starts in such a hurry that the theme tune cuts off early.

The music cues referencing Aliens should give you a hint of what the ruined abandoned genetics lab is like.

Design showoff bit: the very Heorot-looking Devaronian palace.

--

3.03 Shadows of Tantiss

“Omega and Crosshair hatch a daring plan.”

24 1/2 minutes plus credits.

In case Hemlock being in charge of a torture-happy genetic experiment and leaving troopers to die as they called for aid in 3.01 wasn’t enough, it says a lot about someone if he’s happy that the Emperor is coming for an inspection.

Animation showoff bit: dramatically backlit Crimson Guard.

This show sometimes really shows off how far the CGI woodentop look has come.