Full Dark, No Stars - Book Review (Intro)

Stephen King's latest collection of short stories, Full Dark, No Stars follows in a long line of fantastic short story collections put out by King. But everybody knows that modern King is full of disappointment. I should know - I've dutifully read every single book the man has ever written.

Full Dark, No Stars has four short stories in roughly 360 pages. This right there is a red flag for me. Kings best work is often short - the shorter the better! It's when he goes off the rails and produces a thousand page tome like Under the Dome that he falls into needless repetitions and unsatisfying endings.

Just don't ask me about the cover image. Besides the main character being female in a few of the stories, I have no idea what that means. Is that a nine? Perhaps this is his ninth book of short stories? I don't know.

Since these stories are so different from one another (and there's only four of them) I figured I would review each one seperately over the next few weeks and then summarize my thoughts.

Rolemaster - Gaming Notes #4

We found a black crystal heart, an ancient, very powerful, evil artifact in the treasure pile of the undead dragon. Only problem? The lich that owns it wants it back!

We were just about to set off for the city so we could see if the priests there could destroy this evil heart when we heart rumors that the undead were attacking to the east... not good, considering it was all our fault the undead got unleashed!

We decided to go investigate. What do we run into? A flock of undead vultures. Now, these birds had haunted us on our previous three day journey back to town. There was no way that I was going to let these birds live! Firing an arrow at them was perhaps a mistake, however. In one round these terrible birds nearly took down our entire party. Rodney was stunned and only had two hit points left. I took three critical hits. And John kept his distance, not wanting to get slaughtered. Who knew that undead vultures could move 200 feet and attack three times in one round?

Thanks in large party to John stunning the birds (and his entire party - by the end of the combat, I was stunned for an additional 21 rounds and was bleeding 12 hit points a round), we defeated the birds. We decided that resistance was too stiff and we were about the head back to town when the lich attacked! Yikes!

From our previous encounter we knew we'd be cut down before we could mount our horses so we grimly resolved to stand our ground and fight. Turns out, a lich is easier to kill than undead vultures! We pulled out the stops - John's priest started swearing years of service to his goddess in exchange for protection. I fired off one of my untested metal arrows that I had gotten from the dragon. Turns out, they are flaming arrows! A 94E crit on the large creature and fire critical hit tables later and the lich is down and engulfed in flames! Wow!

Now, the priest told us that just because we defeated the lich doesn't mean he's dead. In fact, he has his organs in containers and will come back stronger than ever very soon. The only way to truly defeat him is to destroy his organs. Determined to end this threat once and for all, we turn around and head back toward the lich's lair.

Will our heroes be able to penetrate the litch's underground lair? What the state of the hundreds of undead that were under the lich's control? To be continued...

Sillof's Workshop #5: Samurai Wars

Another cool Sillof collection: Samurai Wars! What if Star Wars had been set in feudal Japan? I'm sure these characters would have looked much like Sillof imagines them. In particular I always enjoy seeing how he translates C3PO, R2D2, and Chewbacca since they are not human. In this collection I think the Samurai Han Solo is my favorite. Check them out at http://www.sillof.com/C-CUSTOMS-Main.htm.

Marvel RPGs #10 - "Energy Stones"

The is the third and final Marvel RPG. The Marvel Universe Roleplaying Game was released in 2003 by Marvel, not a third party gaming developer. That was perhaps mistake number one.

Mistake number two was making this a diceless game. The last diceless Marvel RPG was not well received by the fans. This mechanic is almost WORSE. At least in the last Marvel RPG there was a random element - cards. In this RPG, there is no random element at all. It's resource allocation - putting colored "stones" into attack, defense, and energy categories (plus or minus situational modifiers). 

I'll give them credit - they weren't afraid to put out something completely different. They really tried to recreate the "feel" of a comic book - even using terms such as "panel" and "page" to define time. But the rules fail as a RPG on almost every level. 

The books themselves look nice (there were only ever three of them). They cram a lot into a slim book. Ultimately, however, this system is too flimsy to make for a fun RPG game. Compared to the D100 system, this RPG is a laughable imitator. 

Rolemaster - Gaming Notes #3

So John and I (actually, just John's priestly character, not me) killed the huge, undead dragon. Only problem? It seems that thing was acting like a cork holding back all sorts of baddies. Guess we uncorked the undead volcano!

As we were looting the Dragon's treasure, we were spied upon by an undead floating head. We killed it, but it was quickly replaced by another... seems there are other undead forces at work here! We found a black, crystal heart among the treasure. When John's character touched it, it tried to suck out his soul. That's bad!

After a routine run-in with two skeletons went badly we retreated topside to lick our wounds. We quickly ran into more skeletons - this time covered in iron! Not good! We beat the two of them only to have TEN MORE come pouring out of the underground lair. Yikes! We were dealing with them on an attack-retreat basis when three giant skeletons showed up in addition to a flock of undead vultures and more floating heads. Realizing we were outgunned, we retreated all the way back to the town. Along the way, a lich attacked us wanting "his heart." As per the theme of the evening, we ran.

Once back at town, we discussed our options - Perhaps we could take this evil heart to a major city and have the priests there destroy it.

Who Says Video Games Make You Lazy?

Who says video games are bad for you? For these teens it inspired them to make an absolutely unbelievable tribute video to Guitar Hero - BIKE HERO! This video is a you-gotta-see-it-to-believe it all in one take wonder. The sheer logistics of working this out must have taken months. Why aren't these guys running NASA.... or the government?

The Rules to Dressing in Costume for a Movie #3

To summarize, we're detailing the rules you need to follow should you want to dress up in costume or bring props to a movie. So far, we've said the rules are...

#1 - Go with friends
#2 - Know you're going to get some odd looks

Rule #3 is to anticipate the crowd. By that, we mean measure the likelyhood that others will dress in costume as well. If it's Harry Potter, X-Men, Twilight, Star Wars, Star Trek, or Rocky Horror Picture Show, I think you're very, very safe assuming that a plethora of others will be in costume as well. But these are all established properties. You might be the biggest Smurfs fan out there but I can guarantee you you'll be the only one dress up as Papa Smurf. And that just makes it a little awkward, weird, and creepy. And nobody wants that.



Avoid being the only one to dress in costume. Not that there's anything wrong with going against the grain and letting you're fan-freak flag fly. But perhaps a convention is a more appropriate venue to unleash your really cool ape costume from Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Take my word on this one.

1,400 Things Mr. Welch Is Banned From Doing During an RPG

This post is thanks to my friend, Sam.

Do you roleplay? If so, you'll find this very, very long list of ONE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED things that Mr. Welch is no longer allowed to do during any roleplaying game very funny. I think anyone who has been roleplaying for awhile has run into players who have tried to do some of this stuff (or tried to do it yourself). Some of this is rules-bending, some of it is world-breaking, and some of it is just plain ridiculous. Ain't roleplaying a blast?

Here are a couple of highlights:
14. Ogres are not kosher.
86. Not allowed to make a superhero with a 99% chance of dodging even after the -10 penalty for a successful called shot.
92. The name of the weapon shop is not "Bloodbath and Beyond"
321. The monk's official title is Brother of the Lotus Path. Not the Slap Happy Jappy.
410. If the NPC is on the cover of the rulebook, I can't kill him.
534. When I level up, I just can't copy the guy next to me's choices.
632. When asked to tutor someone on his defense trait, can't keep punching him until he get it.

733. Cannot make a plan that hinges on the villain first being allergic to peanuts.
1079. A tattoo gun is not standard equipment in a mapping kit.

Check out the full list at http://www.thefantasyforum.com/showthread.php?20236-1400-things-Mr.-Welch-can-no-longer-do-during-an-RPG

Marvel RPGs #9 - The SAGA System

Well, what can I say about the second Marvel RPG game that uses the SAGA system? Ummm... it's different. And fans hated it. 

This is a diceless game. Diceless games RARELY go over well with gamers (can you think of one)? Instead, this game uses a deck of "fate cards" to resolve all conflicts. I could tell you that you got to have more fate cards in your hand the more experienced your character was but who really cares. Cards wear out and become marked with frequent use. Dice are a lot more durable. Who wants to have to buy replacement cards when theirs wear out? Not I, for one. At least they weren't collectible *cough* DnD *cough*.

The Marvel game that uses this system is officially called The Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game. To my knowledge, the only materials published for it were the items pictured above (minus the Hero Clix). To make matters worse, there was a Marvel comic called Marvel Saga which made the name of this roleplaying game confusing to some and hard to search for on the internet.

I don't currently own a copy of this game and, even though it sucks, I would like to since I have almost every other Marvel RPG book. You know what sucks? This thing goes for over $100 on ebay! Because nobody bought this game it's now RARE! How about that kick in the pants!

Garfield Minus Garfield Equals Hilarious!

So.... Here's an interesting premise. You know the Garfield comic strips? What if the cat Garfield is completely in Jon's imagination? What if Garfield doesn't really exist at all and Jon is talking to an imaginary cat the whole time? What would that make Jon? A COMPLETELY INSANE, LONELY LOSER - THAT'S WHAT! And you know what? I'm okay with that. Because it's very slyly funny! (isn't "slyly" a weird word?)

To achieve this effect the creators of http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/ Garfield Minus Garfield simply digitally remove the character Garfield and all of Garfield's word balloons from the comic strips. What's left? Crazy Jon. The concept is funnier in large doses.

Check out the samples below:

The Rules to Dressing in Costume for a Movie #2

This is a continuation of the series I began earlier detailing the rules you need to follow if you wish to successfully dress up for a movie premier. Rule #1 is use the buddy system - bring a friend, even if they're not dressed up.

Rule #2 is to remember - it takes guts. Dressing up for a movie premier is not for the faint of heart. In our society a man can go to an outdoor football game in January with nothing but a pair of shorts, flip flops, and full body paint and nobody bats an eye BUT if you show up to Green Lantern dressed in a full-body Green Lantern costume you're bound to get a few odd looks from some folks.

Remember, not everyone at the midnight showing is an ultra-fan like you. I've had people make rude comments right in front of me (Can you believe he brought a Captain America shield?) as if I can't hear them. You've just got to have thick skin. Remember, for the most part your fellow fans think that you're costume is cool. Man up, ignore the hate, and just do it! But don't say I didn't warn you.

Star Wars - Old Republic Trailer

Set a time 3000 years before the Star Wars that we know Star Wars The Old Republic is a Massive Multi-Player Online Game where you'll be able to play out the role of a self-made hero-of-old.

Need a teaser:

http://www.swtor.com/media/trailers/return?sourceid=eag3006

This game is on preorder so jump now to get your copy! Should be awesome!

Sillof's Workshop #4: Long Ago and Far Away

Once again returning to Star Wars, this series of figures created by Sillof re-imagine Star Wars as a fairy tale. Check them all out at http://www.sillof.com/C-SW-fantasy.htm.

Charothku



Boran Fayne



Deth Valkor



Marvel RPGs #8 - D100 Online - The Best of the Rest

Here are some other noteworthy websites dedicated to the Marvel D100 system:

http://rivendell.fortunecity.com/battlespire/85/homepage.htm - The creators of this website must really know their superhero RPGs. They have listed conversion charts from most major superhero RPG systems into Marvel D100. Lots of other information is presented, including information originally available only from Dragon Magazine in the Marvel-Phile. Very well done.

http://webspace.webring.com/people/jt/the_black_condor/ - This website has a unique focus. It is purely devoted to charting the alternate realities in (and out) of the Marvel Multiverse. World write-ups and character stats are provided. So when the players, say, get their hands on Doctor Doom's Time Machine or travel to other realities, this website is there to help out the Judge in need!

http://www.angelfire.com/planet/heroicus/files/stats-2.html provides character write-ups and stats from dozens of non-Marvel properties, formatted for  the D100 system.

http://marvel.wikia.com/Main_Page The Marvel Database is always a useful tool for clarifying continuity or character questions.

So there you have it! A basic beginner's guide to Marvel D100 on the web! Let me know if you think I left out a noteworthy website dedicated to Classic Marvel RPG and I'll give it some love!

You Could Have Joined Shield! (For Real!)

Okay, maybe not for REAL, but a close as you're ever gonna come, sucker!

Marvel and Acura had combined forces to create a super cool website that was part game, part commercial, part movie promotion, and part contest. It was everything Web 2.0 should be: An interactive integration of medias and purposes, woven together to form a very dynamic experience.

Essentially, the concept was this: You're joining shield and there are a series of missions you go on. The website design is such that it appears to be a high tech spy set-up. At one point it asks you for fingerprint verification (holding down a key). There are videos, documents, audio, and more for each mission. Each mission is a game that rewards you with advancement in Shield rank, unlocking content, and a chance to win prizes such a movie tickets or a car. Along the way, you're given info about the Thor movie and Acura (the sponsor). Everything is presented 100% in the world of Thor and the other Avenger films which is very cool.

All in all, it was pretty darn slick. UNFORTUNATELY, it seems that they've pulled down the site. If you go to http://www.joinshield.com/ now you are redirected to the Acura homepage. LAME! I suppose with Thor long out of the theaters they felt the website didn't have a purpose any more... that's a shame because it was very fun and very well done! Thanks to jeffrywith1e for the link correction. I hope you got a chance to check out this cool website before it was pulled down... by Hydra, of course.

Marvel Super Heroes D100 - Gaming Notes #2

Continued from MSH D100 Gaming Notes #1...

Longshot, Beast, Marvel Girl, Cyclops, Storm, and Wolverine are standing over the unconscious Madelyn Pryor, still absorbing her warning to, "Beware the Juggernaut!" when thundering footsteps issue forth from Scott and Madelyn's burning Alaskan home. The Juggernaut begins walking toward the Blackbird where Colossus awaits. Juggernaut throws a tree, obviously targeting the Blackbird. The X-Men and X-Factor spring into action. At first they try to attack the Juggernaut but after Wolverine gets easily knocked unconscious they change tactics to simply delaying him long enough so they can get out of there. Storm blinds him with a snowstorm and the X-Men board the Blackbird with Madelyn's unconscious body.

Juggernaut emerges from the burning building...

Longshot gets the "drag-out" on Madelyne Pryor.

The X-Men race to the Blackbird (storm flying on poker chips).

  They rush to a hospital where Madelyn and the injured Beast are admitted. The doctors inform Cyclops that his wife is in a coma but they may visit with her briefly. Marvel Girl contacts Madelyn telepathcially and discovers that it was the Dazzler, working with the Juggernaut, that took her baby, Nathan. This is puzzling since the Dazzler is normally a "good guy." Madelyn passes along the information she gleaned from Dazzler's mind about Mr. Sinister's home base in Omaha, Nebraska. Marvel Girl also accidentally learns all about Cyclops and Madelyn's private lives... much to her great disappointment. Cyclops had never told Marvel Girl that his new wife looked exactly like her. In a fit of rage, Marvel Girl lashes out at Cyclops and storms out of the hosptial.

The X-Men once again race off in the Blackbird, this time to Mr. Sinister's secret HQ under an orphanage in Omaha, Nebraska. An orphanage that Cyclops grew up in! How odd...

The X-folks go in street clothes to the orphanage with Marvel Girl remaining on the Blackbird. They are jumped by the Marauders, the people responsible for the massacre of the Morlocks! Oddly, Ripcord is among their number even though Colossus had snapped his neck during the Mutant Massacre... A grand Melee breaks out! Citizens flee in terror as the two forces tear each other (and the city around them) to shreds. Storm conjurs a fog to hide most of the combat from the eyes of the citizens. The X-forces stand victorious, but not before Cyclops is knocked unconscious and Storm is badly injured.

What will the heroes do next? What is Sinister's master plan? To be continued...

Hey! That's My Fish! - Gaming Notes

I recently picked up the board game Hey! That's My Fish! (Deluxe) after playing it with my friend Sam. It's a fantastically well designed game and a lot of fun. This game is right up my alley - simple rules, complex strategy.



You move your penguins on hex tiles in straight lines, claiming 1, 2, or 3 fish in the process. You can isolate yourself or your opponents, either cutting them off from the fish or claiming an areas' worth of fish for yourself. It reminds me of Isolation.

What's great is the rules are basic enough that my four year old son can play  no problem. He may not grasp the complexities of the strategy but he does pretty well and he likes the deluxe penguin models. Even I have to admit that the deluxe penguins add something to the game. They're colorful and posed in funny positions. Plus they're really solid - they have heft!

Needless to say, I am doing pretty well playing this game against a four year old and even my wife. Still playing with different strategies. I'm thinking it is best to play your own game, not intentionally screwing your neighbor until an unplanned opportunity arises. We'll see. One thing is for sure - we'll be playing quite a bit of Hey! That's My Fish! in my house in the near future!

The Rules to Dressing in Costume for a Movie #1

In my previous post, The Great Debate: Is Dressing Up for a Movie Premier Cool?, I clearly explained why is, indeed, cool to dress up or prop replicas and other merchandise to a movie's midnight showing.  However, I would say that this is not without some rules one should follow if one wishes to dress up for such an occassion. This is the first in a series of postings detailing what those rules are.

1) Don't go alone. It's always better to go to the movies with a friend or ten but this is especially true if you wish to dress up in costume. Why? Well, if you show up alone and you're dressed in a fully body Ewok suit, you might come across as a little creepy. Having friends with you signals that you're okay - it makes it easier for the rest of the movie audience to accept you're not a lone weirdo. It makes it easier for others to approach you.



Does this mean that all of your friends have to dress up as well? No. Absolutely not. Sure, it would be great if you could persuade your friends to all dress up like Green Lanterns but it's not necessary. Just being seen with a friendly group, even without costumes, is good enough.



So rule #1 is - Use the buddy system. Remember it for your own good!

Marvel RPGs #7 - D100 Online - Ben Riely's Marvel RPG Page

Ben Riely's Marvel RPG page is special to me for a number of reasons.

1) My son is named after Spider-Man's clone, Benjamin Reilly.

2) It is THE website to go to for up-to date Marvel D100 character write-ups.

3) I don't know where he gets dozens and dozens of these character icons or if he makes them but they're really cool:

I mean, seriously! Those things are SICK!

Benjamin Riely's Marvel RPG Page http://www.angelfire.com/comics/benriely/index.html is a bit of an oddity, actually. Ben comes across as being a bit young to have played the Marvel D100 RPG when it was originally released. He claims to have only played the Marvel D100 RPG twice with a friend that moved away! It must have made a big impact on him!

Ben's website literally updates character's stats and standings in real-time. For example: The Fantastic Four became The Fantastic Foundation so Ben came up with new profiles for all of the related characters to reflect this change. He keeps the old profiles on there. This was really helpful to me when I ran a Marvel Civil War era game. Since there was no officially produced character stats for, say, the Sentry or Ronin I went to Ben's website and found them. Ben's inexperience with the system shows sometimes. His "Cape Killer" stats, for example, were a little too overpowered to reflect the actual characters.

Still, Ben Riely's Marvel RPG Page is hands-down among the top Marvel D100 resource websites. Fantastic job, Ben!

Moto Grand Prix - Gaming Notes

At a recent gathering, I was able to play Moto Grand Prix, the motorcycle racing game. This game is really well designed and a lot of fun. Gameplay is smooth and does an amazing job of actually simulating real motorcycle racing. I've played it before, but this was no normal game.

Typically this game can play up to six players but we played with ten thans to Sam's homebrewing some extra bikes and instrumentation panels. Kevin, Spencer, Chris, John, Sam, Jay, Miguel, Stacy, Joe, and I all picked our bikes and set off. The game started out slowly simply because most folks hadn't yet played and nobody was "drafting" yet. But about halfway through the first lap, engines were revving and the action got tight and we all struggled to gain the slightest advantage in such a crowded field.

Multiple times one or more bikes would break away from the pack only to be passed. I, myself, found myself in a situation where I was unable to modify the dice and I rolled a "3." For the next lap and a half I vainly burned my engines trying to catch up but never did. I joined the other five racers who blew their engines and were out of the race. That's right - only four bikes finished this race! The winner was Kevin, followed by Joe, Miguel, and Spencer.

Everyone really got into it, especialy when a bike's engine blew or when there was a lead change. Although not designed to be played with ten people, Moto Grand Prix proved itself capable of handling that many players. The quickness of the game kept everyone involved. Perhaps we'll get together again soon for another game of Moto Grand Prix or another similar game capable of handling a large number of players like Wings of War.

250 Pagviews!

Yesterday, August 14, marked the occassion of One Lost Road's 250th pageview! While this number pales to the achievements of others, we here at 1LR will mark the occassion anyway with this image of Amazing Spider-Man #250's cover:

Onward to 500!
KGS =7000

Goodbye, Streaming Movies!

Well, I did it. I wasn't sure I would but I did. I cancelled Netflix streaming movies. My computer died recently anyway so it's no big deal. *SOB*

Compose yourself. Get it together. Be a man! (slaps self)

Anyway, as my computer went downhill, my ability to watch streaming diminished anyway. Perhaps someday I'll get streaming back... but until then, I'll enjoy the lower Netflix bill and stick with two disks at a time. I only wish there was an option to get four disks without streaming. I'd do that in a heartbeat! I wonder why Netflix doesn't offer this option? It's money they're losing from people like me.

So I've removed myself from the graph below. I wonder how much I'll miss being on that chart?

Aerial Dogfight to End All Dogfights

This news story is from John C.

At Origins convention, a group called The Buckeye Gamers in Flight attempted to set a new world record for the most gamers playing a single board game simultaneously. The game they're going to be using is Wings of War which they hope to have 100-140 people playing. It's everyone for themselves, fight to the death, last man standing.

To me, this SOUNDS like a really cool idea but I would be surprised if it wasn't anything but a total mess, especially considering the rules for elevation and overlapping planes. Also, they're trying to set the world record for a BOARD GAME. Is WoW a board game? I wouldn't call it that. I would say it is a miniatures game.

Here's an idea of what the table might look like with all of those planes:


This reminds me of the "grand melee" playing format for the Magic: The Gathering Game in which literally hundreds of people play simultaneously.

Were you there? Did you see it? Did you play? If so, contact 1LR and let me know how it went!

Marvel Super Heroes D100 - Gaming Notes #1

My Marvel Super Heroes D100 campaign just started the other night. We have seven players in all playing characters from the X-Men and X-Force teams from 1986 - Colossus, Wolverine, Storm, Longshot, Cyclops, Beast, and Marvel Girl. We're following Marvel continuity up to right before the Mutant Massacre. In the comics, Longshot doesn't join the X-Men until later, but because he joins, the Mutant Massacre goes much, much worse than it did in the comics. Basically, X-Factor, X-Men, and New Mutants are all severely injured/missing/killed except for the seven PCs and Psyloche.

Our adventure starts off after Thor scorches the tunnels clean - sealing the tunnel behind our heroes. X-Factor and X-Men characters bark at each other for awhile until Storm and Cyclops settle a temporary peace of sorts. The characters proceed down the tunnel until they run into some crocodiles! One of the dead Morlocks, Pied Piper, had controlled them but now they are scared and angry! The PCs quickly dispatch the crocs (learning how to play the system as they go - many players are new to MSH) and continue on their way.

Arriving at the X-Mansion somed hours later, the characters rest and relax, trying to heal up.

Wolverine goes to Cerebro but finds that it has been destroyed! He smells Sabretooth! In a rage, he hits the alarm, pops his claws, and leaps out the window following Sabretooth's scent! The X-Men leap to action, but not in time to help Wolverine as he struggles in one-on-one combat with Sabretooth! Defeated and wounded, Sabretooth leaps from the cliff into the ocean but not before delivering a message, "Mr. Sinister sends his regards!"

Sabretooth leaps over the cliff to escape Wolverine.

The X-Men catch up to Wolverine but cannot find Sabretooth. Wolverine passes along the cryptic message. Noone has ever heard of "Mr. Sinister." Databases reveal nothing and Cerebro is beyond repair. Magneto calls from Muir Island where the mutants severely injured in the Mutant Massacre are being cared for. He wants the X-Men in the field pronto to look for their missing comrades and to find the Marauders responsible for the slaughter.

Suddenly, a massive psychic cry for help hits Cyclops and Marvel Girl - it's coming from Alaska where Madelyn Pryor, Cyclop's estranged wife and child, live! "They're after Nathan!" the urgent message says. The X-Men rush to the Blackbird and are in Alaska within the hour.

Cyclop's house is an inferno and much of the woods have been leveled. Clearly a massive fight took place here! Colossus lands the plane a 1/4 of a mile away while Marvel Girl carries her teammates to the ground. They quickly find Madelyn Pryor on death's door. She weakly speaks telepathicly, "She took our son, Scott! A blonde woman dressed in white took our son! You must save him!" The X-Men are about to leap into action when they hear thundering footsteps coming out of the burning house. Madelyn warns, "Beware the Juggernaut!" and lapses into a coma...

To be continued...!!!

Sillof's Workshop #3: Gaslight Justice League

Not all of Sillof's creations are Star Wars related. The Gaslight Justice League are just as amazing and detailed as his other models. Now, if I'm not mistaken, DC has done some similar concepts in alternate reality comics along the way but Sillof manages to take new angles on all of these classic characters. Check them all out at http://www.sillof.com/C-Gaslight.htm.

Marvel RPGS #6 - D100 Online - Classic Marvel Forever

Classic, indeed!

Even though it has been out of print for twenty years or so, the classic Marvel RPG still has an extremely strong fan following. Along with this fan following comes a strong internet presence. The next several posts in this series will highlight a number of prominent sites dedicated to the classic Marvel RPG.

First up is Classic Marvel Forever at http://www.classicmarvelforever.com/cms/. This website is quite impressive. A good deal of the material written here is actually written by the same people the wrote parts of the original game, notably the Super Heroes Handbook. You have Addendas (which are like unofficial erratas) and rules clarifications that are very helpful.

There are a ton of house rules listed on this site.There's information about technology in the Marvel Universe, D20 conversions and much, much more.

One of the favorite things of fans of a system, especially a dead system, is to keep it current. You'll find tons of updates for characters that were created after the classic Marvel RPG ceased publication such as the Sentry or Echo. You'll also find character updates for old characters like Iron Man in his Extremis armor or Spidey in his Marvel Civil War costume.

In addition to this material, there's plenty of non-Marvel material using the classic Marvel resolution system. Like the D100 table but you're a fan of DC? No problem - they've got stats for Superman, Batman and the lot at Classic Marvel Forever. The same is true for Dark Horse and Image comics characters as well. You could do your own inter-company crossover using the information provided at Classic Marvel Forever! There are even stats for other properties such as Akira and Final Fantasy.

Classic Marvel Forever is one of the premier websites for information regarding the D100 Marvel RPG system.

Beowulf Movie Review

A lot of the hype around the recent movie Beowulf concerned Angelina Jolie's... appearance... in the film. Having recently watched it, I would say that is the least of the reasons to watch this film.

I really liked how realistically it depicted life during the Dark Ages. As a roleplayer, I really looked at the details as to how life worked during this historical period. It seemed like the movie makers took their time in doing their research to accurately portray this world.

I was also impressed with the depiction of Grendel, the troll-like creature from the movie. Often in DnD we treat creatres like Trolls like mid-level cannon fodder. Kick down the door, kill the creature. But in real life if a creature like Grendel charges at you, how would you act? In Beowulf, that feeling of dread really comes across. Grendel is killing brutally left and right and the soldiers are helpless to stop it. It really highlights how different the "hero" is from the average man.



The actual CGI was great at a distance or during movement but in any close-ups of the human face it looks like plastic dolls. CGI still has a ways to go before it is photo-realistic. The matting of real actor faces was okay - you could tell who you were looking at (was that Ginny from Forrest Gump?) but the mouths sometimes didn't match exactly what they were saying or floated a little on their faces.

Final analysis: Beowulf is worth watching, tells a good story, and is of interest to fantasy roleplayers.

1LR Rating: 14 out of 20 - It's a hit!