INCEPTION in Real Time

As a strong supporter of Intellectual Property rights, I am often hesitant to post links to videos that might cross the line away from "fair use" of other's IP. This video featuring a "real time" interpretation of the "heist" sequence from INCEPTION is a rare exception. I think that its imaginative use of footage and the way it presents a concept discussed in the film, combined with the fact that it in no way presents an alternative to the original IP make this video a clear example of fair use. This is one of those rare instances where the creator of a derivative property has not only made an interesting work of art, but has added to my affection for the originating IP and reminded me that I need to buy the DVD of INCEPTION as soon as possible.

Do You Want to Be Ghost Writer for Me? I Will Cut You in for 10%

Who can turn that down?

Will Winnie the Pooh Be the First Film I See WIth My Daughters on the Big Screen?

Next summer Disney's newest version of Winnie the Pooh will make its appearance in theaters.   From the looks of the trailer, it appears that it will be a wonderful presentation of the classic children's character.  I cannot wait to see the film, and my twin girls should be ready to sit through an entire feature by next summer.  What a wonderful graduation present from my MBA a theater experience with all of my ladies would be.

Wizards of the Coast Makes Virtual Table Announcement

Just prior to the release of the 4th edition of D&D, Wizards of the Coast promoted a number of computer based tools that would go live shortly after the release of the game in support of play.  It was one of the most exciting things about the build up and announcement, and the failure of Wizards to "deliver the goods" was one of the things that most fed into the Edition Wars that flamed through internet forums after 4e's release.

I have been a big fan of 4e since the get go, and run the Encounters program for a local game store, but even I have succumbed to the disappointment bug from time to time.  I wanted all those cool toys that Wizards "promised" me.

Today they sparked hope that they would be delivering the goods on one of the most anticipated of the gaming tools they promoted, the Virtual Table.  This computer application will help to speed up play at real tables and expands play opportunities for those who live far from other gamers.

From the initial screenshot, this is looking good.

If I could just get in on the beta...

Ryan Reynold's Green Lantern Preview...Two Words -- "Kilowog Woot!"

Some of my fondest memories are night time readings of the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League back when I was proving to her how wonderful comic books could be. The wonder of the Giffen/DeMatteis issues is that they presented the lives of super heroes in a way that comics had never done before, and hasn't really done since. We got to see the day to day dynamics of a super hero team. The Giffen/DeMatteis work was a combination comic book, sit com, action movie, and drama.

Wonderful stuff.

Among the joys of those books was a Green Lantern named Kilowog. Someone had the good sense to put him into the upcoming Green Lantern movie.

A 70s Chevy Van Mural Come to Life? Or...a Film Representation of a 70s D&D Campaign?

I just saw the Red Band trailer for Your Highness. The Danny McBride and James Franco fantasy follow up to Pineapple Express. Like Pineapple, Highness is a fusion of stoner jokes and genre film making -- in this case Fantasy.

I don't know what to think of this kind of movie. I've never been big on the Cheech and Chong style of comedy, even when well done. As amusing as parts of this film look, the pot joke in the film's title, like most stoner jokes, is as stale as hard tack left over from the Civil War. Get it? "Your Highness?" ahuh ahuh

I like comedy aimed at shock value a great deal, but I don't like stale comedy. After all of the anti-Prop 19 editorials published this year, I've had enough stale pot jokes. Hopefully this film will have something more to offer. There are glimpses that it might.

That said... I have a compulsion to watch every Fantasy film ever made and I have a crush on Zooey Deschanel.

I can say that this trailer reminds me of the gaming sessions that one of my best friend's older brothers used to have in the late 70s and early 80s. Those sessions were a gonzo fusion of Led Zeppelin, Tolkien, and Thongor.

Raging Phoenix -- Does it Rise to the Occassion?

Martial Arts films are continually attempting to push boundaries. Sometimes, especially in Wuxia films, the boundaries they are pushing are visually and narratively artistic. Typically, the boundaries being pushed relate to the sophistication of the choreography and the danger (perceived or otherwise) of the stunts being performed by the martial artists and stunt men and women working on the production.

A quick look at the final battle sequence in Five Deadly Venoms versus the end fight in Flash Point provides a nice demonstration of just how far martial arts films have pushed their performers to provide exciting viewing experiences. Five Deadly Venoms may be the more coherent and entertaining film overall, but the final fight scene in Flash Point is more than worth the price of admission.

Throughout the 80s and 90s, Hong Kong was the place to look for exciting and adventurous action. When some of the HK talent migrated into Hollywood, there were those who argued that HK had lost some of its edge and looked for new markets to find the next big thing in action and excitement. These cinephiles didn't have to look very far. Thailand has been producing entertaining action fare for decade, but the charismatic personalities of Tony Jaa and Jeeja Yanin have attracted an audience of loyal fans. Both Jaa and Jeeja have demonstrated a strong work ethic and a willingness to follow in the tradition of boundary pushing action. I would argue that Donnie Yen's past few films, with their breakneck pace, are a reaction to the fast paced action of the Thai productions.

While martial arts films are continuously attempting to push boundaries, there are those rare films that push them so far as to redefine genre expectations. Jackie Chan's performances in Wheels on Meals and Armor of God and Jet Li's Bodyguard from Beijing and Fist of Legend quickly leap to mind as just these kinds of films. Jeeja Yanin's latest film Raging Phoenix is attempting to be one of these genre redefining films. Raging Phoenix combines Muay Thai with break dancing and drunken fighting in an attempt to create a visually dynamic action style.

Raging Phoenix has a fairly straightforward plot. Young woman barely escapes being kidnapped by the Jaguar gang of human traffickers when she is rescued by an opponent of the Jaguar gang. The woman's rescuer becomes her martial arts trainer and she joins a rag tag band of people who have lost loved ones to the gang. The members of the band hope to put an end to the Jaguar gang's reign of terror and to rescue the fiance of one of the band's members from the clutches of evil. There isn't much new in the story's formula, but if well executed it can be an entertaining ride.

Sadly, Raging Phoenix -- at least in the subtitled American release -- doesn't convey the narrative of the film particularly well. Time jumps come at seemingly random intervals and the audience seems to be expected to fill in the narrative gaps in the story. This isn't a difficult task, but as in Ong Bok's American theatrical release, it can be annoying as it creates a stutter in the storytelling.

What was particularly frustrating about the stuttering narrative was that the film did in fact have an interesting twist on the main premise. The Jaguar gang is kidnapping women, not for ransom or to sell into prostitution or organ "donation," instead they are harvesting their victims tears in order to create a pheromone based perfume -- perfume made from the tears of the hopeless. It's not just any perfume either, the tears of the hopeless apparently add to the martial and physical prowess of those who use them.

The stilted transition of scenes is additionally frustrating due to the fact that the acting performances by Jeeja and Kazoo are pretty solid. Certainly the performances are theatrical and melodramatic at times, but when they need to be they are quite powerful. The actors portray their emotional losses well, and the film would have been better served if it had all the necessary filler scenes.

But enough of the narrative and its merits. How well does Raging Phoenix achieve its goal of pushing the boundaries of martial arts action through the inclusion of break dancing based techniques? In short, not so well. Overall, the martial arts in the film is quite exciting. Of particular merit is the battle between Jeeja Yanin and Marc Ngai Hoang. There are some great fight scenes in the film, but whenever a character inserts a "hip hop" move the fight seems to slow down and the choreography becomes readily apparent. The break dancing elements typically shatter the illusion that you are viewing anything remotely spontaneous.

Thankfully, the hip hop insertions are minimal and when the fights get really rolling the fluidity of drunken Muay Thai take over. The flying elbows and knees are impressive, and the damage they deal to opponents is believable.

Had the film eliminated the hip hop, focused on the action, and added some narrative filler scenes, this could have been an instant classic. As it is, it is a film that I will fast forward to a couple of fight scenes just to experience them again. None of those fight scenes come close to matching the brutal dynamism of Flash Point.

D&D Essentials Continues to Impress -- Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms

Last week I picked up my copy of the latest D&D Essentials book, Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms. Like its predecessor, Heroes of the Fallen Lands, Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms is meant to be an evergreen starter book for people interested in playing the Dungeons and Dragons role playing game. Where Fallen Lands featured rules for characters who fall within the four "classic" D&D archetype classes (Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, and Thief) and major races (Human, Halfling, Elf, and Dwarf) that made up the core of the Moldvay Basic Set when D&D was young, Forgotten Kingdoms introduces "classic" archetypes from the pages of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (Paladin, Ranger, Druid, and Ranger) game with one addition -- the Hexblade -- as well as a host of new races (Dark Elves, Half Orcs, Dragonborn, and Half-Elves).

Both Fallen Lands and Forgotten Kingdoms are excellent products that accomplish the tasks they are attempting. The first three chapters of each book is identical and provides an overview of the basic mechanics of the D&D game system. If someone wants to play D&D as a player, all they need is one of these books and they are good to go. Their taste in archetypes can be used to determine which book they wish to buy, or they can buy both books which is my recommendation. None of the class builds in the books exist in other books and the classes are presented in a way that is easy to understand and learn.

But one question lingers at the back of many players brains.

What exactly are the Fallen Lands and Forgotten Kingdoms that are referred to in the titles and how do they relate to the characters and races presented in the books?

This is where the books truly shine. While the information is only hinted at in the flavor text throughout the books, after reading The Mark of Nerath I had a bit of an epiphany.

The "Fallen Kingdoms" are the recently fallen kingdoms of man, chief among them the Empire of Nerath. The Empire of Nerath was a strong empire that once ruled the dangerous area that makes up the Points of Light setting, but which fell victim to a curse due to a bargain that Nerath's founder, Morgath, entered into 500 years ago with Orcus the Lord of the Undead. As a recently memorable kingdom, having "fallen" within the past century, the character archetypes and races depicted are of the more mundane sort. Nerath was less fantastic than the kingdoms of the past and was filled with Fighters, Mages, Clerics, and Thieves. Elves (both Woodland and Fey), Dwarves, Humans, and Halflings walked its streets. These are the classes and races that the book presents to the characters.

The "Forgotten Kingdoms" of Arkoshia and Bael Turath collapsed long ago and their origins are lost and filled with mythical imagery. The Dragonborn Empire of Arkoshia was founded by those who sought to glorify Bahamut the Drakonic god of Honor and Duty. The land was filled with the stoic (in the philosophic sense) and sturdy Dragonborn and its Paladins are things of legend. Bael Turath was an Empire founded when a band of humans made a pact with Asmodeus, a pact that magically cursed those humans to become Tieflings, in order to attain glory. The events that collapsed these great empires are "forgotten," but their legacy remains. "Forgotten Kingdoms" presents classes and races that are more "magical" and alien to the world, or that echo those ancient empires. For example, today's Essential Paladins are no longer able to summon the wondrous and magical Holy Steeds that Paladins of the ancient kingdoms could summon. The modern Paladin can only summon an echo of that great ability by channeling the spirits of those glorious Holy Steeds into the mundane beasts they and their companions ride into battle. The powers of the epic Paladins are lost to time, but the residual essence remains.

I am mesmerized by the presentation. My only critique is how this relationship must be trepanned out of the text rather than openly stated. I remember the old AOL Greyhawk group, where we would mine for minor details in each D&D module to find a kernel of information about the World of Greyhawk. These two Essential rulebooks are filled with nuggets that hint at the glory of the Points of Light setting and the Nentir Vale.

I hope they give us some more explicit information, as I am enjoying the subtle hints.

Ultramarines DVD in the Mail

This past weekend I ordered a copy of the limited edition Ultramarines Warhammer 40k animated movie. I found out about the limited edition of the film at the last minute, but the second trailer makes the film look remarkable. If it lives up to its presentation, this could be the best rpg/wargame based movie of all time -- a title currently held by Fantasy Flight Games' Midnight Chronicles.

Insert Quarter, Gets Rejected! -- LITERAL TRON: LEGACY Trailer

I know this was posted five months ago, and that everyone else knows about Tobuscus, but I found this amusing. Especially the quote, "Insert Quarter, Gets Rejected!"



I am so excited about TRON: LEGACY, even with all the mockitude.

Gamma World Supers -- Out of the Box

I mentioned in my recent Gamma World review that the games mechanics felt very much like a super hero role playing game to me and that my current GW game was being run with a post-apocalyptic super hero theme. In my world, the mutant heroes have decided to pick up the legacy of the heroic legends of the Ancients and defend the defenseless. Consider it a Legion of Superheroes meets Ralph Bakshi's Wizards.

But the game could be run as a straight modern super hero game straight out of the box with minimal changes to keep the tone heroic and to avoid comedic randomness. I will make a list of recommendations and follow this with two examples, one a randomly created character and the other a "modeled" character based on an existing superhero.

• Interpret the origins broadly. Look at what the powers and abilities affect the world around them and use the descriptive text second.
• To simulate super strong characters do the following. First, use skill checks to simulate lifting capability and base lifting cars etc on an Athletics check (scaled by level). "Hard" difficulties for 10 tons or so and as per page 95, "a super-challenging" check for 100 tons. Require that the character be themed super strong to gain the benefit. Second, use the weapons table on page 74 as your ally. There are no rules for disarming in GW and who says that a "Heavy Two-Handed Melee Weapon" isn't a haymaker? Third, use the abstract armor rules to help you simulate characters like a certain rock covered blue eyed strongman. He's got innate Heavy Armor. It's simple, abstract, and freeform. Go with it.
• Speaking of that weapons chart, don't be afraid to have it simulate all kinds of super hero attacks. A patriotic shield wielding brawler obviously is using a light one handed ranged weapon. Since the game assumes you "can find or make new projectiles as needed," you can simply rule that the shield returning to his hand is automatic. The "ricochet" ability of said patriot might require a power, but the basic throw doesn't.
• Take off your Hero System Microscopic Glasses. Don't be afraid to be abstract instead of granular. Rather than requiring a specific rule be crafted for your specific action, modify broad rules to specific applications.

Now for a couple of examples.

Random Hero

Plant/Yeti

Interpreting Plant -- Plant Characters have a high Con (18), a bonus to overcharging biological powers, are trained in nature, have high Fort, are vulnerable to fire, and once an encounter can damage and slow all enemies in a large burst.

Interpreting Yeti -- Yeti are Strong (16) as secondary, are also trained in nature, have a bonus to AC for being tough, resist cold, and can rake with their claws once an encounter, which slows their opponent.

Got it...

Doctor Chillbourne

Doctor Thaddeus Chadbourne was a undergraduate student assisting a professor who researching the polar ice caps when he came upon an amulet in one of his deep core samples. Upon examining the amulet Thaddeus body was altered. He acquired the ability to generate cold and manipulate the water in the air around him to create armor and weaponry. He also discovered that his body structure had become more hardy. He was now super strong and resistant to cold, but alterations in his body make up have made him vulnerable to heat based attacks.

STRENGTH: 16 (+3)

• Atheletics -- +4

CONSTITUTION: 18 (+4)
DEXTERITY: 8 (-1)

• Acrobatics +0
• Stealth +0

INTELLIGENCE: 11 (+0)

• Conspiracy +1
• Mechanics +1
• Science +1

WISDOM: 9 (-1)

• Insight +0
• Nature +8
• Perception +0

CHARISMA: 11 (+0)

• Interaction +1

HP: 30 Movement: 5 (Heavy Ice Sheath)
AC: 19 (Heavy Ice Sheath)
FORT: 17
REFL: 11
WILL: 11
RESIST: Cold 10, Vuln Fire 5

ATTACKS (Interpreted from Weapons on Page 74)
Blast of Cold (Heavy One Handed Ranged)
Intense Cold Wave (Heavy Two Handed Ranged)
"Ice" Claws (Heavy One Handed Melee)

ARMOR
Heavy Ice Sheath (Heavy Armor)

POWERS
Chillwave (Encounter as per Lashing Creepers)
Devastating Ice Claw Blow (Encounter as per Big Claws)

ALPHA POWER
BRAIN FREEZE (As per LMAO Base Card)

OMEGA TECH
AMULET OF NEGESTH (As per Flash Neurojack)

I have left out some of the specifics of how the powers work, I want you to buy the game after all, but I am ready to play this character. As you can see, it didn't take much to adapt existing power titles based on their effects. Lashing Creepers does damage and then slows the opponent. That seems like a wave of cold to me. His Athletics check, and Yeti Origin (one of the super strong origins), will let him lift 10 tons on a 13 or better and more on higher rolls, but topping out at 20 tons if I choose a +5 to skill check for double the weight rule with categories doubling with each level increase as well.

Now for the "modeled" character:

THE HUMAN TORCH
SPEEDSTER/PYROKINETIC

STRENGTH: 10 (+0)

• Atheletics -- +1

CONSTITUTION: 14 (+2)
DEXTERITY: 18 (+4)

• Acrobatics +9 (Flying Tricks Only)
• Stealth +5

INTELLIGENCE: 10 (+0)

• Conspiracy +1
• Mechanics +1
• Science +1

WISDOM: 16 (+3)

• Insight +4
• Nature +4
• Perception +4

CHARISMA: 16 (+3)

• Interaction +8

HP: 26 Movement: 8
AC: 18 (Flame On!)
FORT: 13
REFL: 17
WILL: 14
RESIST: Fire 10

ATTACKS (Interpreted from Weapons on Page 74)
Fiery Energy Blast (Light One Handed Ranged)
Double Fiery Blast (Light Two Handed Ranged)
Fiery Punch (Light One Handed Melee)

ARMOR
Flame On! (Light Armor)

POWERS
Fiery Aura (see page 49, house rule auras can be turned off per 4e standard)
Mobile Assault (Encounter - as per Quick Attack)
Intense Flame (At Will as per Fiery Flare)

ALPHA POWERS (Deck of 7 Selected Cards, Can only use 1 at a time):
WALL OF FIRE x1 (as per Force Field Generation)
FLIGHT x2 (as per Fire Wings)
ENHANCED FLAME AURA x2 (As per Shimmershield)
SMALL NOVA BLAST x1 (as per Body of Light)
LARGE NOVA BLAST x1 (as per Explode!)



OMEGA TECH
None Selected

I had to use cards from the booster to do this particular modeling of Johnny Storm, but I could have gone a different route to simulate his powers had I wanted. I think that this looks like a highly playable character. He won't be flying in every encounter, though he will be flying in about 30% of them and the odds increase as he goes up in level. I don't foresee adding more Alpha Powers as he levels up and with eventually being able to use 3 alpha powers at the same time, he will be able to fly in most encounters. That's if I use the "core" rules and make the players change Alphas after each encounter and on a roll of 1. House rules could guarantee the use of core powers.

My thoughts are that super heroes tend to have more powers than they actually use in any given encounter, so it isn't too big a deal for Johnny to only fly 30% of the time. Otherwise, I'd have given him the Hawkoid type which has a flight speed to start with.

Gaming Paper Launches Patronage Project

Erik Bauer and the good folks at Gaming Paper are currently asking for patrons for the first product in their Gaming Paper Adventures line of combination map packs/rpg adventures.

This first product features the cartography of industry stalwart Christopher West who has created a giant map for the "Citadel of Pain," and an adventure written by Lou Argresta and Rone Barton.

Erik Bauer has found a way to use his industry competitive advantage, the production of high quality paper gaming maps, to differentiate his rpg adventure offerings. A complaint I have about many modern adventures is their lack of "out of the box" playmats. Some gamers prefer to keep their adventuring purely within their imagination, and I have participated in many successful campaigns that did so. The gaming group I have been playing with for the past 10 years isn't one of those groups. We have a combination of strategy game and eurogame veterans in addition to the pure role players in my group. All of the players like to role play out narrative scenes, but the majority of my players feel most comfortable when they have a nice batch of terrain in front of them during battles. This is one of the main reasons I own so many battle tile style products. I am constantly in need of terrain and maps to use in my adventures.

I am also very busy and rely heavily on prepublished adventures. Sometimes it can become irritating inventorying my tiles/maps to make sure I have the right ones on hand during the session since too few modules provide robust maps for use during play -- Paizo and Wolfgang Baur I'm looking at you.

This product addresses that issue, but it has one added bonus. The map tiles are designed to be GEOMORPHIC! How "old school" is that? What this means that I can use them even if I don't run the module they are associate with because any tile should be able to attach to any other tile. This expands the usefulness of the product to include those who need maps, but don't run published adventures.

I could continue with my thoughts on the product, but I think I'll let the Huckster in Chief (Erik Bauer) sell you on the merits himself.



Make sure that you support the project. I put a widget along the right hand column of the blog where you can help Kickstart the project.

Reviewing the New Gamma World -- The Adventures of Gamma Terra's Super Team Go!

This week Wizards of the Coast releases a new edition of the perennial "Gonzo Post-Apocalyptic" Role Playing Game Gamma World.  This edition will mark the seventh incarnation of the game, and the 6th version by TSR/Wizards.  In the 2000s, Wizards of the Coast licensed the game out to White Wolf Publishing who released a number of books that presented the Gamma World setting under the d20 rules set.  The newest edition of Gamma World uses the new 4th Edition of Dungeons and Dragons as its foundation, and demonstrates the flexibility of that rules set.

Historically, the Gamma World game has fluctuated between editions which have significant similarities to the TSR/Wizards flagship game (D&D) and those that have their own unique system.  The first and second edition of Gamma World were close enough for government work, and the 1st Edition AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide provided conversion rules that would let dungeon masters use Gamma World monster in their D&D games and vice versa.

The 3rd edition of Gamma World featured an Action Table mechanic that was used in a number of non-D&D TSR games at the time -- including Marvel, Indiana Jones, Conan, and Star Frontiers' Zebulon's Guide.  The fourth edition of Gamma World saw a return to D&D based mechanics, but the fifth edition of the game had mechanics based in TSR's Alternity Science Fiction role playing game.  Alternity was a quality game, that had a couple of high quality settings like Dark*Matter and Gamma World, that had the bad fortune of being released during a time when TSR's product lines were so extended that they were cannibalizing TSR's market share -- one of many problems TSR faced at the time.

For the sixth edition Wizards of the Coast licensed the property to White Wolf Publishing's "Sword & Sorcery" studio.  That edition of the game used the d20 Modern mechanics (those rules were an adaptation of the 3rd edition D&D mechanics) and was published under a d20 System license.  The game received some good support and like other editions of the game has its share of fans.

That's enough history for the moment.  I'll be doing a series of posts covering the various editions throughout the month.  That brings us to the newest edition which hits the shelves in its wide release today.

As mentioned earlier, the latest edition of Gamma World uses a stripped down version of the 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules.  Gamma World's 160 page rule book provides all of the rules that you need to have an entertaining post-apocalyptic game experience, but this experience can be extended if you supplement the rule book with the 4th Edition Rules Compendium, as will be made clear as we move forward.

First Impression

As soon as I opened the box I new I was going to enjoy this game, but not for the reasons I would have assumed.  As readers of this blog know, I am a sucker for super hero role playing games and have made it my life's work to own a copy of every super hero rpg ever published.  Past editions of Gamma World, like this edition, featured mutations that afflicted the post apocalyptic player characters, but those mutations never quite equated with "super powers" in my mind.  This edition of Gamma World, on the other hand, screams to be played as a post-apocalyptic super hero game. From the character creation systems "origins" mechanic to the incorporation of "Alpha Mutations," this game comes closer than any earlier edition to being a supers game.  This supers connection is enhanced by the "What is Human?" sidebar on page 57 and the discussion of "Reconciling Contrary Origins" on page 35 and the themes of the origins themselves.  For some, that will be a bad thing.  For me, it is a blessing.

Essentials got me to play 4e, but this Gonzo Post-Apocalyptic presentation will likely keep me playing that system.

The Setting

This game has one crazy post-apocalyptic setting.  As their Introduction describes it:

In the fall of 2012, scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland, embarked on a new series of high-energy experiments.  No one knows exactly what they were attempting to do, but a little after 3 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon came the Big Mistake.  Something unexpected happened, and in the blink of an eye, many possible universes all condensed into a single reality.

In some of these universes, little had changed; it didn't make a difference which team won the 2011 World Series, for example.  In other universes, there were more important divergences:  The Gray Emissary, who was carrying gifts of advanced technology, wasn't shot down over Roswell in 1947, the Black Death didn't devastate the known world in the 14th century, the dinosaurs didn't die out, Nikolai Tesla did conquer the world with a robot army, and so on. The Cold War went nuclear in 83 percent of all of the possible universes, and in 3 percent of the possible universes, the French unloaded their entire nuclear arsenal on the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, because it had to be done.  When reality stabilized again, the familiar Earth of the 21st century was replaced by one formed from many different realities.

The year is now 2162, (or 151, or 32,173, or Six Monkey Slap-Slap, depending on your point of view).  It's been a hundred and fifty years since the Big Mistake, and the earth is a very different place...

This world features mutated Badgers, Giant Cockroach-Yeti Hybrids, Flying Plants, Fusion Guns, Pick Up Trucks, Draft Horses, Alien Technology, Felinoid Rat Swarms, and random holes in reality.

It is desperately in need of heroes.

The Rules

The game uses a pared down version of the 4th Edition D&D game mechanics.  During character creation, players roll on a chart twice to determine their primary and secondary "origins."

The character's origin determines the value of the character's primary and secondary statistics, thus guaranteeing that at least some of the characters statistics and powers will line up with regard to usefulness.  All other statistics are determined by rolling 3d6 like in "old school" D&D.

As might be imagined, the character origins might not always line up with what one first imagines.  What does a Hawkoid/Plant Hybrid look like exactly?  The rules provide some guidelines for reconciling these difference, but the key concept to take away is that what the powers do, and how those relate, is more important when reconciling origins than the origins' names.  Our Hawkoid/Plant hybrid has a sonic screech, the ability to fly, and an ability that damages and slows all opponents within a small radius.  Hmm...that sounds like Banshee of the X-Men.  Players should feel free to redefine the "special effect" of an origins power set to assist in creating a theme for the character.  The power that slows and damages opponents is described as "Lashing Creepers," but there is no reason it couldn't be an alternate scream effect that affects enemies inner ear.

Combat results and Skill use outcomes are determined using the standard 4e mechanic.  A player rolls a d20, adds one or more modifiers, and compares that number to a target number.  If the roll is equal to or higher than the target, then the action succeeds.  Very simple.

Gamma World adds a ripple to the standard 4th Edition mechanical framework with its use of Alpha Mutation and Omega Tech cards.  In the rules as written, these cards add a random element to game that adds to the atmosphere of unpredictability in the setting.  Alpha Fluxes, and encounters with alternate realities, can occur at any moment which can cause new mutations to players' characters.  Omega Technology, devices and weapons left by the "Ancients," are old and neglected tech that is amazingly powerful but isn't very reliable in the long run.

Players can minimize the pure random nature of Alpha Mutations by purchasing booster decks that contain a Alpha and Omega cards.  These cards can be used to build character decks, typically 7 - 10 cards, that are used when the Alpha powers shift or when players discover Omega tech.  This allows players to assign powers that match their early themes and with some minor house rules strengthens possibility of playing Gamma World as a super hero game rather than as a post-apocalyptic game.

Some consumers balk at the collectible nature of the game thinking that the collectible aspect makes the game sillier than it would otherwise be.  The purchase of boosters is not a necessary activity to play a Gamma World game, the game is perfectly playable out of the box.  Contrary to assumptions, the cards lessen the silliness of the game by providing additional stability of powers that are available to characters.  The collectible cards won't be for everyone, some people will play the game and have a great time without them, but I am a big fan.  As a "completist," I would have preferred that Wizards sold the cards in sets rather than in booster packs, but that is a different conversation.

All I can say is that the card mechanic makes this edition of Gamma World a pretty good super hero game.

Game Play Experience

The first session of Gamma World that my group and I played last week was one of the most entertaining gaming sessions we have had.  It ranks up there with our Eberron, Greyhawk, and Necessary Evil experiences.  This game is fun.  It plays quick and is easy to pick up.  The character creation is fast, but inspires the imagination.  The shifting Alpha powers can get a little silly, but as we shift to player built decks this will become mitigated.

Our group decided early on to play the game as a super hero game in a gonzo post-apocalyptic setting.  Yes, civilization is shattered.  Yes, reality fluctuates.  Yes, there are cannibalistic mutant humanoid chickens.

But this is a world in need of heroes, and my players are stepping up to the plate.  The team is named Super Team Go! and is inspired by the heroic visual narrative archives of the ancients -- stories of heroes like Speed Racer, The Stig, and The Super Friends.  They vigilantly defend the residents of Cul Ity in Sou Cal.  Their ongoing battle against tyranny and villainy begins with a foray into the Hollywood Hills where they seek to find the source of the sinister attack robots that siege the fortress gates of Muggem Dios, the Keep of Cul Ity.

Their roster includes the following heroes:

Paul Cano --Pyrokineticist/Mindbreaker.  In his White Alpine Stars armor and wearing his Stig helmet to conceal his features, Paul is the current leader of the team.  His fiery temper in the face of injustice motivates the group.

Harvey Glenn -- Plant/Hawkoid.  Harvey is the team's frontline fighter.  He is agile, tough, and wise.  His deep connection to nature allows him to call upon the spirits of the air and the woods.

Wendel Heckler -- Mindbreaker/Electrokinetic.  Wendel is the cautious type.  When combat begins he fires on the enemy with his trusty mini-autocannon and only after they are softened up does he enter the fray to bludgeon his foes with his trusty "transformer on a stick."  Those who think he is a pure combatant are quickly surprised as they feel the brunt of his psychic assault.

Francis Speed -- Speedster/Seismic.  Francis is the descendant of the famous NASCAR/F1 driver Scott Speed, an Ancient hero from Sou Cal.  He embodies Ancient Sou Cal culture.  He is always on the go, but likes to shake things up every now and then.

I cannot wait to see what this group encounters next, and will blog about their first encounters soon.  Needless to say, their early Alpha powers included Wings, Tentacles, a Proboscis, a Polar Aura, Hyper-Balance, and the ability to speak with dead.

This last power led to their recruiting of their handy "valet" Stiff.  Every super team needs a valet after all.

RPG Now Supports Another Good Cause with a Great Offer

PDF publisher RPGNow has added a Pakistan Flood Relief Bundle to their regular offerings. As RPGNow points out:

Record monsoon rains caused flooding that left almost 2,000 people dead and 20 million homeless. Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani estimates crop losses at $3.3 billion, total damage of about $7 billion. People displaced by the flooding that began at the end of July are still living in temporary shelters, such as schools, or in tents. Doctors Without Borders continues to provide medical care, clean water, and relief materials.

During major floods, medical care is a central concern. Please donate to the cause.

As a bonus, in return for your donation a number of publishers are offering their products. In all, you get $700 worth of product for a $25 donation.

Among the products offered are:

Magnum Opus' excellent Dragon Warriors RPG
Adamant Entertainment's remarkable Icons Super Hero RPG
James Maliszewski's haunting module The Cursed Chateau
Pelgrane Press' terrifying Fear Itself

Those products alone would be worth the $25 price tag, but the bundle is filled with other gaming goodness.

A Quick Illustration of the History of Board Games from Senet to D&D

Via: OnlineDating.org

Upcoming Blu-Ray "Back to the Future" Release Has Eric Stoltz Footage

Ever since I first watched Some Kind of Wonderful, I have been an Eric Stoltz fan. I have known for years that he was the actor originally cast to play Marty McFly in Back to the Future, and I've always wondered what his performance was like.

According to The Hollywood Reporter the new Blu-Ray release of Back to the Future will finally answer that question.

Now...if only I had a Blu-Ray player...

First Impression of the New Gamma World

I am in love!

Sweet Christmas!

Can't wait to play this tomorrow!

...why is the book so shabbily bound?

More will come next week after a proper playing.

Some Recommendations from Poul Anderson

Some time ago, Poul Anderson wrote a famous essay providing advice for would be authors of heroic fantasy. The title of the essay was "On Thud and Blunder" and that title became a descriptor for an entire sub-genre of mediocre and derivative heroic fantasy stories. In written form, "Thud and Blunder" tales would include the John Norman Gor novels (though those have additional issues as well), the Lin Carter Thongor tales, and the vast majority of Conan pastiches. In film, almost every heroic fantasy ever made -- with some recent exceptions -- falls into the "Thud and Blunder" camp. Kull, the Conan movies, Krull, The Sword and the Sorcerer and countless other films fall into this category. The recent Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies (among others) have managed to avoid the syndrome, as has the wonderful independent film The Midnight Chronicles by Fantasy Flight Games. One imagines that the upcoming Conan film will be no different from its predecessors in this way. It seems that whenever anyone writes a Conan story (no matter the medium), they use the old Frazetta covers as inspiration rather than Howard's work.

As an aside, Anderson mentions DeCamp as a fantasy author who managed to avoid writing tales of "Thud and Blunder." Those who are only familiar with DeCamp's Conan pastiches might find such an assertion baffling, as DeCamp's tales of Howard's barbarian are particularly bad, but those readers would be well served to read further into the library of DeCamp's work. Sprague was quite a wordsmith and when he wasn't busy unfairly damaging the writing reputations of talented pulp era writers, he was writing wonderfully fun and imaginative fiction. One might attribute the degrading of past authors by a talented author of one generation as a necessary "canonicide" by which one generation of writers asserts its talent and authority, were it not from the genuine pleasure that DeCamp seems to derive from reading the fiction of Howard and Lovecraft.

Adding to bewilderment in this regard is DeCamp's contemporary Lin Carter. Carter also enjoyed and promoted the virtues of heroic fantasy, and compiled wonderful collections of older fantasy writings. Carter's own attempts, like the aforementioned Thongor series, are nigh unbearable to read. Yet Carter's passionate, and articulate, introductions to his collections demonstrate that he could be a capable writer.

Maybe there is something about the heroic fantasy pastiche that brings out the worst writer in all of us, kind of like buddy heist movies can bring out the worst in screenwriters.

Back to "On Thud and Blunder" though...

The key tenant of advice that Anderson, who was a skilled author of heroic fantasy, gives to prospective authors is the need for verisimilitude in the presentation. Certainly fantasy tales will violate many of the laws of nature, but they should seem to take place in living and breathing worlds. Anderson provides several ideas for areas where authors might look to increase the realism of their world and the quality of their fiction. He recommends that authors think about the physical aspects of the environment (what lighting would really be like for example), the real politics, the role of religion, the realistic use of weaponry, and/or the lives of the common classes when they approach a fantasy tale.

When one thinks about it, the best fantasy stories are those that do just that. What draws me to George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy? His portrayal of political relationships. What draws me to Michael Moorcock's Elric saga? The living nature of the metaphysics and religion of the tales. Elric's actions have consequences and the religion of his people is a "living" thing -- quite literally. Tolkien was a wonderful practitioner of mythopoesis. Even when Tolkien's tales lacked "action," they contained deep realism.

Anderson's brief essay should be required reading for any fantasy author, and for most Dungeon Masters as well. Think about how much better your role playing game sessions would be if they took place in a living world. I often think that James Maleziewski's rejection of the "narrative" module model of rpgs, is that he wants to have room for a deep verisimilitude that is often included in "geographically" based adventures and lacking in "narrative" ones.

My only criticism of the Anderson piece are his uses of Society for Creative Anachronism activities as proxy for any kind of historical representation. These events have themselves become as divergent from the reality they seek to recreate as anything else. When one, as Anderson does, begins discussing chainmail constructed of hanger wire as analogous to real chainmail it is easy to see how the comparisons can begin to fail. Add to that modern metallurgy, which creates lighter and stronger metals, and the errors only begin to compound. SCA comparisons aren't useless, but they shouldn't be viewed as "accurate simulations" any more than an episode of "Deadliest Warrior" or a wikipedia article. Members of the SCA aren't typically Andre Marek who attempt to live their entire life as if they were in the middle ages. Speaking of Andre Marek, the Timeline film is a perfect example of how you can take a book which isn't "Thud and Blunder" and transform it into a "Thud and Blunder" tale in another medium.

I'd like to re-assert though that if you want to write fantasy, or if you are looking for game master advice, Anderson's "On Thud and Blunder" is must reading.

Yogi Bear (2010) -- It will likely annoy me, but my daughters will love it.

Even by the sneak preview, I can tell that my daughters will be enraptured by the upcoming Yogi Bear movie. The animation on the bear looks pretty good, and it has just the right amount of slapstick to appeal to them.

The Warrior's Way (2010) Cowboys and Ninjas! My Life is Now Complete.

The Warrior's Way looks like a combination of Once Upon a Time in China and America, Chushingura, Lone Wolf and Cub, and Ninja Assassin with just a touch of The Quick and the Dead.

All it is missing is pirates, dinosaurs, and zombies.

I am so jazzed.