Reality Blurs Following in Paizo Footsteps with Agents of Oblivion Beta

While the news isn't new, it is well worth repeating. This past June, Reality Blurs announced they were releasing a pdf of the Beta version of their Agents of Oblivion Player's Guide for the Savage World's game system.

The Agents of Oblivion setting fills a nice gap in the roleplaying game marketplace. The setting combines modern espionage with elements of horror to create an exciting gaming environment. The vast majority of horror roleplaying games ask the following question, "what happens when everyday people encounter the horrors from the beyond?" Agents of Oblivion, like Pelgrane Press' excellent Esoterrorists, asks, "what happens when extraordinarily skilled individuals encounter horrors from the beyond?"

These games navigate the waters of the "action horror" genre, a genre that presents unique challenges to writers and game masters. It's hard to create the tension required to maintain an atmosphere of horror when those combating the horror are skilled at what they do, but that is a necessary component of horror games and stories. One need only watch a season of "Supernatural" to see some of the challenges the action horror genre doles out to writers. Week to week the episodes alternate between the deadly serious and the comedic, and when the episodes are serious the stakes are usually extremely high.

Raising the stakes is one way to maintain that tension. The higher the stakes, the more likely we are willing to believe that the Winchester brothers must pay some cost in blood and sanity in order to save the day.

Using comedic relief is another way -- believe it or not. When writing a comedic episode or adventure, the writer knows that he/she can "turn it up to 11." The risks to the characters may be lessened to some degree, but the limits of what can occur become limitless because you don't need to worry if your horror element accidentally becomes parody or farce. If it does, it only adds to the flames of fun. The light-hearted elements also make the tense moments, or the "gotcha" moments, a little more visceral due to the contrast. One doesn't want to over use humor, as it quickly can become silly, but it is a tool that should be incorporated in action horror.

Another way to increase the underlying horrific tension, and the key way to do it in a black ops vs. eldritch horror game, is to raise the stakes by threatening third party characters. The characters -- children, spouses, teachers, important politicians -- must be three dimensional characters to give their deaths consequence, but if you can achieve that end then it becomes easy to maintain tension. Certainly the players, or the viewers of a show like Supernatural, know that the protagonist's lives aren't as at risk as they would be in a Lovecraft story (or a Call of Cthulhu game session), but they should know that their characters are capable of failure. And if they fail to save someone worth while, that can create a memory that lasts well beyond the campaign.

Every now and then it is nice to step away from the traditional Epic Fantasy roleplaying game, or the hopeless despair of a game like Call of Cthulhu, and an action horror game like Agents of Oblivion can fill that slot nicely. Especially when it is free.

Hulu Recommendation Friday: Fright Night

It wasn't quite the TWILIGHT or NEW MOON for Gen X movie goers, but it was a rollicking good time. FRIGHT NIGHT manages the careful balance between comedy horror and teen dramedy. Think of the film as Ferris Bueller meets the Hammer films catalog and you won't be far off. I also find it hard to imagine that a franchise like BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER could have come to fruition without FRIGHT NIGHT.



Roddy McDowall is wonderful as the combination Van Helsing and local horror movie host -- like Zomboo. More to the point as local horror movie host Van Helsing poseur who is called to combat the forces of Darkness to help a teen whose neighbor happens to be a vampire.

There's a phenomenon in horror films that I haven't written about before, and it's the underlying cause of the reason people tend to open doors when the audience knows better. Essentially, it's the fact that most characters who are in horror movies believe that they are in the real world. You know, where supernatural stuff doesn't really exist. One way that one can begin to categorize horror movies, and their characters, is how meta-aware they are that they are in a horror story.

For example, the only real difference between your typical Lovecraftian professor and Manly Wade Wellman's John Thunstone is that Thunstone knows at the beginning that he is in a horror story and he acts accordingly. In Lovecraft's horror, the breakdown of the psyche of the protagonist is often triggered at the point they realize they are in a horror tale -- this is usually the case in horror movies as well. In Wellman's Thunstone tales, Thunstone's awareness allows him to combat evil in ways that others wouldn't. One can also compare the characters in "Supernatural" to characters in most other horror films/television shows. The Winchester's meta-awareness is what sets them apart and enables them to avoid opening doors best left closed.

FRIGHT NIGHT plays with this concept a lot, and has fun with it. At first, only Charley knows he's living in a horror movie. Eventually, Roddy McDowall finds out, and though his character should know how to defeat evil the tension between real vs. supernatural makes him less effective at combating evil than he would otherwise be.

Sadly, the film cannot be viewed as an embedded film on a non-Hulu site, but it can still be viewed at Hulu at the link provided. I don't think I like these "Crackle" hosted items on Hulu because they cannot be embedded.

Click on the link or the picture and have a good time.

Cthulhu 101 by Kenneth Hite -- Go Buy It Now!!!

I have mentioned Kenneth Hite's works before on Cinerati. He's written everything from Children's books and roleplaying game products to Fortean magazine columns and "must read" companion books to the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft -- he's also written an illustrated guide to U.S. History.

Hite's latest venture requires all of the skills highlighted in Hite's wide ranging bibliography. Cthulhu 101 by Kenneth Hite is one of the most informative and entertaining For Dummies-eque books I have ever read, and it is the first in what will be a line of "101 Books" by Hite's Atomic Overmind Press. The book some how manages to be a delightful and light-hearted introduction to the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft suitable for the completely uninitiated, while also containing enough in jokes to satisfy a wide array of Lovecraft fans.

Do you have no knowledge of Cthulhu and H.P. Lovecraft? That's okay because Hite's informative and humorous tone will introduce you to the character and author in a way that piques interest without being a substitute for the experience. Hite deftly educates readers about Lovecraft, the Lovecraftian circle, and their place in modern horror fiction in bite sized content that reads like a fun conversation. Most sections begin with a question. For example, "Who is Cthulhu?" These questions are followed by a response, which may or may not be humorous. For the aforementioned question, the answer is a straightforward one:

"Cthulhu is a monstrous being invented by the author H.P. Lovecraft in the short story 'The Call of Cthulhu.' Lovecraft wrote the story in 1926, and Weird Tales magazine published it in 1928."

His answer to "I mean, what does Cthulhu look like?" is more humorous.

Are you a gamer who has played the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game, but want to know more about the character and author? This book is a great place to start and has a reading list in the back and directs readers to some of Hite's favorite stories. If you are an old D&D gamer who has a copy of the original Deities and Demigods, there is a nice in joke for you on page 49.

Have you read all of Lovecraft's writing, but are wondering what the best film based on Lovecraft's fiction is? He's got you covered. If you want to know which Lovecraftian films to avoid, Hite's got a pretty good list. This list contains Cthulhu Mansion, and Hite's description of the film is one of the funniest film reviews I have ever read -- "There is, in fact, a mansion in this movie. The rest is lies and theft."

Hite is a little hard on August Derleth, who is to Lovecraft as L. Sprague de Camp is to Robert E Howard, but is as fair to Derleth as any Lovecraft "purist" can be. This is to say, while Hite is critical of Derleth he makes sure to point out that one of the better Mythos tales -- "The Thing that Walked on the Wind" -- is a Derleth tale.

As an aside, I'm one of those who -- like the Cimmerian -- is more forgiving of de Camp than many of my fellow Robert E Howard fans. Maybe it's because for all that de Camp butchered and infantalized Conan, deC amp's Harold Shea stories are must reads for any fan of Fantasy literature.

Hite's prose is spot on throughout the book and the illustrations by Drew Pocza are a nice counterpoint to the information -- with one exception. While Pocza's black and white illustrations are well drawn and engaging, his cover does leave something to be desired. Pocza's digital colored Cthulhu on the cover lacks the charm of the interior illustrations.

Don't let the cover, printed in the villain colors* of purple and green, fool you. This book is a must own -- go buy it now!

* -- Green and Purple are the standard villain colors in four-color comic books. Think about all the iconic villains, particularly Marvel, and how many of them are green and purple themed.

Is Mel Gibson Preventing New "Fahrenheit 451" Film?

In an interview with Tor Books, Ray Bradbury enthusiastically discusses his desire to see Frank Darabont's adaptation of Bradbury's classic Fahrenheit 451 into a feature film completed -- but there seems to be a road block in the way. Mel Gibson owns the rights to make the Fahrenheit 451 film and isn't helping with the raising of funds for the film.



Is Gibson sitting on the film rights until he can have full control of the project? Does anyone know more information?

Sporadic Geek Update 11-17: Jess Hartley, Matt Forbeck, and Assault Girls

Here are a couple of items that caught my eye as I wandered the internet today:

• Jess Hartley has a good "One Geek to Another" column up today discussing "Networking and Cross-Promotion." Her site, and columns, are on my regular must read list. She is an inciteful veteran of the gaming industry who regularly shares tips for the aspiring game designer and reviewer.





• Tulkinghorn over at "The Hungry Ghost" pointed me toward what looks to be a combination of geek awesomeness -- ASSAULT GIRLS. A live action film with Big Guns, Kick Ass Women -- some with angel wings, Giant Sand Worms, all blended together through the Anime Transmogrifier.



• Reactor 88 has released a conceptual trailer for a film based on Matt Forbeck's excellent BRAVE NEW WORLD roleplaying game.



• Thanks to SF Signal, I discovered Manybooks.net who have public domain books which they have kindly translated into a number of formats...including Kindle.

Trailer for Clash of the Titans Remake Now Available

After watching the trailer, I am struck by a couple of things. First, Liam Neeson's depiction of Zeus exudes far more power than the Olivier version. Second, though the film seems to lack any claymation (which would be a nice homage to Harryhausen), the film is definitely showing Harryhausen's influence on special effects. They kept the Medusa design and the giant scorpions look straight out of a Harryhausen film. Third, it looks awesome. Fourth, like the original it seems to have thrown a lot of Greek mythology out the window.

Fifth, I cannot wait until March 26th.

Cthulhu Expert Kenneth Hite 's Stocking Stuffer Lovecraft -- Antarctic Express and Where the Deep Ones Are.

At the past two Gen Cons, Atlas Games has released a children's adaptation of a Cthulhu mythos story scripted by Cthulhu expert Kenneth Hite.

In 2008, Atlas Games release Where the Deep Ones Are written by Hite with art by Andy Hopp. Where the Deep Ones Are is a retelling of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" as transformed through the lens of Where the Wild Things Are.



In 2009, they released The Antarctic Express which took Lovecraft's classic At the Mountains of Madness and slightly changed the tale to match up with the recent holiday classic The Arctic Express. Express was illustrated by Christina Rodriguez.



The combination of Lovecraftian elements with children's stories is not one that would come naturally to the mind's of most people, but Kenneth Hite isn't most people. For years, Hite wrote a column entitled "Suppressed Transmission" ("Of course you know about the Suppressed Transmission") where he demonstrated both a vast catalog of knowledge and an ability to tie seemingly unrelated subjects together with a deft writing hand. When he ceased writing the column for Pyramid Online, the internet lost one of the best post-Fortean modern Fortean columns ever written. Hite is also a great advocate for the independent roleplaying game scene and a dyed in the wool Lovecraftian -- who apparently also shares a love of children's stories.

Hite is the only person I can think of who could have created Where the Deep Ones Are and The Antarctic Express to show us what you would get if you combined Charles Fort, H. P. Lovecraft, and Maurice Sendak.

I am of two minds with regard to what I think of the books themselves.

As a fan of Lovecraftania and products that combine nostalgia for ones childhood with geek elements, I think these books are magnificent. They certainly belong in the book case of any fan of H. P. Lovecraft, or of anyone who has a quirky/cynical sense of humor. Hite is quite a capable writer and Michelle Nephew (the editor) found the perfect illustrator's for each volume. Andy Hopp's surreal and slimy artwork -- which I first encountered in the Low Life setting for Savage Worlds -- fits naturally with a squamous and rugose transformation of "Wild Things." I am particularly impressed by Christina Rodriguez. Her ability to draw in the style of Polar Express while simultaneously drawing my favorite representations of Lovecraftian Shoggoths is quite a feat. Her representation of the Shoggoth is fantastic...best...Shoggoth...ever.

As a parent of 19 month old twin girls, I found the books to be a mixed bag.

Where the Deep Ones Are has found its way onto my daughters' bookshelves and will be read to them as a part of their regular rotation of bed time stories. In this book, Hite perfectly balances the yearning for adventure experienced by children with the Lovecraftian weird elements. Deep Ones never achieves the nihilistic horror of a true "weird tale," instead it errs on the side of wonder. This, combined with Hopp's entertaining and interesting illustrations, makes for an ideal childrens' book.

Antarctic Express has found its way onto MY bookshelf, right between The Moonstone and The Last Man. The book does capture a lot of the tone of Arctic Express, but it also perfectly captures the weird horror elements of Lovecraft's tale. The final page, where the title character is driven insane, is a bit out of place in a bed time story for 19 month old twins. Oh, and Rodriguez's penguins are downright creepy (much creepier than the Shoggoths) -- which is great, but adds to my "not for 19 month old twins" knee jerk reaction. The girls will have to wait before I read this book to them until I can explain madness to them, or at least until they are four or five years old. Hite's writing in this book is also very effective at capturing a nice horror tone. My thoughts are that Hite erred too much on the side of accurate translation and too little on the side of childhood adventure with this volume.

I hope that Hite continues to create volumes in this series, as they are a unique entry in the field of childrens' books. They aren't quite up to the over all quality level of Jane Yolen's "Dinosaur" series -- but then again, not much is.