The Scorpion King on HULU

The Scorpion King has become one of my genre favorites. If you don’t have it on DVD check it out here on HULU. Forget catching it on TBS or USA, too many commercials and edited all to hell.

"We now return to: Cartoon Action Hour!"

A few years ago I ran into a game called Cartoon Action Hour (CAH), put out by a small outfit called Spectrum Games

The game was all about playing in the world of Saturday morning cartoons. Especially the serialized cartoons of the 80’s He-Man, The Thundercats, Thundarr the Barbarian, The Go-Bots, GI Joe:Real American Hero, etc. Unfortunately I was in a place where gaming was not happening anywhere. I still bought it, read it, and loved it.

I even bought a couple of great supplements for it , one called Darkness Unleashed which was about a GI Joe type mission force that battled a cabal of monstrous and undead villains, very reminiscent of Nick Pollota’s excellent Bureau 13 stories.


And another called Star Warriors . It has an amazing cover that just totally reminds me of a "Guardians of the Galaxy" comic from my youth. How cool would THAT campaign be to play?


Truth be told, the character generation rules were a bit clunky, but the premise was totally original and fresh at the time. Unfortunately CAH ended up on my special shelf of cool games that I’ll probably never get a chance to play.

End of story.

Until now…
I just got a heads up that the author of CAH, Cynthia Celeste Miller is ready to unveil Cartoon Action Hour: Season 2

It promises, among other things, a simplified Character creation system, a brand new system of Traits and streamlined combat more in tune with, well…Toons.

I often see messages on various gaming forums asking for recommendations for a good starter game for kids. Well folks, this just may be the one. The focus and the genre sure is the right one. I guess we’ll just have to await its release and see how it plays. This baby is a must have for me, as my minions are now of an age where gaming is a cool thing to do with daddy!

I contacted Cynthia and she has given me permission to publish her company email here at the Lair so that you can obtain your own PDF preview of CAH2. You can reach her at:

cynthia.spectrumgames@gmail.com

Drop her a note. And make sure you let her know the Evil DM sent ya!

Too Damn Funny!

I love the guy with the nunchuks.

A new Blog!

I started a new blog today to chronicle my journey of trying to get Evil DM Productions off the ground. I'm not sure how it will all turn out but I'm shooting for success. If any of you are interested in coming along for the ride please join me at The Evil DM Productions Blog I sure would welcome the company.

The tone will be a lot different from that set here at the Lair. I hope to keep it focused on my writing and publishing efforts. The Lair is my sandbox, I intend the EDMP blog to be a bit more focused. So no Wednesday girls or photodumps, but I hope to post some interesting content.

S&S Caption contest winner!

We Have a winner for the Heromachine caption contest. Congratulations to Rob Rogers for the winning entry. Funny stuff Rob.

So how about asking Jeff for a pic of Doctor Camelot? That would rock!

Motivational Monday

Lazy Sunday Photodump

Outlander

Sword & Sorcery flavored Caption Contest at Heromachine.com

I've teamed up with my good buddy Jeff Hebert over at Heromachine.com to offer you the chance to win your very own custom black and white illustration from a professional illustrator!

It's like going to a comic book convention and getting a drawing, only free.

And over the internet.

And without scantily clad models for new gaming systems running around.

Here are a few links to some of the prize winners in the past so you can get an idea of what you might have done:
Hephaestian, a blacksmith babe; Celtica, an Irish warrior princess; Cyborg Ranger; a Vampire Pirate; and Deadlands character Jessie McTavish.

And all you Bloggers out there pass the word along. Let's show Jeff some Geek Karma!

Black Canaan - Savaged!

You know it was a good game when you’re still talking about it the next day!

Last night I ran my first session of Savage Worlds, and a good time was had by all.

It was a Pulp setting using “Seasoned” level characters and an adventure in the Louisiana Bayou country adapted from the short story “Black Canaan” a pulp classic written by Robert E. Howard.

The players were my oldest minion Anthony, and four other good friends. We had one experienced Deadlands player but everyone else was totally new to the system, though we caught on real quick.

As all gamers out there know, you can read and reread the rules till you can quote passages verbatim and you can roll up dozens of characters but none of it compares to actually sitting down and playing the game.

We soon learned what edges we should have taken and what actions worked for the group and what didn’t. Combat was really quite different from anything we had ever experienced, and that wasn’t a bad thing it was just different. We soon wrapped our heads around things like the extra D6 that all PC's get to roll, and the fact that if for instance, you do a D8 damage and happen to roll an 8 you get to roll again, and if you roll another 8, then you roll again -and so on.

Our first combat encounter wasn’t fast and furious but it sure was fun. Each encounter thereafter went smoother than the last. And what started as a one shot pick-up game may very well turn into a regular game of choice. We have another game tentatively scheduled for week after next, at which time I turn over the GM duties to one of the other guys and actually get to play!

Lazy Saturday Photo Dump

Femme Noir - The Dark City Diaries

Today I picked up a copy of Ape Entertainment’s newest title: Femme Noir- The Dark City Diaries. The four issue series is a gritty look at a place called Port Nocturne and the female crime fighter who prowls its streets dispensing justice from the barrel of a gun. I enjoyed the hell out of it. Christopher Mills ( who has a pretty snazzy Blog of his own)heads up the creative team and brings a little dark pulp to the comic world. If you love Mystery, Noir, Pulp, or Crime Stories this is a title you shouldn’t miss. You can also find a very cool website here.

Fat Dragon has a "Keep on the Borderlands"

Fat Dragon Games has a growing line of great 3D products to liven up your games. Here is a classic brought to life. Oh, to have had this baby on my table when I first ran B2. Their production values seem to get better with every release. Check out the detail in the photos, the shading and reflection on the stained glass, the dried blood on the portcullis.

Just imagine all the variations you could do with this. Endless possibilities for under $10.00

With all the stuff I have going on now at Evil DM Productions I don't have the time to print it up and give it a full review, But I will say without hesitation that based on the other products from Fat Dragon that I have used and reviewed this one wont disappoint. Pick it up at RPGNow.

Motivational Monday

Lazy Sunday PhotoDump

The work begins

Wow. Since the news the other day of Pinnacle granting Evil DM Productions a Savage World license, things here at the Lair have been busy indeed. In addition to porting over material for the Legends of Steel conversion, I have been in contact with both Heyoka Studios and artist Jeremy Mohler to discuss various aspects of getting LoS ready to go.

I’m pleased to announce that Heyoka will continue layout and distribution for LoS as it did for World of Broadsword. And Jeremy is slated to produce the cover for Legends of Steel-The Savage Worlds Edition.

I’m not going too overboard though in discussing my plans for the line, I’m kind of worried about jinxing myself. As gamers we have all seen dozens of great ideas and big announcements trumpeted across the net only to be abandoned and forgotten for lack of follow-through or just bad luck. Which is sad really; Because whatever your personal feelings about a system or campaign world, that system or world was somebody’s dream, and to see a dream fizzle and die sucks.

So you may not hear me talk about this LoS project too much in the future tense. When I do hit a milestone I’ll give y’all a heads up though. Thanks for the emails of encouragement, they really do help keep me focused.

Happy Birthday USA!

First off Happy 4th of July!

We ain't perfect, but there is no other place I'd rather live.


Writing

When discussing the D20 OGL I always said "Now days any idiot with a computer and a pirated copy of Adobe Acrobat can call himself a game publisher".

Yesterday I became that idiot.

I'm still all giddy about Evil DM Productions being granted a License to produce material for Savage Worlds. Now the work begins.

In addition to Legends of Steel I have several other projects to port over to the Savage Worlds system. Yesterday I managed to get in a few hours of writing. It wasn't solid, focused uninterrupted writing, it was more of the kind where you are constantly dealing with "Daddy, Nick wont play with me."
"Daddy what are you doing?"
"Daddy I'm bored."

I guess the answer would be to write when every one else is asleep. But that's when I want to sleep too. I know there are a few writers who visit here- how the hell do you guys balance things?

Gaming

Last night while writing I got to thinking about a couple of gaming combos that would be real cool.

A while back I mentioned mixing Savage Worlds with the TV series Jack of all Trades. Last night I was thinking about using Savage Worlds for spy/pulp/low powered supers campaign using the world of the Black Coat.

The Black Coat is a title from Ape Entertainment. The Black Coat is a colonial version of the Shadow / Zorro/ and the Phantom. Very cool premise.

I think Rob Rogers made mention of colonial era supers in his Devil's Cape universe as well.

I'm thinking this might also work with Precise Intermedia's Colonial Record or Colonial Gothic from Rogue games.

Another thought that occured to me is taking the Venture Bros. Cartoon and adapting it with Toon from Steve Jackson games. I haven't played Toon in years. Venture Bros. is damn funny and with the right GM a Toon version of the Venture Bros. would be hilarious!





OK back to work.

The Lair has been Savaged!

Evil DM Productions has just been given permission from Pinnacle Entertainment Group to produce material for their Savage Worlds line of Role playing games. As an official licensee, Evil DM Productions has the green light to convert Legends of Steel to the Savage World rules. Christmas in July my friends!

Buy it, rent it, borrow it- Apocaplypto is a MUST SEE!

I was laid up in bed today and had a chance to see a DVD I picked up over the weekend- Apocalypto.
Apocalypto is a story of adventure set in Central America prior to the European invasion.
This was a film by Mel Gibson-say what you want about the man and his opinions- he is a passionate movie maker, and Apocalypto is a showcase of his passion.

This is a spectacularly beautiful movie, rich in detail and action.

I was mesmerized.

Zero Wolf played by Raoul Trujillo- this character just takes bad ass to a whole new level.