Happy birthday to me

Well happy birthday to me and all that. 41 years old and still playing D&D, reading comic books and buying GI Joes.
I so refuse to grow up.
Yesterday I did a little showing off regarding my winning entry in the kit bash section of the Annual fantasy net challenge. I also mentioned that I submitted another figure, this one being my version of the comic book favorite Grimjack. Alas, my efforts failed to place amongst the final winners, but I'm happy with the result nonetheless.

We have a winner!

Well it looks like the Evil DM actually placed in the world famous Fantasynet figure contest I submitted two figures, one in the kit bash category and the other in the star frontiers (Sci-Fi) category. My Grimjack figure didn’t place among all the stiff competition.
However, in the Kit bash category I took home 1st place! My entry was a traveling merchant and his burro. The figure was a first generation SOTW head on a third generation SOTW body. The robe was from a star wars figure and the armor and cloak were custom pieces from Ed Cassar. The burro was from a power team set and the equipment was a hodge-podge of stuff from my parts bin.

Fantasy net

Fantasy net is a message board for action figure collectors who enjoy creating figures within the genres of fantasy fiction, myth and legend. Ogres, Elves, Sorcerers, Warriors, Amazons and Demons can all be found there.
The first annual Fantasy net figure contest is in full swing. This is an opportunity for the members of the group to show off their kit-bashing and customizing skills in several genre specific categories: Good characters, Evil characters, “Star Frontiers” (Sci-Fi), and Kit-bashing. The members of the message board do the peer judging, but visitors are most welcome to visit and have a look at the jaw dropping creations of our talented artisans. To have a look go to:

http://p087.ezboard.com/ffantasynetfrm67

Note: the Evil DM submitted entries in the Star Frontiers and Kit-bash categories. Can you guess which entries are mine??

Pete the Barbarian

Mc Farlane came out with a conan figure a few months ago. I waited to get one and now I'm glad I did they are now on clearance at Kay-bee toys for $5.00 I just can't get over the resemblance. Surly stoic Barbarian or Surly ex-ball player?

Nor-Cal show

I had a great time at this years Northern Cal. GI Joe show. The show had plenty of tables, plenty of deals and some really great custom work. Rather than show you a bunch of pictures of middle aged guys dickering over dolls, I thought I would highlight the featured Diorama. The featured theme this year was Fantasy! Fred Jeska one of the shows organizers created a huge 15' long dungeon corridor complete with cavern dressings and monsters (A Necromancer, animated skeletons, a goblin war-band, and a monstrous Troll) . The rest of the Norcal group provided the requisite heroes. Rex and Ed brought Dwarven warriors, Pete brought a Human warrior and a Mage, Fred brought a Halfling ranger, and Human warrior (I think Filch was there as well, but he was either hiding in shadows or looting bodies, cause I never saw him during the fighting). I brought in A female Sorceress and Thaco the Ogre.

Blechh

Well the "cold from hell" continues to linger on (almost a month now). Part of the problem is that some of the medication I'm on for another condition prevents me from taking cold medicine- so I just got to tough it out. Making me tired, and irritable. I've missed a ton of work, my online game is on the road to ruin, my blog has remained frozen in January, a new group I launched is floundering, my tabletop game hasn't met in weeks, and I got into a flame war with a putz on an action figure board. I seriously need to get a grip. I got an action figure show coming up this weekend. I'm going to help a buddy (Ed) tend his booth. And believe it or not Legends of Steel is still going strong. In fact, I have re-examined my objective so to speak and am in the process of moving more in a true Sword & Sorcery direction and away from the "D&D clone" I feel it was becoming.

Dungeon crawl Saturday night

Saturday Night was the first session of my new Greyhawk campaign. Our group has 3 players and myself. Fred is playing a Desert Ranger named Katar, his daughter Is running a Human Fighter named Amrius, and my oldest son Anthony is running a half-Elven Mage from Ekbir named Akira. For added punch I am running an NPC Priest of St. Cuthbert named Stern.
As I stated in an earlier post the campaign is beginning in the Barony of Ratik. Amrius is left with an inheritance from his father. The inheritance is a horse ranch. Horses are very rare in Ratik, so the inheritance is a valuable one. Recently Amrius's horses have begun disappearing, he and his ranch hands headed out in search of the culprits. They were soon caught in an ambush near the foot of the Rakers by a band of Goblins. Amrius and his ranch hands managed to escape and return to the ranch. Knowing that however well intentioned his men were they were no match for goblins, Amrius decides to head to town to get some "professional" help. In town Amrius meets a Ranger from the deserts of the great Rift, named Katar. A Mage from the land of Ekbir, known as Akira, and a Priest of St. Cuthbert, named Stern who hails from the Southern land of Idee.
The quartet heads towards the Rakers and soon makes contact with the Goblin lair, and some good old fashioned Dungeon crawling ensues.

Greyhawk

Tomorrow night we are playing AD&D. Good ol' fashioned Greyhawk campaign! a few years ago I ran across an article in praise of Greyhawk as a campaign world. I thought I would post it here since all references to it in a recent 'Google" search came up with dead links. so here it is.


What Makes Greyhawk Greyt?

By Randy Richards

1) Nostalgia
The World of Greyhawk is the first published role-playing world. Many AD&D fans have been playing in Greyhawk since its inception in 1975, as "Supplement I: Greyhawk". When you get used to something, you begin to desire it more. Original Greyhawk patrons are now in their 30's and 40's.

2) PCs As Heroes
The PC's are the heroes of the adventures and campaigns, not ultra-godlike NPCs who have powers the PCs can't even possess. Greyhawk is the ultimate role-playing world. Greyhawk's heroes seldom kill the bad guys, only temporarily put a crimp in his or her plans. Success brings the PCs notoriety, and NPC heroes exist to recognize these accomplishments, but they will have likely played little role in the victory itself. The major events in recent Flanaess history are all presented in such a way that the PCs may play a role, perhaps even a leading one. PCs fought the Greyhawk Wars, defeated Zuggtmoy and the her Temple of Elemental Evil, Iggwilv's daughter Drelnza, the Giants and Drow in league with Lolth, and could have helped Iuz defeat Vecna.

3) Medium Fantasy
The World of Greyhawk is what might be called a "medium" fantasy setting. Masque of the Red Death is a low fantasy setting; the Forgotten Realms is a high fantasy setting, and the World of Greyhawk falls in the middle. The structure of the world is grounded more in reality than a heavy reliance upon powerful magic and encumbering PCs with magical items. This emphasizes role-playing over roll-playing, and helps prevent the "Monty Haul" campaign blight without denigrating magic overall.

4) Neutrality
While there are good vs. evil conflicts, Greyhawk has historically been anchored deep in active, almost militant, neutrality. A prime example of this is the Circle of Eight, but the Flanaess druids certainly deserve some credit. Conflicts may also include good vs. good, good vs. neutral, evil vs. neutral, or evil vs. evil. The world is not black and white, but a firm shade of grey.

5) Personified Adversaries
The complexity of a sentient mind are too often diluted by the simplistic nine alignments. Adversaries in Greyhawk have both desirable and undesirable traits at the same time making the line between god and evil seem a bit blurred.

IUZ is a diabolical overlord who controls a vast realm, and who has caused many problems over decades and decades. A fiendish cambion born of Iggwilv and Graz'zt, he was imprisoned by Zagyg for years, then set free to wreak havoc upon the Flanaess for even more years to come. He became a demi-god, and a force to terrorize and threaten even the mightiest of parties for many a campaign.

THE SCARLET BROTHERHOOD was founded in 5091 SD to prevent the "dilution of Suel virtues". As a result, the most determined Suel nobility who escaped the Rain of Colorless Fire gravitated toward the Tilvanot Peninsula. The Brotherhood seeks to re-establish the glories of the ancient Suloise society: slaveholding, assassination, ritual torture, and employment of goblinoid mercenaries. Their methods of conquest usually involve assassination, duplicity, and mutants. In contrast, they also revere the highest magical and materials arts.
In the "Fate of Istus" module, we discover the Scarlet Brotherhood learned its monk-style fighting abilities from Oriental Kara-Tur natives (they came through a portal). They are responsible for giving the Scarlet Brotherhood one of its unique traits. Sadly, monks were eliminated in this adventure, blanding the Brotherhood mystique a bit.

RARY seeks order on his own terms. Rary was a member of the Circle of Eight who killed several of his colleagues, namely Tenser and Otiluke. He is now living in exile with Lord Robilar, his military advisor, in the Bright Desert. Rary is currently examing the remnants of the Flan Empire of Sulm, and attempting to obtain a cursed artifact the "Scorpion Crown" from Shattados. His future plans are presently unclear.

6) Celebrity Magic
Magic of the Flanaess is personalized. Take a gander at the magic items, spells, and artifacts even in the "Core Rules" Dungeon Masters Guide. AD&D players are familiar with the Quiver of Ehlonna, Boccob's Blessed Book,
Murlynd's Spoon, Heward's Handy Haversack, Bigby's Crushing Hand, or Tenser's Floating Disc? The World of Greyhawk has its share of famous artifacts too. The Hand and Eye of Vecna, the once lich, now demi-god, are first to come to mind, as is the Sword of Kas (Kas being Vecna's treacherous friend turned nemesis). The Rod of Many Parts first appeared as part of that setting, as well as Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut, both of which are now generic AD&D modules. Let us also not forget Heward's Mystical Organ, the Mace of Cuthbert, Wand of Orcus (recently appearing in the Dead Gods product), glowing ruby Rod of Asmodeus, and the acid secreting wavy-bladed Sword of Graz'zt. All of these personages originate from the World of Greyhawk. Magic in Greyhawk has a documented history.

7) Unexplored Territory
The Flanaess, and in Oerth as a whole, unlike so many other worlds is still relatively unexplored. The Flanaess residents are only just now uncovering the remnants of the old empires. Like the Aztec-styled Olman Empire, remnants of the Aerdi Empire, and the Flan. The Flan Empire of Sulm produced the Bright Desert, and is currently being explored by Rary. The Suel Empire became the Sea of Dust after the Rain of Colorless Fire.... difficult to reach ruins are now being explored there, as well as easier to reach ones in the migrated eastern lands. The Baklunish Empire has few ruins since most buildings were destroyed by the Invoked Devastation, however, some Bakluni relics like Tovag Baragu still remain, as do the buildings of the Baklarran dwarves.
On the fold-out Darlene map we notice Hepmonaland, Land of Black Ice, Amedio Jungle, and the Sea of Dust as unknown quantities. Oerth has other areas besides the Flanaess, as sketched by quasi-deity Heward in Dragon Annual #1. The map contains labels such as the Celestial Imperium, Empire of Lynn, Hyperboria, Erypt, Polaria, Fireland, Tharquish Empire, Nippon Dominion, Orcreich, Dragons Island, Kingdoms of the Marches, and Elven Lands among others. And don't forget Greyspace with Luna, Celene, the Grinder and more. We've only touched the surface of Greyhawk!

8) Plots Within Plots
Wheels within wheels. Subplots with even more acute subplots. As demonstrated by early modules, and the later Falcon trilogy, we see a plot avocado peeled away to reveal even deeper layers of plots. In the center we find an unexpected enemy who can be thwarted by the PCs.

9) Linked History
Greyhawk's history is a delicately part of the setting that links the races, monsters, countries, and gods into a complex whole. Greyhawk products build on this history and incorporate it, but leave enough loose threads to allow for further development by the DM. This is a special Greyhawk quality.

10) No Gunpowder
Gunpowder does not work on the planet Oerth, although it does work in other areas of Greyspace. The only published exception to this rule is the quasi-deity Murlynd (played originally by Don Kay). There has been talk of allowing priests of this demi-deity to be allowed to use them.

11) Fan Support
The World of Greyhawk was discontinued and then brought back into the mainstream by fan support. This fact alone speaks volumes on its popularity and appeal to the average gamer.

Heroic Adventure

I just started up another Yahoogroup. I love Adventure fiction. Whether it's "Sword and Sorcery", "Sword and Planet" or historical fiction in an exotic setting. There are lots of different groups out there that cater to specific writers such as Robert E Howard (Conan, Kull) and Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan, John Carter). There are also groups that deal with a specific aspect of the genre: Comics, B-Movies, Role-playing games Etc. What I have found though, is that one can only stray so far before someone yells "off-topic".
What I hope to create with this group is a place where any of these aspects can be discussed without fear of being "off-topic". Where the merits of REH's tales of the Crusades can share the spotlight with the infamous "Deathstalker" movies. Where a person can post questions regarding a Runequest game, or trade episodes of the Beastmaster TV series.
So if this type of community appeals to you then have a seat, pull up the keyboard,tune out the wife, and join me at: Heroic Adventures. The setting for the group states that membership requires approval- thats mostly to keep the spammers and a couple of nutcases that haunt the gaming and action figure lists from joining to troll.

Old school gaming

The group I'm playing with on Saturdays is my LoS playtest gang, but we are taking a break from the playtesting while I right more stuff for LoS. and since Erisa is already being done on the net I wanted
something easy, Greyhawk is like a pair of nicely broken in slippers. I even allow elves!

So here is an outline of my Greyhawk campaign that starts this saturday:

Ratik
The Campaign will be set in the world of Greyhawk (otherwise known as
Oerth). It will be centered in the northeastern corner of the
continent, in a land known as The Arch Barony of Ratik.
Ratik was once the northernmost Barony of what was once the Great
Kingdom of Aerdy (which was simply known as "The Great Kingdom").
After the collapse of the Great Kingdom, Ratik declared its
independence. The Great Kingdom was too weak at the time to do
anything about it.

The land
Ratik's climate is very similar to that of the northeastern U.S. and
Lower Canada. Ratik is bordered to the south and west by mountains,
to the north by a great forest known as the Timberway and to the east
by the Solnor Sea. It's a frontier country whose population consists
primarily of humans, dwarves, gnomes, and the usual smattering of
Halflings, there is also a small community of wild-Elves in the
Timberway forest.

The humans dwell along the coast, central valley, and guard the
southern pass from incursions from the Humanoids in the neighboring
Bone march. the Dwarves are mostly in the western mountains, Gnomes
and hobbits are in the hill regions.

Ratik is rich in natural resources: timber, furs, minerals and fish.

Adventuring

Warriors- if you're a local you could be part of the Army, Navy or
the local constabulary.
Ratik maintains a very large, well trained garrison at both ends of
the realm. To the south is the pass that must be guarded against
incursion by Humanoid raiders from the Bone March. And to the north
there are a series of posts standing watch against an overland
invasion from barbarian raiders from the north.
Navy and marine characters could find lots of action protecting
Ratik's burgeoning shipping trade from privateers and other raiders.
The constabulary in Ratik is very similar that of a "highway patrol",
where groups of constables travel a circuit of villages and Steadings
suppressing banditry and keeping the peace.

Rangers- as a frontier nation Ratik is well served by Rangers in the
borderlands. Rangers patrol the high mountains and deep into the
northern forests. The Rangers of Ratik usually work hand in hand with
the Druids to combat any evils that would threaten the lands or the
people.

Paladins- the presence of Humanoid and barbarian hordes on the
borderlands gives several of the more martial deities reason to
maintain a show of force in the region and in some cases young
Paladins from the southern kingdoms are sent to these "far off
regions" to hone their skills and learn the lessons of service and
humility. Several sects of worshippers serving lawful Good deities
such as Heironeous, Mayaheine, Pholtus, and St. Cuthbert operate
Keeps and Abbeys in Ratik.

Priests- priests of deities whose area of concern is the wilderness,
agriculture, freedom, and trade can be found in Ratik preaching to
the folk and promoting the doctrines of their deity.
While adventuring priests serving a myriad deities can be found in
Ratik, the following are a listing of the gods most worshipped by the
local population-
Beory (Nature), Bleredd (Smiths), Ehlonna (Forests), Fharlanghn
(Travelers), Kord (Strength), Merikka (Agriculture), Norebo (Luck),
Procan (Sea), Trithereon (Liberty), Xerbo (Merchants), and Ulaa
(Mountains).

Rogues- the city bred thief will find slim pickings in the streets of
Marner (Ratik's Capital) in fact the capital of Ratik will be of
scant interest to those who have seen the great cities of the south.
To such a rogue, Ratik's urban areas will be a miserable
disappointment. Most of the roguish activity takes place on the roads
in the form of banditry. Adventuring rogues however do find a
challenge in exploring to many ruins located near the wilder areas of
the barony.

Druids-Druids hold a great deal of influence in Ratik. Though they
are small in number, they are guardians of the land and insure that
the miners, hunters, foresters and farmers treat the land with
respect. The Druids get on well with the Dwarven, Gnomish and
Halfling communities, and are the only humans that usually treat with
the Elves. But they often meet resistance from the growing Merchant
class in Marner, who feel adherence to the "old ways" is stifling
Ratik's progress as a developing nation.

Bards- Bards have no trouble at all fitting into Ratikkan society.
The thirst for news and tales of adventure are even more pronounced
in a land so far from the fabled cities of the shining south where
golden palaces dot the hills and silver dragons carry knights upon
their broad backs. - You get the idea.

Mages-Mages are the rarest of the rare in Ratik. There are several
expatriate Mages of small ability in the employ of the Baroness in
the capital. The military also employs several mercenary "War
Wizards".
But apart from a few witches in the hinterlands, and a trio of
retired Adventurer Mages living in seclusion, that's about it.

Psionicists- Surprisingly enough there is a larger than normal
concentration of people with Psionic ability living in Ratik. It is
thought that since the general populace of Oerth mistrusts
Psionicists because of their talents and potential power, many
Psionicists become fugitives, hiding their powers and trying to fit
in as best they can. What is not known to the general populace of
Oerth is that the Baroness of Ratik is herself a Psionicist. And
through an underground network has aided many Psionicists of varying
powers and abilities to escape to a better life free from the abuse
and control that many governments and other organizations impose upon
them.

Wow

As some of you know I'm working on my own RPG that uses the genre of the Sword and Sorcery movies and comics of the 70's and 80's as its backdrop. As such I have been doing a awful (and in some cases it truly is Awful) amount of research reading every S&S novel and comic book from the 70's I can get my hands on. And watching every S&S movie ever made in the Reagan era.
well last night I finally had time to sit down and watch the beastmaster DVD uncut and in its entirety. I had seen tiny bits through the years on USA network and Galavision, but I never saw the whole thing at one time. And I missed something that would have probably made my heart stop twenty years ago...Tanya Roberts.

wow.

Tanya Roberts in 1982 with no top on. Wow.

I cant believe I've been around all this time and never saw her before...Wow.

My Aptiva

After seven years of faithful service our IBM Aptiva computer finally died. it had received a couple of upgrades , but it looks like the old horse just had to call it a day. All in all I'm pretty pleased with the length of time it served. It was windows all the way with no apologies. it went from 97 and 98 to the horrors of ME and finally to 2000. It was a present from my in-laws when Scarlette and I returned to college. My Aptiva and MS Office took us through dozens of papers, class projects, PowerPoint presentations, and many, many late nights.

I rediscovered GI Joe when I found the action heroes group and I found a new way to game with the original Erisa PBEM game. We downloaded a lot of pirated stuff on Napster and Kazaa (ARRGH matey!), kicked the shit outta the Nazis in "Close Combat" and got the shit kicked out of us in "Age of Empire". We started a web site and then a blog. We paid our bills and did our taxes online and in between watched many a porn AVI.

I learned about the 9/11 tragedy while perusing my morning emails. That was a day I'll never forget.

My Aptiva has been a blessing and a bit of a curse. I made friends all over the world but I've had to deal with some real whiney nut jobs as well. I got published for the first time thanks to my Aptiva, but I also discovered a site called EBay (so much for the college fund for the kids).

My Aptiva was my Yin and Yang.

Adios Amigo

Kitbashed Dungeon of Doom!

Part of the fun of working on my own RPG system "Legends of Steel" is the chance I've had to do some honest to god face to face gaming. The only problem was that 99% of my gaming supplies are sitting in a storage shed in Hawaii. Well piece by piece I have been able to gather together some supplies here to try and make the gaming experience a bit more visual for my players. I started off by haunting EBay looking for a dungeon building system called Dungeonworks. These are plastic dungeon wall sections placed on a metallic board and held in place by magnets in their bases. I was quite lucky to win a series of auctions at a great price giving me a total of six sets for under $40.00
I then used a combination of AD&D miniatures, Mageknight dungeon dressings, Heroquest pieces and various toy snakes and spiders. The result looks pretty decent if I do say so myself.

My thanks to Ed W. and Fred J. for their help in getting some nice startup pieces.

up on the "header" you can see some of the pieces used by my son Anthony for his "Dungeon of Doom. He built a dungeon featuring a torture chamber, wizard's lab, evil chapel, and a big snake room. Enjoy!

"Man, you come right out of a comic book."

King Arthur came out in DVD last week. It sunk at the box office but I still found myself liking it, not loving it mind you, but liking it in my own gamer geek fan boy way. It's a dirty gritty re-telling of the Arthur legend. No chrome armor, jousting tournaments or fairy tale castles this time. This movie tries a more historical slant (as historical as Hollywood allows anyway). Arthur is a Roman/Briton commander; his "knights" are indentured cavalrymen from Eastern European barbarian tribes. And his lovely Guinevere is a Celtic warrior chick. Merlin is a holy man and tribal leader but doesn't have any magical powers per se. The "bad guys" are the Saxons, who surprisingly are the "good guys" a few hundred years later in Robin Hood.

When I saw the movie in the theatre I remember being disappointed that the battles seemed so tame. Now with the DVD I understand why. It seems that the director was going for a hard R rating when he was filming, but in postproduction he was told by Disney that they want it toned down to pg-13, hence the tame, bloodless battles. Well that isn't the case with the DVD version.

This movie is bloody as all hell now with limbs and heads being severed left and right. For me the violence helped sell the movie. Another little concession I made was to watch the movie and not think of it as an attempt at the Arthur legends- I saw it more as a war movie where this commander is in charge of an outpost facing overwhelming odds. With him are his elite team of warriors: the strong guy, the bow chick, the sword master, the "kid", the Axe dude, the knife guy, and the loyal friend guy who uses two swords. And suddenly it becomes the testosterone charged guy flick (Dirty Dozen, Magnificent Seven, 13th Warrior, etc.) that its supposed to be.

Hell, all we needed was Jim Kelly as the kung fu guy.

Conan Christmas

it was quite a REH Christmas for me. amongst my gifts were the new Conan TPB, the Frazetta Calender for 2005, A copy of the "whole wide world" on DVD. and a chance to get caught up on Kurt's work in the Conan comic. I haven't gotten to the stories yet in the Bloody crown book,but I must say I enjoyed Rusty's introduction.

the Calender is always a treat. I'm from the generation where Conan is personified by Frazetta's artwork. I'm one of the "unwashed masses" that enjoyed the hell out of the ace books, only later did I learn the joys of pure Howard. but in my teenage years those paperbacks with the frazetta covers always had a place in my backpack, as did the Gor books, but thats another story...(slave girls, yummy).

I hadn't seen the "Whole Wide World" in quite a long time. and ever since i found out that it was in the $5.00 bin at the Wal-Marts, I've been looking for it. the wife spotted it for me. It was a nice story, I enjoyed Vincents portrayal of Howard, My wife enjoyed it as well and it gave her a glimpse of this man whose work I talk of often. she was sad for him.

I had a growing stack of Conan's to read, so during a holiday lull i dived into a few issues. I didn't care for the Hyperborean adventure (still couldn't get over the fact that the Hyperboreans looked like Dr. Seuss had drawn them). but I was very pleased with the stories from then on. the childhood tale was good as was the two Nemedians in the bar story (did anyone else think that the two Nemedian bravos resembled Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser?).

They got it so right!

Over the weekend I finally had a chance to watch my copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King-extended version. Needless to say I was impressed. Now I know my accolades are nothing new to any fan of the genre or of the literary work itself, but I just want to say that watching the whole thing unfold in front of me was just such a cool experience. And to think that these folks crafted THREE movies of this scope to tell a rendition of a piece of classic literature is really amazing.
When you stop and think about it, I mean damn - the sets, the props, the technology, the editing of the story, the sheer damn magnitude of the whole effort of creating three movies, together, at the same time is just unheard of. The effort itself should be considered one of the greatest achievements in cinematic history.
I don't know, maybe in this pop culture- instant gratification- short attention span world we live in today, it's easy to become jaded and toss this aside while we wait for the next episode of Survivor. But in any other time a movie series this huge would be a cultural event.
The attention to the smallest detail, the meshing and melding of the written story into a screenplay, the epic scale of the battles- this is the type of movie our genre needed. This is our "Casablanca", our "Sound of Music", and our "Godfather". "The Lord of the Rings" movies are what we lovers of fantasy adventure knew could be made if folks making it had the right amount of dedication, love of the story, and strength to fight for the integrity of the project. Thank goodness for Peter Jackson and his team. They set the bar so high with this trilogy, that if nothing ever comes close, at least we know that Professor Tolkien's vision was done justice.


Oh, and did you catch Bruce Spence's portrayal of the Mouth of Sauron? It was too damn cool!

Up in the belltower

I enjoy sniping on ebay, it's the closest I'll ever come to hunting. I kinda get a twinge of regret when I snipe a really cool item from some poor slob with a feedback of 12. But I really enjoy sniping a dealer. when I see that my opponent has a feedback of 25987 and a power seller icon, then all bets are off. that reseller scumbag is mine, baby!
I know for a fact that the item in question aint going to his kids, or even up on a shelf in a joe room, he's gonna re-list it with better keywords and recoup his investment-plus. I feel it's my holy duty to thwart those scumbags. I go for the grandma angle a lot. I look where most folks dont, and I aint afraid to use the word doll. I've found quite a few hidden "Action figure" treasures mis-labled by uninformed grandmas as dolls. problem is those power sellers know what to look for as well. they are like the barracudas at the yard sales that troll around at 7am to buy all the good stuff from the yardsale on saturday morning-only to take it all to the flea market and re-sell it on sunday. I dont do strip clubs anymore and I only game every other weekend so I get my diversions where I can find em.

the Alamo

I saw the Alamo this last weekend. I really enjoyed it. I wanted to see it on the big screen back in march but I didn't have time. I know it didn't do well at the box office, dismal by current $$ standards, but I wasn't sure if it was because the movie was misunderstood or just plain bad. After watching it I have to say it was probably misunderstood. It may have been marketed as a patriotic film, but to me it was more of a character study of the three mythic heroes of the Texas Pantheon, Jim Bowie-Davey Crockett-William "Buck" Travis -Sam Houston (None of whom surprisingly, were Texans).
In the movie these guys were portrayed, as men of greatness who were as flawed as any of us would be. I appreciated that. I also appreciated the portrayals of the Tejano defenders and the slaves.
Once again the commentary on the DVD's added to my enjoyment of the film by providing some interesting insight that wouldn't have been available to me had I seen the movie in the theater. I took a look at the comment sections over at Amazon and at the IMDB site and I found quite a few negative reviews of the movie. Folks were posting that it was long and boring and that the fight at the end was just a chaotic mess Most of those comments I attribute to those folks who went to see it expecting something more in line with Braveheart, Gladiator, or the Patriot. There were even guys making fun of the clothing (which was historically accurate to the time). Once I started reading the posts I found that the few defenders of the movie were guys like me who had an interest in the historical points and had done a bit of reading of the period and the issues involved in the conflict. Given that, it was easy to dismiss the silly hat comments.
Overall my feeling is that the movie is good. But it must be taken as it is intended, a movie adaptation of the siege of the Alamo. Not historically by the book, but the closest in realism of the several movies that have been done on the subject.

Legends of Steel update

Well the project continues. I am writing stuff every spare minute I can. I've got my oldest son and some friends play-testing it every other weekend. And I have some experienced gamer buddies giving the rough drafts a once over and giving me their thoughts and concerns. Seeing as this is a one-man operation I think I'm doing pretty damn good. I'm finding that the hardest thing in the whole process is keeping it simple. I want it to have (as one of my buddies puts it) a "Wahoo!" feeling to it. But I also want it to be mechanically sound. Character generation is done. Combat is moving along, as is magic and Psionics, but it looks like magic and Psionics is gonna need a bit more tweaking. Some are advising a open spell creation system Ala' Hero games' Fantasy Hero system but I feel if I make it in that vein then "simple" goes out the door. Hmmmm??

Research -wise I'm watching movies ("Sword and the Sorcerer" the other day) and reading comics (I just won a set of Atlas comics titles "Wulf the Barbarian" and "Iron Jaw" comics). Doing this always helps bring me down from the "rules rafters" and reminds me of what I want to create here, a fun game that can be played quickly rather than a set of ponderous rules that intimidate casual players. The saga continues...

Playtesting

It's been hard keeping up with my Blogging for the last couple of months. But in a good way I suppose.

Legends of Steel is coming along nicely. I'm just about done with the core portions and then I'll start on the fluff like DM sections and a sample campaign world. Right now I'm trying to tackle the magic and Psionics section. Then come the tough part...monsters. Research wise I've been reading more than I have been watching. I just got a nice run of Claw the unconquered and Arion of Atlantis from DC. And I'm looking for some cheap copies of other S&S comics (Dagar, Stalker, Skull the slayer). We are playing every other Saturday night though I wish I had at least one more player. My Son and Fred's daughter have been a godsend in the play test area showing me the gaps in the rules that only a 13 year-old power-gamer can find. The last game session was kind of weak and the blame for that rests on me alone. My players are not big on puzzle solving, and I should have recognized that early on instead of wasting 90 minutes of game time trying to force feed them the solution. We are playing this weekend and as my way of saying sorry, I'm gonna have some serious Hack-time ready for them!

Postwar A/T

I love the Headsculpts for Lanards Ultracorps!Line. the problem is the bodies suck. So I kept the heads and swapped em out to the latest SOTW figures, which have great bodies for $7.00.

I had this idea to do an -earlier than the 60's-version of the GI Joe Adventure Team. I'm thinking post WWII, These guys would have some nifty 50's sci-fi type weaponry, probably stuff the Government developed after they seized Nicolai Tesla's notes. so here is a starter pick of my "post war Adventure team" I figure they are all ex service men, probably OSS and commando types. Sporting hi-tech secret weaponry to fight commies and aliens- in that order.

Are you guys passing the torch?

after quite a hiatus from table top gaming I now have a regular group. My 13 year old son Anthony, my buddy Fred and his 11 year old daughter. It's a far cry from my mountain dew-fueled weekend long gaming marathons, but we still have a good time. I also let my two little ones play with the figures and the dice (The new D&D miniatures are excellent for kids, those damn things are near indestructible).
the other day I went to Ebay and picked up a copy of "fantasy forest" an early TSR board game for children based on the D&D cartoon. the boys also watch my wife and Anthony play Baldurs gate: Dark Alliance on the playstation. so the kids are getting a fair share of indoctrination in the mysteries of gaming. and just to insure we don't overdo the geek factor I'm also having them start Little Dragons Karate and Football league is on schedule next fall.

By the way, Ain't that a cool pic?

HEY look ma, no nipples!

Man, this has got to be the best Batman costume yet!
Dig it Baby!

Get a life...please

So a few weeks ago with nothing better to post I put up a picture of the Justice League of Amazons and I make mention of the fact that an "idiot moderator" of an action figure group saw it as pornographic and put me on notice (I shortly thereafter left the group). fast forward to this morning and who do you think I get an email from? Yup, "mister moderator". He must have been visiting my web log to check out the "porn" instead of "moderating his own group. Anyway, he goes into me being bitter for being booted from his group and trashing people behind their backs...Yadda...Yadda...Blechh. Whatever. Like I said earlier his censoring policies didn't jive with my sensibilities so I LEFT HIS GROUP. Not only that, I quietly unsubscribed and went away (Unlike some people who feel they have to post a "Swansong diatribe" as to how they are being forced to leave. screw that nerdy bullshit.). as to being bitter- I posted the picture for the pictures sake, it had nothing t do with leaving his group, he was just an amusing anecdote. And as to posting it behind anyone's back...hello, this is a web log, A very public forum. He's probably just mad cause he just found out that he's an amusing anecdote.

Daddy Day!

I had some actual free time over the weekend. Wife at work kids at Grandmas and Jeffy all alone with his toys!
So I decided to do a little kit bashing. Nothing fancy just point and shoot. Maybe some day I'll have enough time and stuff for a photo story..


First up here is an AT guy on a PT horse... I took the horse and kinda fluffed him up with some gear. Bedroll, saddle blanket, saddlebags, etc.
The premise was an AT guy who rides the high mountain ranges, protecting folks, keeping and eye on things and rescuing hikers. My son noticed the lack of weaponry so I included the obligatory shotgun (hey, he might run into a bear or some escaped convicts) I figured I'd never go into the woods without a gun why should he?

Went to go see American wedding this weekend. Funny as all hell. sophomoric? Yes. Crude and raunchy? Of course. But still, funny as all hell. Though I think the franchise needs to stop here before it gets tired.

We had our little cake and ice cream get together for nick on Friday, he got a couple of Go-bots and a plush doggy chair (my son loves dogs). Only problem Josh (my 3 year old) saw all the attention and started to cry. Oh well his turn is this week. I'm thinking Hot Wheels for him.

Another coupla great posts this weekend. We are getting close to starting. I know you guys are investing a lot of time and effort in these characters and it shows, I just want to remind you that the foes you will be facing are mad wicked and psionics WILL be a factor in play so it is recommended that you have a back-up character ready if your first one takes the big dive, remember the Evil DM does not do resurrection. Never has, never will.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICHOLAS!

My little Nick-o-lodean is 3 today. After work it's off to Toys R Us to pick him up some Go-Bots Weren't these toys around back in the 80's?? Well they are back and targeted for the 3-5 year old set. And he loves the commercials. I absolutely live getting toys for the kids (I might even be able to squirrel away a lil something for myself heh.heh.)

Cool site alert!
Saw a funny one today it's called "the gamers" you can see a QuickTime sample of it over at www.deadgentlemen.com

PEACEMAKERS

well hell, i was all jazzed up to see that new western on USA called "Peacemakers" so I get home and Tony (my oldest) tells me the damn cable is on the fritz. so no luck watching the new show. good thing about USA though is they repeat the hell outta everything they show so i'm hoping to get another chance.

SoE

well I'm hard at work on the adventure. Ive been re-reading some of the incursion stuff and adapting it to Erisa. I'm trying to figure out where i want the adventure based. i was considering Maghreb. mostly cause we ain't been there yet in ANY of the games. the climate is rough, unforgiving and there are no friendly faces around.

the symbols project Jeff has taking on is coming along great i see many wondrous and possibly even useful magic items in Hamfasts future. still waiting to receive any thing else for the others. but other than the previously mentioned articles and artwork....nada. oh well it ain't my fault if you folks go into yer first high level erisa game with one healing potion between the eight of you and short swords and ringmail armor bought off the rack.

I like Darrell's suggestion on the Heldar symbol (A blazing sun rising) I would superimpose a gauntleted fist holding a Mace. that way you get that martial aspect we see in heldarites everywhere.

For Anhur (Nohar) i'm thinking a Bulls head (Like Taurus) this would also connect with the large number of Minotaurs that live in Eastern Brouaq-Nohar and and serve as the emperors shock troops.

What do you guys think of Gruns symbol? does it say "men at work"? or "goldmine crossing here"?
can anyone come up with something better for the god of laborers?

well back to work...
Aloha!

Symbols
So I was thinking of symbols for the gods what do you guys think so far?

Arawn - a black book with red runes
Grun - a crossed mallet and shovel
Jeridia a dagger and a coin purse
Morrigan - a bloody axehead stuck in the earth with a crow resting on the Haft.
Nogar-Sai - a fanged skull below an infinity symbol
St. Raphine - a pair of crossed swords above a blazing hearth
Uller-a charging Stag

if you guys have any suggestions please post them.

Character sheets

if any of you guys have downloaded or are trying either DM Genie or Character Genie, please send me your characters in that format.

Another weekend spent in the heat of the Sacramento valley. Scarlette calls it the fruit bowl. It got so bad that Scarlette came down with a minor case of heatstroke on Sunday after we saw League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I got her home and cooled her off before it got real bad. Other than that the weekend was spent doing family stuff (haircuts, buying shoes etc)

Picked up my gaming mags over the weekend. I pretty much buy three religiously. Dragon, dungeon and knights of the dinner table. A few months ago they had a column in KODT about gaming with females. I promptly wrote a tongue in cheek letter to the editor de-crying the adding of girls to the gaming table. This started a little storm of controversy that lasted for about three issues. Some people felt sorry for me (as in pity that I will never know the joys of gaming with members of the opposite sex -yeah, whatever) others called me a chauvinist. It was good fun getting a bunch of geeks all riled up, now if they would only bathe before going to the game store...

Dragon 310 has a sweet cover by Elmore- a pair of chain mail bikini type babe adventurers. I highly recommend you check it out.And speaking of artwork Jeff Herbert has graced us with a piece of original artwork for the swords of Erisa website. It's a portrait of a Red mountain Clan Dwarf. It could be the head guy himself Hergoff "the Red".

I'm still plugging along on the SoE website. Trying to put in at least an hour a night on it. It will load much faster I believe since I'll be removing a lot of the gif animation and music etc. I'm gonna try and concentrate on content vs. doodads and eye candy.

That's all for now.
Evil DM out!

Lunchtime Blog

Well it's Gen Con weekend and once again I'm missing out on our hobbies premier gaming event. Any of you guys going? I'm saving my pennies and shooting for Gen Con So Cal in December. I promised Jeff H I'd give him a hand at the Heromachine booth so that should be fun!

I'm slowly getting the swing of things here at work, starting to get a routine and a flow. I have a great boss and a cool office. I have Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, and Namor (from the marvel legends line) up on my shelf and a couple of other touches that make me feel right at home. So all in all things at work are cool.

At home, were getting ready to celebrate Boojie (Joshua 4) and Lody's (Nicholas 3) birthdays next week. Tonight is "Pizza Friday" but instead of Pizza it will be McDonalds for $1.00 double cheeseburgers and then we'll go check out "Finding Nemo." Speaking of Nemo, I have yet to see either "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" or "Pirates of the Caribbean" I'm hoping to catch LXG this weekend if my mom will take the boys on Saturday.

I'm really Happy with the way the 5year foregrounds are coming along in the Swords of Erisa game. I don't plan to be instituting any 3.5 edition stuff yet but I will be picking up the books one at a time as funds allow. (Plus I always wait for the second print run anyway so that they can correct the errata) but yes eventually SoE will be 3.5 compliant. I am also working on the website and plan to put up a reworked version soon. With many updates and revisions. The updates because they are way overdue and the revisions because I want Erisa to contain 100% original content rather than partially plagiarized material.
Jeff has even agreed to help me graphically enhance the sight with some pieces of original Erisa themed artwork as time allows (I am totally jazzed about that!).

Some of you have inquired on the list and privately about magic items for your newly pumped up and reconditioned characters, well I have given it a bit of thought and I believe I have a more palatable answer than just HELL NO. I have decided for those of you wiling to invest a little additional time in the campaign I will pass on some nifty trinkets. Now all you have to do is grab your keyboards and submit an article to the Erisa Chronicle. the article could be about anything Erisa or Gaming related. For instance Jim has submitted a story (hopefully ongoing) detailing the early adventures of his Brooding Warrior- Rue and mike has submitted an article on Druids, Witches and their role in Erisa. They will be receiving magic items for these works. So if you feel like doing an article on a town in Wren or a secret society in Aragos. Or maybe reviews of a new game system or RPG tool (like player Genie) send it in.

On the subject of the Erisa chronicle, I `m finishing the next issue up and it should be out shortly, look for Mike and Jim's articles, as well as a cool new logo from Jeff H.

Evil DM out!

Long time no Blog

Hey all,

Well it looks like things are finally settling down at work. Man it was a rocky start. My second day there I come down with pneumonia. I tried to tough it out but it was a no go.
I ended up staying out for a week. So in essence everything that I was taught that first week was a fuzzy blur. After I got better I went back and was ready to resume training, unfortunately the company I work for The Association of California Water Agencies www.acwanet.com (ACWA) was the target of an investigation by the local newspaper concerning misappropriation of funds. So needless to say everyone in the company was busy looking up expense reports and tax returns trying to prove that there were no improprieties so you can imagine that training the "new guy" wasn't high on the list of things to do. So I was given some busy work to keep me occupied till we weathered out the editorial storm. After that crisis had passed it was time to get the July bill run ready.
But things got better the company was cleared and I finally got re-trained. I love the job and most of the people in my department are pretty cool (there's always one though huh?). I'm a Benefits Enrollment Coordinator. My job is to maintain the Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life files for all of the employees from each individual water district in California and their affiliated agencies. I also make sure the districts remain in compliance with the various insurances and their policies.

The Game

I'm looking forward to this new direction in the Campaign. A world invasion just seems so cool. This is a great way to get you guys in a position where you might get a chance to impact the world. I'm thinking to pump you guys up to 9th level to begin with. As far as where to start what do you guys think? Should we start right where we left off and adjust accordingly? Or should we advance the campaign a couple of years and create back-story for their newfound levels? If the latter then I can hammer out something with each of you individually and say that the current storyline ended when the swords returned to Bitterwell after restoring Mal's folly. Cassandra can do some much needed research. Van can sharpen his performing skills. The woodsy boys (Ben, Darian, and Cole) could have time to really familiarize themselves with the Spire mountain range. And Ham will practice his trade both in Bitterwell and when he makes forays into the city with Cassandra and Van. This will also make Sir Anselm a more potent character I know Rob envisions powerful things for his paladin and I agree that given his background 4th level is just too low for his character.
Please let me know all your thoughts on this and please refrain from perusing any of the dungeon or dragon magazines that deal with the "Incursion". I'm sure to change some facets of it in order to make it Erisa compliant, but I still want it to be enjoyable for you all.

So...Incursion. A campaign based on an outer planar invasion of Erisa. A Githyanki empire from an Outer -Plane, led by a Githyanki Lich-Queen looks to expand their borders to include the small out of the way planet of Erisa (remember Erisa exists in the same Universe as Oerth (Greyhawk), Krynn (Dragonlance), and The Forgotten Realms world of Toril). Erisa is far from the regular space ways traveled by the "Spelljammers", this and the fact that it is an Elfless world has meant that Erisa has pretty much been left alone by the major player worlds. But all that will be changing, as the Githyanki begin their invasion. And the invasion will begin in Pellen, a fractured nation struggling to recover from a recent invasion itself. Will Pellen fall? Will the Lich-Queens armies establish a beachhead and conquer the world? And will they stop with Erisa?

please post your thoughts either here or on yahoogroups!

here we go again :0(
ISP down
Once again i am without internet for another day or so. BLECCH!
I can still access at work and at school so please contact me at boojiesdad@hotmail.com

SoE and The Great Day of Joy!
Every year for one glorious day it occurs, the birds sing a tad sweeter, the sky above is just a smidgin bluer, and the brotherhood of mankind is edged just a bit closer to harmony. Yes my friends the reports are true, tomorrow is The Great Day of Joy!
Three and 9/10ths decades ago the Evil DM was sent to this tiny planet to spread that which he spreads best. and you my loyal players and Blog reap the benefits of membership in the Swords of Erisa Campaign!

here's the skinny...
You each have until midnight tomorrow night to email me THREE things that you would like to see in the future of the campaign. they can be anything, like a part of Erisa you would like to visit, a type of adventure you would like to try, a type of foe you would like the group to be pitted against. etc. please be serious and give it a bit of thought. I enjoy SoE and I want you all to be a part of it.

So whats in it fer me?well for each of you who responds before the deadline i will grant your character ONE LEVEL! thats right one whole level Gratis!
so put on those thinking caps and hit me with your best thought. remember before midnight tomorrow night. at 12:01am april 12th the deal is done.

Apathy
I'm closing out my first week of my "two week notice" period at my job. God do I want to get the hell outta here! not that there is anything wrong with the company or the job. I just want to move on.
plus with the storms on the east coast keeping everyone indoors, nobody is calling in here.

SoE
lots of banter on the groupsite *good thing* but very little action *bad thing* I emailed Jeff H. this morning and told him to start earning his bonus XP and start kicking asses and moving the story along. for me, the time after the finish of a PBEM is always the worst. nobody wants to take initiative on claiming treasure or dividing loot. and getting everyone to turn in their updated sheets is a true pain in the ass (of which I, as a player am often guilty of). but I'm hopeful we will be moving on soon.

darrell's game
Saul Priest of Grun
well after several years it looks like i'll be playing in AHA again. Darrell will be running an adventure located in Pellen, it looks to be very fun and I hope deadly.

I'm gonna try and run a Priest of Grun. now grun aint a martial deity or even one dedicated to goodness and light. he's actually the patron of laborers-basically the average working joe. seems kind of unlikely but that was the attraction. the easy way would be to choose a priest of Heldar or Anhur, not a priest of the god of millers and tanners. but all in all i'm quite happy with Saul.
his background has him starting as a average parish priest trying to keep his chsrges out of harms way during the Vampyre war. when he failed at that he joined the resistance and fought as a guerilla until the Vampyre kings and their spawn were banished from Pellen by the Queen and her forces. afterwards he became a "Tribune". Tribunes were groups of three nobleman and/or clergy that travelled the land restoring order and dispensing the Queens justice. After a year of that he retired from the Tribunals and has travelled the land destroying undead. I gave him the exotic weapons proficiency. I'm arming with him with a kukri, repeating crossbow, and a cold iron mace. i was even thinking of using wolvesbane coated shuriken and rosewood daggers.

I was thinking of the movie "Dracula-Prince of Darkness." at the start of the movie the travelers are rescued by a monk riding a horse and using a high powered rifle. I thought the character was cool. and so i fashioned Saul after him.

I'v been working on a kitbash for him using a Christopher Lee figure.

Lazy day
Mejia Land
Mom's b-day today she's 65!
She's off to Reno tomorrow with a bus load of relatives to conquer the nickle machines.


SoE
Congrats to Darrell, Jeff, Derek, and Rob. they each won a magic item care of "the Evil DM's Blog site."
Stay tuned and check in often, i heard the next giveaway will be quite uplifting.

Blogging 101
I'm still learning about this new form of internet communication. I hope to have some links up soon and maybe even some pictures. its an interesting format, i'll shoot some links out later so you all can see what experienced Bloggers are doing.

that's all for today, aloha!

Friday, 4 April 2003
Greetings!
well today i'm gonna start a weblog for the SoE game and action figure page. i'm not sure what all i'm gonna be using this for but who knows it may be interesting. So stay tuned you might find something worth your while!

Jeff got a new job!
yup. after WEEKS of phone calls, faxes and reference checks yours truly has accepted a position as THE Benefits Coordinator at the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) get it?? AQUA..ACWA...Water.
Anyway the position is several steps up in prestige and income. plus I get my own office. not a cube. An Office. with a real door!
Landmark was a cool place and I made some friends my short time here, but this is a definite career move.

Cool Website alert
I ran across this one today.
http://www.dangermouse.net/irregular/

it's funny on so many levels and probably has some other interesting stuff I aint looked over yet.

Swords of Erisa alert
In the hopes that somebody out there takes the time to read this thing I will be offering various incentives that can only be found on this site. My first such is a random Magic item to be selected by me to any of my players that email me before midnight tonight that they have read this site!

Dragon #306
This months Dragon has some good stuff including a wonderful article on Paladins.

well thats all for today!