It's been a helluva long time since I posted any action figures here. Here is a group shot that my son Anthony and I made for a Pirate contest over at fantasynet.
It came out pretty darn good if I do say so myself.
Not all pirates hung out in the Caribbean. This band of Cutthroats led by Hung Wai Lo terrorized the coast of the Shang Tung province and The South China Sea during the early 1930’s. Here is a dated photograph of unknown origin that shows the Pirate lord and his officers celebrating with the spoils of a recent raid.
I am shocked and saddened beyond words. It was just announced that one of my favorite writers, David Gemmell has died at the age of 57.I have loved his work from the first time I read "Morningstar" back in the 90's. he was one of a handful of writers whose work I would gladly purchase the moment it hit the shelves. David's masterpiece "Legend" is considered a modern day classic in the genre, and in my opinion will hold up against any work as a great piece of fiction. My personal favorite work from David Gemmell is "Winter Warriors" a great story of three aged fighting men called up for one last adventure. David Gemmell was an incredible storyteller.
Dr. Z
and Doctor Z
Coincidence? You decide,
You may not have known his name. but you would recognize him the moment you saw him. His name was Mako, he was a prolific, Oscar nominated actor, with a resume that lists over 150 movies and Television appearances. He played opposite actors like Steve McQueen, James Caan, Bruce Lee, and Michael Douglas. He played everything from a Japanese Admiral to a Hyborian Wizard. Mako passed away last friday, after a battle with cancer. He will be missed."I'm a wizard, mind you. This place is kept by powerful gods and spirits of kings. Harm my flesh and you will have to deal with the dead!"
Heres a photo from the Hasbro booth at the San Diego Comic Con. It looks like Heroscape is really going Hero! now we'll be able to stage our own Marvel Secret Wars. Kewl stuff!
Found this on one of the Robert E, Howard boards I belong to.
It seems that in Australia Robert E Howard's works are entering the public domain and are now appearing on Project Gutenberg of Australia. follow the link and scroll down to the H's.
It's a great selection of many of his Conan and non-Conan works ("Pigeons from Hell" is a MUST READ)
Robert Ervin HOWARD (1906-1936)
Pigeons from Hell (1938)--Text--HTML
The Valley of the Worm (1934)--Text--HTML
The Purple Heart of Erlik (Nothing to Lose) (1936)--Text--HTML
Black Canaan --Text--HTML
Black Talons--Text--HTML
Black Vulmea's Vengeance--Text--HTML
Fangs of Gold--Text--HTML
Graveyard Rats--Text--HTML
Moon of Zambebwei--Text--HTML
Names in The Black Book--Text--HTML
The Black Stone--Text--HTML
The Cairn on the Headland--Text--HTML
Sea Curse--Text--HTML
The Fire of Asshurbanipal--Text--HTML
The Haunter of the Ring--Text--HTML
The Horror From The Mound--Text--HTML
The House of Arabu--Text--HTML
The Tomb's Secret--Text--HTML
The Valley of the Worm--Text--HTML
Wolfshead--Text--HTML
The Shadow Kingdom--Text--HTML
The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune--Text---HTML
THE 'SOLOMON KANE' STORIES:--
Skulls in the Stars (1929)--Text--HTML
The Footfalls Within (1931)--Text--HTML
The Moon of Skulls (1930)--Text--HTML
The Hills of the Dead (1930)--Text--HTML
Wings in the Night (1932)--Text--HTML
THE 'EL BORAK' STORIES:--
The Daughter of Erlik Khan (1934)--Text--HTML
Hawk of the Hills (1935)--Text--HTML
Blood of the Gods (1935)--Text--HTML
Son Of The White Wolf (1936)--Text--HTML
The Country of The Knife (1937)--Text--HTML
THE 'CONAN' STORIES:--
The Phoenix on the Sword (1932)--Text--HTML
The Scarlet Citadel (1933)--Text--HTML
The Tower of the Elephant (1933)--Text--HTML
Black Colossus (1933)--Text--HTML
The Slithering Shadow (1933)--Text--HTML
The Pool of the Black One (1933)--Text--HTML
Rogues in the House (1934))--Text--HTML
Shadows in the Moonlight (1934)--Text--HTML
Queen of the Black Coast (1934)--Text--HTML
The Devil in Iron (1934))--Text--HTML
The People of the Black Circle (1934)--Text--HTML
A Witch Shall be Born(1934)--Text--HTML
Jewels of Gwahlur (1935))--Text--HTML
Beyond the Black River (1935)--Text--HTML
Shadows in Zamboula (1935)--Text--HTML
The Hour of the Dragon (1936)--Text--HTML
Red Nails (1936))--Text--HTML
Gods of the North (1934)--Text--HTML
Thanks to a buddy on the Joe Deals list I just got the heads up on these. It looks like they make their debut at Comicon but go on sale nationwide this Friday! More info here.
Here is another draft excerpt from my Legends of Steel game, This time addressing magic items in the Sword & Sorcery genre.
Magic items
Magic items in LoS are rare and special. Many of you I'm sure have been in games where the players have at least one magic weapon and a half a dozen or so minor magic items. I played in one game where we were so magic-heavy that we had an NPC hireling carry a bag of extra magic stuff, which we used for bribes and trade. Magic items exist in LoS make no mistake about that. However, in LoS there isn’t the focus on them that you find in traditional fantasy games. There are no “Magic shops” where you can buy a lightning wand or a “+1 sword”. If the players somehow acquire an enchanted item, then that item should have a name and a history. In the genre of high fantasy, magic is common sometimes to the point where they border the mundane, not so in Sword & Sorcery tales.
With the exception of potions and maybe minor charms, magic items in the Sword & Sorcery genre are usually in the form of relics or ancient artifacts created for a specific task. The Barbarian Prince doesn’t use a +2 axe; he wields “The Blood Axe of the Bear killer clan”. By making magic rare its value increases hundred fold. When your players gain a magic item it becomes a defining moment. Take into account that the hero’s of the game represent at most 2% of the general population, and of that 2% maybe one in twenty would choose the path of a Mage. And of those, how many will ascend to the level at which the crafting of magic items is even possible?
Magic VS. Monster
With the scarcity of magic items and weapons it’s only fitting that supernatural creatures be given sufficient vulnerabilities that allow the heroes at least a chance at overcoming them, which is completely in line with the genres main theme; That a man with guts, and cold steel in his hands can overcome any obstacle. If it bleeds then it can be hurt. Therefore, the old standard fantasy RPG rule “Can only be hurt by magical weapons” should go right out the window. However, it shouldn’t be a cakewalk for the heroes. Maybe the Barbarians sword does hurt the Elder Demon, forcing it to dissipate and fight another day, but only the “Spear of Kings” can slay it forever, and there lies the adventure.
I love comics. I've been pretty active on eBay, hunting down the good stuff from the 70's. I've never been a collector, I'm a reader, having a shiny comic in a plastic case does absolutely nothing for me, which is why eBay is such a goldmine for me. I look for "lots" or "runs" of my favorite titles. I recently won a 17 issue run of "Deadly Hands of Kung Fu: for .99 cents ($4.99 with shipping). Lately I've been filling in my Sword & Sorcery gaps for LoS research. There are some good new titles out there, but at $2.99 + an issue, It's getting harder and harder to convince "She who must be obeyed" that we NEED to stop by the Comicshop During our weekend supply run.
My good Buddy Jeff Hebert just released the news that he has been working on a brand new Heromachine type project. It's related to a new show on the Sci Fi Channel from the mind of the immortal Stan Lee.
Good fun folks. I came up with my Hero "Prada". Prada has super fashion sense and leaping ability. He also sports a tan to die for.
I don’t do much computer gaming. And when I do I stick to the bargain bin games. I can't see myself paying full retail for a tabletop RPG, why should computer games be any different? So it's no surprise that I'm way behind the pack when it comes to discovering cool games.
I found one at Big Lots over the weekend for $6.99, It's called "Jagged Alliance2: Unfinished business" It's a turn based tactical military game done at squad level. These are generally my favorite type of games; I loved the old "Close Combat WWII" series of games that Microsoft made many moons ago.
In JA2 you control a group of mercs sent to a banana republic to help with a revolution. You have cash with which to recruit your mercs. All the mercs have varying levels of skills and personalities. Anyway I’m fumbling my way through it and having a blast. It may not be a new game, but it’s new to me.
Along with the rules set for LoS, I'm working on other projects to round the game out. Yesterday I posted some thoughts on taverns. I'm planning to add a section on Taverns and other dens of ill repute. I have also been working on a campaign world, actually revamping my own “Homebrew” world of Erisa by removing much of the high fantasy elements and restructuring it more in line with a classic Sword & Sorcery type of world (you could say getting rid of much the Elmore and adding more Frazetta). That way, there will be a ready-made S&S world in which to play.
Up above is a map I did back in 1995 using MS paint. Today, I finalized plans to have the map reworked and done Professionally. In addition to the map and World book, I’ll probably add a short adventure or two to try and set the tone. If anyone can think of an element they would like to see addressed in Legends of Steel please feel free to comment.
I've been thinking that you can't have a decent Sword & Sorcery game without addressing the subject of the Tavern. The Silver Eel, The Golden Lamprey and the Vulgar Unicorn - all classic taverns in S&S fiction. When Conan wasn't splitting skulls he could always be found at the nearest tavern or brothel. With that said I'm exploring different ways to have the tavern play a part in the LoS game. I'm trying to come up with something a bit more alive than the watered down taverns usually found in fantasy RPG's. Any suggestions out there? Hey, I ain't too proud.
Things have been mighty slow round theses here parts, mostly cause yours truly has been down with Pneumonia. Trying to get over this in the summer heat has been a drag. But it looks like the worst is over.
One of the guys over at the TSR games group posted this link to a cool site. Imagine if D&D was written buy some guys who were into classical Greek mythology rather than Steeped in western European influences. You would have Mazes and Minotaurs. I haven’t had the chance to play it yet but it’s a fun read. They even have several downloads of support and adventures, and a Yahoo group for discussion. Oh, and best of all it’s free!
I’m always on the look out for Sword & Sorcery stuff. I ran across a great little gem over at The Sword & Sorcery site. It’s a graphic tale called “Catspaw”. The story is written by John C. Hocking and illustrated by Storn Cook. The tale is given in serial form and every few days’ new panels are added. Be sure to drop by and check it out!
I just read some sad news; WizKids-the company that came up with the HeroClix and Pirates games is having a hard time of it, and subsequently will be laying folks off. The gaming industry has never been the most secure career path one could take, I admire the folks who try and make a go of making a living doing something they love. For the full story go to the Gaming Report.
Today I ran across the coolest RPG campaign site I've seen in a long time. It's called The Savage Earth. It's the world's of Thundarr, Conan, The Warlord, and Killraven all combined to make one kickass campaign. The site has original art, maps, character races and cultures. I could spend a day just wandering through and reading all the info (and I will). If your a lover of Sword & Sorcery, Lost Worlds, or just High adventure- this site has to be seen to be believed. What are you waiting for go check it out!
Despite several attempts by France to surrender before taking the field, it looks like they will still be forced to play Sweden today at noon ET.
I just made a shocking discovery. I was having a father / son talk with Anthony when I mentioned to him that he needs to try to stay a move or two ahead, like in Chess…He looked at me quizzically and said “But Dad, I don’t know how to play chess”.
The color drained from my face as I realized he was right. I hadn’t taught the boy how to play chess yet. Here he was 14 years old, in many cultures almost a man, and no training whatsoever in the classical game of strategy. After dinner I went to the store and bought a wooden set, just a starter set to get warmed up with, later I’ll get a fancy one for the family. I can’t believe that one almost slipped by me. So attention all dads out there: If you haven’t taught your kids the game of chess use this coming Father’s day as an opportunity to open a whole new world of thinking for your kids. Pick up a chess set and teach your children. Chess develops strategy skills, planning, critical thinking, imagination, and its fun!
One Sunday every month my local GI Joe collectors group gets together. It’s a group of about 10-15 guys, whose ages range from 35 to “60 something” who collect GI Joes and other action figures. We pick a different guys house each month and go have some lunch and kick back for a few hours. We do a bit of trading, showing off our latest finds and customs, and just hang out and be guys. I spend my workweek surrounded by women and my weekends with my wife and kids, so believe me when I tell you how necessary to get in some male bonding time.
I’ve been spending much of this morning working on LoS and listening to Molly Hatchet. Man, they bring back some great memories. I hit High school just as they were hitting the charts. A quick look on the Net shows they are still out there Rocking (Tonight they’re playing a festival in Sweden, not too shabby). Sad thing is the original lead singer-Danny Joe Brown passed away last year.
Continuing with the theme of having something to fill my Blog with, I'm including another draft section dealing with adversaries in my Sword & Sorcery RPG "Legends of Steel"
Who are the bad guys?
Bad guys are generally any human opponents your character encounters in LoS. There are several different levels of Bad guys, each one progressively more difficult to deal with.
Fodder-These guys are the nameless hordes of baddies-generic temple guards, street gangs, a city watch patrol and such. They posses only the most basic of training and they have no real special abilities to speak of. Their main strength comes from their numbers. Just remember, even the mightiest barbarian warrior can be felled by a goober who rolls a critical hit. The “Ignore Chumps” advantage applies to fodder.
Henchmen- These boys are a bit more deadly than the scrubby fodder guys. They might be elite temple guards, the king’s personal bodyguard, or a team of professional bounty hunters. However, the “Ignore Chumps” advantage applies to Henchmen as well.
Lieutenants- Lieutenants are the top trusted henchmen of your characters major foe. They are quite formidable in their own right in some cases they may be equal in skill to your character. They will posses the best equipment available.
Specialists- These guys are the “wildcards” they are often outside of the bad guys hierarchy, they are brought in to take care of a specific problem (and that problem is usually your character). Specialists are usually Blade masters, Sorcerers, Assassins, Etc. they are exceptional in their specific field and are usually equipped with the finest weapons and equipment including specially made customized gear.
Leaders- When it’s all said and done and we have reached the climax of the adventure, the Leader is the foe that must ultimately be vanquished. Normally the leader is the most dangerous of all the baddies. They posses the skills and resources to equip themselves with the best, in many cases this means weapons and items of magical power. They may also have contingency plans to employ should any encounter threaten them (they didn’t get to be leader by not being prepared). Don’t hesitate to allow your supreme baddie the chance for a quick getaway if it’s in any way feasible, so that he may continue to thwart your players in future adventures. On the other hand, don’t rob your players of their victory by having the supreme leader get away just because the Players have ruined your intricate scenario. Remember no adventure survives first contact with the player characters.
I'm working on a section on character motivation for the LoS game. here's a draft of what I have so far...
Why does your character do what he does? Why doesn’t he just settle down and work as a clerk in a dry goods store (hey, it’s honest work)? Why does he feel the need to explore ruins and kill strangers? What motivates the adventurer?
When creating your character be sure to give some thought to their motivation. The following are some classic examples used in countless tales.
Vengeance –
o Bandits raided you village and killed everyone while you were away hunting. Now you are hunting them down, one by one.
o The local lord lusted after your girlfriend, she spurned his sweaty advances and in a fit of rage he killed her.
o The ______clan has been your clan’s sworn enemy for years. At a meeting meant to end the feud your clan was ambushed. Somehow you survived. Now it’s payback time.
To win or win back a kingdom-
• You were prophesized to one day wear a crown and tread a despot beneath your sandaled feet.
• Your father was many things, a good general wasn’t one of them. He lost the battle, the war, and his kingdom. You pledged to him on his deathbed to return from exile and reclaim your rightful place as king.
Soldier of fortune-
• You live by your sword. It’s all you’ve ever known. Going from one job to another. Sometimes you believe what your fighting for, other times you just want enough to keep you in wine and whores till a better job comes along.
Kings agent-
• You are a patriot and loyal subject of your liege. You serve at his beck and call, and from time to time he has need of your special skills.
Freedom fighter-
• Your land has been overrun by an usurper and it has fallen to you and your comrades to free the people from the invader!
Remove a curse-
• The love of your life has been cursed by an unknown evil. She rests now, safe, but incurable. You have vowed to find a cure, lift the curse, or die trying.
Protect the child-
• It was written in the holy texts that a child of light shall be born, a child to bring peace to the age of man. It is your duty to protect this child from the evils of the world until she is ready to fulfill the prophecies
Get home-
• You haven’t seen you wife in five long years, your sons are becoming men without you, but now the wars are over and all you want to do now is get home. It’s going to be a long journey, we best get started.
Bored on the farm-
• Your father is a farmer, his father was a farmer, and your brothers are farmers. Your uncle, “the rebel” of the family is a baker. You have GOT to get out of this town.
Hero out of time-
• You are from another time or another world. You may be desperately trying to find a way back home or you might feel that your knowledge and skills will be enough to carve out a kingdom amongst these primitives.
Back in April I posted that Kingdom of Heaven will be re-released as an expanded directors cut with tons of additional footage. I saw it the other day, and believe me it’s like watching a whole other movie. So much was explained and made clear, there were whole story arcs that were abandoned by the studio that Ridley Scott felt were necessary to the story (and they were) the story is richer for all the added material. Just to give you a glimpse: I just couldn’t get my head around the fact that this village blacksmith could arrive in Jerusalem and suddenly know how to build trebuchets and fight off a siege. Well in the extended version we find out that Balian the blacksmith is not only an accomplished smith but also a veteran soldier who served as an engineer and sapper. That little nugget of info took like 5 seconds to convey but was left out of the theatrical version- talk about missing important plot points! If you are a fan of epic motion pictures you really owe it to yourself to see the extended cut of this movie. It’s a definite must have!
GI Spy was a comic I really hoped would take off. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. But I did find a copy of the one and only issue available as a free PDF download. Go to the bottom of the page and look for the download link (it’s small but it’s there. Give it a look-over- it was a fun premise and there are definitely ideas to be mined for a cool pulp RPG campaign.
We had a big meltdown over Memorial Day weekend my relatively new dell computer decided to give me blue screen hell. It took 5 years for me to suffer a major crash on my Aptiva and less than six months for it to happen on the Dell. And you sure in hell can tell the difference between the sales department and the tech support department. Sales is full of sunshine and promises while tech support can barely speak English (and their tech support is in the U.S., they wouldn’t give me a specific state “for security reasons” Feh.). so needless to say not only did I have to stay on hold for hour long stretches of time, but when I did get to the support, their answer was to wipe my drive clean and start all over. After all is said and done I guess all I can do is keep making backup discs every month. Not a happy Dell customer right now.
For some reason today my wife decided to have a chick flick marathon: Bridget Jones Diary, Serendipity, Sleepless in Seattle, Fools rush in, Etc. My boys were sitting there with their eyes glazed over watching Meg Ryan whine about men. I was forced to do what any self respecting Gamer Dad would do. I dragged the boys into the bedroom, set them up in front of our TV and slid in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. My little ones are 6 and 5 so this was their first exposure to a Harryhausen film. The results would make any Gamer-Dad proud; my boys were in awe of all the cool monsters. After the Golden Voyage I popped in the 7th voyage of Sinbad. The indoctrination has begun.
For some reason I’ve always been a fan of the super heroes on the lower side of the superpower spectrum. Rather than Superman, Thor, Wonder Woman, or the Silver Surfer, I’ve preferred heroes like Wildcat, Red Wolf, The Black Panther, and Union Jack. To me these guys have a tougher haul in the super hero world, they can’t leap over buildings or wield Power Cosmic, but at the end of the day they get the job done. I just found out that Union Jack will be getting a mini series in September, which is great news to me; I’ve been a fan of Union Jack since the original Invaders days. Check out the link for the whole story.
I'm still chugging along with Legends of Steel (LoS) the rules and mechanics are 90% done (still working on the Bestiary). In the “Game masters” section I’ve been adding some articles on the genre and advice on running a Sword & Sorcery game. Below is a part of an article for the movies section of the game book.
Appreciating Sword & Sorcery Movies
What can be said about Sword and Sorcery movies? To mainstream moviegoers the genre of Sword & Sorcery is a joke. Low budget sets, low budget actors, and low budget production values. But for lovers of the genre these are some of the very things that we treasure about them. I remember watching The Scorpion King and thinking “Ehh, it’s ok.” But then I watched the movie again while listening to the director’s commentaries and it made me re-evaluate the entire movie. Listening to the director speak about the details that the set designers added, the training the actors went through to get the sword fighting scenes down right, and countless other little touches that the cast and crew contributed to the film. I then began to realize that the guy was really proud of this movie and that a lot of folks put all their professional talent into the production. When I watch some of these movies now I tend to appreciate the efforts of the cast and crew so much more. Sword & Sorcery movies by their very nature are the most physically demanding movies some of these actors ever make. In “The Beastmaster”, Marc Singer was running around the desert in a loincloth, wrestling with tigers and ferrets, while his co-star Tanya Roberts had to swim partially nude in freezing water (Thank you Movie Gods for that scene). There are movies where it’s apparent that the actors are having a great time hamming it up for the camera (Jack Palance in “Hawk the Slayer” immediately comes to mind) and other movies where the actors are just going through the motions so they can pick up a paycheck.
If you’re a gamer chances are you’ve seen many of these movies. In fact some of the characters in your games may have been modeled after some of the characters in these movies right? Come on, admit it, what self-respecting gamer wouldn’t want to play a badass warrior like Captain Navarre in “Ladyhawke”?
I've been with the DH Conan since day one, and while the ride has never been a bad one, it really seemed uninspired art-wise at times. Thank goodness for Tim Truman. Tim brings the big barbarian alive for me. I'm a bit biased being a Truman fan since Scout back in the 80's. I no longer buy Conan just because it's Conan, I buy it to enjoy the adventures AND the art!
And incidently, "The Spear" was a great story and a real "Free comic day" treat.
