Star Trek XI

Like most geeks, I'm keeping tabs on what's going on with the new Star Trek movie coming out in May 2009. Looks like someone from AICN got a brief preview of two scenes and chats about it here: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37648

But it is this line in particular that stood out to me: I can't emphasise how real they look. They all use models, no super shiny pure CGI like in Nemesis.

That just does my heart a world of good. The models are what made the ship scenes for me. They're much more real than the plethora of CGI thrown at movie-goers today (I'm looking at you, Lucas, and those insipid Indy IV prairie dogs). Star Trek XI just keeps sounding better and better.

"The 11th Hour" Review

This was a pdf I wrote a couple years back featuring a unique (well, unique among rpgs anyway) twist and no suggested combat encounters. Frequent reviewer of all things, Chris Gath, has kindly posted a review of The 11th Hour pdf on his enworld blog: http://www.enworld.org/forum/blog.php?b=546

Shadowbred

I just finished this first novel in a new trilogy from WotC by Paul Kemp and, let me tell you, it was damned good! Sembian political maneuvering, Shadovar machinations, a jail break inside a magic-dead zone--this book keeps you reading happily until the cliffhanger ending. I know this title has been available for awhile but I'm trying to read these gradually since there's such a break in between the novel's release dates. Hate to read book one only to forget what's going on by the time book two comes out the following year. You know what I'm talking about.

Still, there's something about title character Cale which just doesn't sit right with me. Maybe I've read to many Drizzit novels, but I'm weary of the bad dude trying to make good routine. Granted, Cale is more "dark" than everyone's favorite dark elf but...I can't really put my finger on it. The fact that Cale gives in to his dark side once in awhile is more realistic...eh, I've never been good at book reports. I say go read it (and the other Cale books) and judge for yourselves. Good stuff, all the same.

Tricky Owlbear Store

We just set up our own little corner of cafepress here: http://www.cafepress.com/trickyowlbear

Our wonderful logo by Rick Hershey is the only image on the items for now but we're brainstorming new images so keep watching!

Podcasts

One of my web-buddies, Ed Healy, started up a podcast recently here: http://www.atomicarray.com/

It's good stuff! They spoke with Richard Iorio of Rogue Games about his cool-sounding game Colonial Gothic. I know Ed through Kobold Quarterly, but he's far busier than being involved with one magazine. See his info here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ephealy

So what podcasts do you listen to? I can't say there's one in particular that I go to again and again (can't seem to find the time).

Vacation Thoughts

My long vacation is at an end and tomorrow it's back to work. So what did I do with my time off? The first portion--last Thursday thru the weekend--was a blur of preparing and unleashing the planar adventure. Entitled "The End of Days, part I" the module saw the unfolding of my "Stop 4th Edition!" story arc. As you may or may not know, the planar campaign is based in Sigil where the party belongs to an organization called the Protectorate. This power group runs missions through Starg--er, I mean glyph gates that are scattered throughout the multiverse. For this story arc, there is a nemesis called the chidahn, a militant race of humanoid dragonfly-men from another dimension bent on the annihilation of our multiverse. Apparently, the chidahn invaded millennia ago but were stopped by the gatebuilders. The PCs learned that the gatebuilders used an artifact to capture the chidahn and trap them in a special demi-plane; the artifact sending some kind of magical wave outward through all glyph gates. Some of the chidahn escaped imprisonment and went into a kind of coccoon-like stasis.

But now that artifact is nearly spent (or, as referred to in the module, "is dying") and the glyph gates are coughing up chidahn at random places. Unless the PCs can fix the problem, the artifact will be spent and a massive shockwave of power will explode through the gates, wreaking havoc on any world they are on and unleash the chidahn from imprisonment (some of this info will be revealed next game). Should be fun!

After Sunday, my last week was spent going in day trips: hiking, Atlantic City, and, perhaps my favorite trip this week, going to the Princeton Record Exchange in NJ. The place isn't huge but it's got a lot of music and dvds. And by music I mean everthing from cds to vinyl. Most items are used and the prices are thus quite good. I picked up 2 cds, the special edition of Highlander and 2 seasons of JAG that Scot, Zlaty and I have been watching. Friday was a stay at home day. Sat saw an outing to Red Robin and back-to-back mini-golfing sessions with Scot, Zlaty, and the Cuthberts. Much fun was had. Today was the customary cleaning and relaxing.

Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of Tricky Owlbear's existence and we'll have a special announcement about a certain product everyone's been waiting for.

Celebrate Your Independence

Although you probably think this is a 4th of July post, it is not. (All the same--Happy 4th!!) What this post is, however, is a call to cherish the gaming legacy we pave everyday. What the heck am I talking about? How often do you get a slight feeling of guilt or shyness when you admit to a stranger that you roleplay (be it D&D or whatever)? I thought about this the other day and realized--there is no reason for shame! Gamers of my age and older who are still playing are actually blazing a trail for everyone behind us. There is no basis of comparison or standard by which gamers of our generation can be judged since we are the first. We shall determine at what age it is "socially acceptable" to game.

I'm not espousing that gaming be equated to "coolness" but we have the opportunity to make it less awkward at the very least. If we unite in our common response of, "I'm gaming this weekend," then soon it will be just like saying, "I'm fishing" or "I'm golfing." Hmm, maybe we can get some bumper stickers made:" Gone Gaming'"

So this 4th of July, revel in your gaming independence and, like this country's founding fathers, be a beacon of hope for all roleplayers to follow.

"Free iPod with Braces"

I saw this little gem of an ad on the way home from Delaware today and had to snicker. But on reflection, why the heck doesn't this dentist just forgo the ipod and reduce the price of braces? It's not like the kids are paying for them anyway, right? Besides, a kid still can't sing in public to his new ipod sporting those braces without risking public humiliation. :)

Moving on, today is Day 1 of my extended holiday from work. There's a mandatory shutdown all next week plus the option of not coming in today or tomorrow. Guess which option I exercised? That's right, 10 more days of vacation--woot! Okay, so it's not all sunshine as not all of those days are with pay (one of them to be precise). But I'm hoping to make some of that lost money up when Linda and I do the Borgata in Atlantic City next Wed. You never know!

Weekend Happenings and the GSL

Blogger ate my previous post where I addressed the GSL but we'll see if I can sum it up here: I don't care for it one bit. It's a moot point, I suppose, since I don't plan on jumping into 4e anyway (either as a roleplayer or as a publisher) but you have to admit that the "we can revoke this at will" clause is a bit disturbing. Not to mention the fact that if you convert a current 3.5/OGL product to 4e then it can never go back. "Bah," I say, "To hell with that crap." It's been nice adventuring with D&D's owners over the last 25 years (give or take) but now I'll be stepping off the bus, thank you.

Elsewhere in RPG news, Joe Goodman contacted me on Friday. He was interested in my freelancing schedule and, although it pained me to say it, I had to bow out of the request for writing. I loved working with Goodman Games but 4e (as noted above) is not something I'll be participating in and that is, understandably, Goodman's push for now. On the brighter side, when I mentioned needing most of my time to devote to Tricky Owlbear, Joe said he thought out "Behind the..." lines were a great idea. Nice to see other publishers (especially one so noteworthy) liking our stuff!

On to other things. It was "Free RPG Day" this past Saturday and did you get out there to peruse the offered goodies? I sure did, along with Scot and Zlaty. We each nabbed, among other things, Mongoose's Traveller-0 booklet and Goodman's Punjar primer and the sweet looking Paizo adventure. We went to a little place called Cyborg One, located in Doyelstown, PA. They were nice enough to let each of us pick up multiple titles. I bought some of the new D&D minis out of courtesy and Scot bought one of the White Wolf Mage books for a few % off.

Sat. night the three of us along with Greg and Heather took the RISK--Star Wars Classic edition out for a test drive after having purchased it last Wed. Good stuff even though we did not finish the game before folks had to scurry home around midnight (are we getting too old or what?!).

Sunday saw some room cleaning (bought a new rug Friday night--6'x9' for only $40 from Pier 1) and then a trip with my parents to Delaware Park. It must have been my day as I turned $180 into $352.50. Not bad for 2 hours work.

This week will be spent in module prep as the planar PCs delve further into the mystery surrounding my "Stop 4th Edition!" story arc.

Birthday Treats

Today I turn a venerable 33 years old. Decided to take a vacation day from work and Linda and I are headed for a fun-filled day to Atlantic City. I received a very nice card from my grandmother (containing some money) as well as a $50 gift card to Borders from the parents. Not bad so far! Here's hoping AC delivers something nice. Wish us luck!

IJ: KotCS

Oh, where to begin reviewing this Indiana Jones sequel? Don't expect the following discussion to be spoiler free...

Aliens: At first, I thought I'd have a problem with aliens in the movie. But as the "story" unfolded, it wasn't that bad. I mean, the movie was true to the era it depicted, right? So, aliens as subject matter...okay. But how about that look? Did it seem to anyone else that the crystal skull seemed to be a miniaturized version of the critters from Cameron's Aliens? I had no problem with their supposed purpose on Earth as archaeologists (and while they're here, why not teach the locals of the time farming, etc.?). So...aliens not terrible.

Russians: Couldn't Indy fight, oh I don't know, Russians that sound like Russians? With Ms. Blanchett as Colonel Doctor Spunky, it's like casting Tim Curry as a Russian (oh yeah, they did that in Congo but at least his accent was passable). As a whole, these baddies were just bland. I mean, how did they not only grab a convoy of American vehicles but also gain access to the location of Area 51? And apparently their accuracy is on par with that of stormtroopers since they couldn't hit Jones at a mere 10 feet distance. Just, blech. Next time, flush the Russians and bring back the Nazis (perhaps in the form of Oddessa).

Jones: Harrison still looked good as Indy but man did he manage to mumble alot of his lines. Uh, Mr. Ford, could you please pay attention to what you're doing?

Plot: There's really too much to go over in one blog post. Let's just say that what plot there was was strung together loosely by minor characters and Indy was just along for the ride. He stumbled from plot point to plot point like a drunken sailor. It was good to see Marian again but she was pretty much useless except to (repeatedly) reinforce the fact that Shia's character Mutt was Indy's son. By the end, their marraige just had no emotional impact on me. It's been too long since we've seen her and it's not as if any of the characters were in danger throughout the movie anyway. Between the overly long jungle chase/fight, the waterfall drops, and their immunity to Russian bullets, any sense of jeopardy was shifted to whether or not the theater's popcorn was too salty.

Music: At the very least, I was expecting a decent Williams soundtrack. Bzzz! Wrong again. Between the snippets I've heard online and what I could hear in the theater, I'm not impressed. It was nice to hear the Ark theme, Last Crusade father/son theme, and Marion's theme again but any new material was simply phoned in by the composer. The skull's theme and action cues were brief and uninspired.

The Good?: There were a couple brief authentic chuckles for me. First was when Indy and Mutt slid through the library and the student asked a question of Jones. And then again when the kid was told not to stay in the library for real archaeology. Second was when Indy rocketed the jungle shredder and, after the CGI had dissipated, John Hurt's Ox repeated his mantra, "Henry Jones Jr." Another soft giggle came when Indy began to insist that Mutt finish school after he found out the kid was his son. Although that joke was visited too many times.

Final Thought: The true measure of a movie for me is whether I plan on adding it to my dvd collection. Sadly, the answer here is "no." I will not tell anyone, despite what I've noted above, not to go see KotCS. It is, after all, and Indiana Jones flick. Just don't expect it to be as good as the others. Indy's good years are gone as a franchise. Unfortunately, they had to make just one more movie in order to figure that out.

Holiday Weekend

Been awhile! How's everyone doing? Not too much planned here for the 3-day weekend but I'll find something to occupy my time. There's scant work to do yet to finish BtS: Feather Fall so that's one goal. I'll probably finish my re-read of Dragons of Spring Dawning (I was going through these and splicing in the new Lost Chronicles trilogy by Weis & Hickman but with the recent report that the final book will not be published, I figured I'd just better finish reading the original trilogy and move on). I started Paul Kemp's Shadowbred but am not terribly far into yet. Yeah, I know it's been out for awhile but trilogys take so long to come out that I didn't want to rush jumping into it lest I forget what happened in the book before the one that is most recently released.

As you can see from the Tricky Owlbear blog, the print version of BtS: Compendium is coming along well. There's a long thread on the Paizo board where I'm hawking it to the folks there who don't appear to have any knowledge of the series (gasp!). Come on over and join the fun here: http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/community/gaming/dnd/behindTheSpellsCompendiumPrintUpdate

In other news, one of my co-workers died suddenly this week and I attended his memorial service yesterday with about 15 other co-workers in Reading, PA. Robert "Buz" Wrenn was a good man who I spoke with every day, sometimes at length, as I made my way through the plant. He was only 47 and the cause of death is not yet known (to me anyway--rumor is blood clot). Tragic...he leaves behind numerous children and a wife who not long ago lost her first husband. :(

This is a weekend to remember fallen military men and women but don't stop there in your remembrances. Take a little time to recall the good times with all lost friends and relatives...and cherish the lives of those you can still spend time with. Have a great weekend!

I Am Iron Man...

...the last words of this really good movie which I saw last night. There was excitement aplenty and a couple good laughs (by good, I mean which make me do so out loud and not just chuckle at). I know nothing about Iron Man's comic history and I don't feel like I missed a thing in my ignorance. Go see this flick if you enjoy superhero movies in general (also got to see IJ: KotCS and The Dark Knight previews = good).

And this must be the weekend for good things as more GSL details shake loose. Looks like companies can now produce OGL and 4e products as long as they are on a product line basis--meaning a company can publish for both rules sets but not in the same line. I couldn't do a Behind the Spells 4e upgrade unless I somehow created a whole new way of going about it. But, to be honest, the rules I've seen as of now still haven't convinced me that I'll be dabbling in the 4e sandbox anyway so that's OK. I can always change my mind down the line and jump in at any time.

I'm working this weekend on completing BtS: Feather Fall in an effort to stick to Tricky Owlbear's release schedule. BtM: Gargoyle is in layout with Scot now. Looks dreary out today anyway so I say it's a good day to work inside.

In other news, my sister Katy arrived safely with her family in Hawaii yesterday. Her husband is in the Army and was just reposted there from Arizona. Katy is expecting her 3rd child within a month's time so I'm glad they're situated for awhile. Er, well, they're in a hotel room until more permanent accomodations are procured for them but at least the military doesn't let you in the street. :)

GSL = Ugh

While not officially released as of this moment (or even finished yet, for all I know), the OGL replacement--GSL (Game System License)--looks to be about as appealing as a trip to the proctologist. If you haven't yet read the newest gossip (including comments from WotC folk), please see the front page of ENWorld...all done? Okay, good.

So, why do you suppose WotC wants to put the genie back in the bottle? And by the genie I mean the third party support started and nurtured by the OGL back in 2000. Is it to keep some of their market share from splintering into 3rd party pockets? Perhaps, but Hasbro is a juggernaut and I doubt the loss of a few bucks would prompt the horrendous way they're handling the GSL's formation and release. And I mean horrendous in every sense of the word--from the early $5K fee to jerking those truly interested companies around who would have plunked down that outrageous fee, to delaying, to backtracking on what was said before, to now, 49 days before 4e's release, still not knowing what the hell they're doing.

Oh, what's that Scott Rouse, you're still listening to what people are saying on the messageboards so you can continue to nudge the GSL's language appropriately. Dear Lord, people, make a fucking decision. You're not going to please everyone so stop trying. Of course, pleasing people isn't apparently a goal considering today's revelation that not only will the former d20 logo have to be filed off all third-party products by year's end but also that a company will not be able to release 3e products and 4e products--choose the fate of your company!

Do you know what all this is telling me? That the decision makers at WotC are scared. Scared that their precious new golden game cannot stand on its own two feet. Scared that fans who are willing to buy the core books will then flee in terror back to 3e supporters after they see what the company has wrought. Why else force third-parties to make the choice (again, nothing is set in stone but this looks like the way it's headed)?

For the record, I'm very glad that I had Tricky Owlbear produce products only under the OGL umbrella. Before 4e's announcement, I knew the logo might cause a problem down the road and thought it best to leave it off our stuff. We can sell the pdfs just fine without it, thank you very much. Consumers are savvy enough to know what "v3.5/OGL compatible" means.

In any case, it'll be very interesting to see what eventually shakes out of WotC with the GSL but I won't be surprised to hear more fan and company disapproval before it's all said and done. Viva la 3.5!

Good Game!

The planar campaign's recent installment--"Calamar"--went according to plan. An island prison accessed only by a carefully controlled glyph gate was the dumping ground for the more dangerous criminals of the gnome-dominated Fendaris Imperium (hah, did you hear that WotC, gnomes will crush you!). Not long before the PCs arrival, another team from the Protectorate was sent on a standard recon mission (note: the campaign, if you haven't been keeping track, is essentially a Stargate rip-off without goa'uld) and they are overdue to report back. When the PCs arrive, it seems the prisoners are loose and the guards are dead (wouldn't much of an adventure without that, eh?). Seems the Imperium enjoyed implanting mind flayer tadpoles into inmates to make them very susceptible to suggestion (thereafter being productive, if docile, members of society). But now, they decided to implant those creatures into the resident trio of chuul (thus making uchuulon from the Stormwrack supplement) and then all hell broke loose. To make this long story short, one member of the other team was recovered (just barely avoiding implantation) and the PCs recovered the piece of the glyph gate needed to make it function and return home.

On A Lighter Note

Looks like we're playing a planar campaign adventure tomorrow by yours truly. Scot recently ran an adventure that nearly ended in a TPK. Only my ninja and our spiker fighter survived the Steel Dragons' assault (a FR power group Scot made up). The centaur and paladin were either slain and then taken away or simply stolen away by the force, our PCs weren't sure. That little thread will be played out under Scot's able DMing another time while the rest of the characters (with spikey Ahre and sneaky Silfaan having time to recover now) are off on another mission for the Protectorate.

For this adventure, which I'm calling "Calamar," the trip might be one-way. But what they cannot expect is a reunion with a PC who went MIA during the season premiere. Should be an exciting adventure!

Bitchy People

How many of you know/are related to/work with this type of person? These are the folks who, it seems, nothing pleases them. Sometimes they seem happy but, oh my, don't get on their bad side or they'll snipe you while your back is turned something fierce. What happened to their smile? Why do they turn on their fellow human beings like rabid animals at the drop of a hat? I'd suggest doing a study if only they were safe enough to be near for any amount of time. Unfortunately, when you do work with these people, it affects you negatively as well. Can't be helped...you start turning into one of them and only until you realize and admit it can you start to pull away. I say if you have a problem with someone, take it to them face to face.

We've only got one turn on this earth here so why not make the best of it? Smile and be cordial to your fellow man. If more of us did this, than maybe the world would be a better place.

(Nothing recent prompted this post...just felt like venting as it was stewing inside me for a long time)

Sanctuary

It's been awhile since the last release, but I'm still slowly writing the Behind the Spells series. This time it's Sanctuary that comes under my edition-spanning magnifier. Even after 38 releases now, it's fun to come up alternate ideas and histories for these classic spells. See the Tricky Owlbear blog for links to this latest product.

Okay, my last Gygax tribute link

I told myself I wouldn't post another link about the great DM's passing, but this article is simply too excellent not to pass along: http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/news/2008/03/ff_gygax?currentPage=all#

I appreciate that you get insight from both Gygax and Arneson, as I'd never really understood the rift between the two. It's a shame no one knows the terms of the settlement with Arneson suing TSR.

New Dog!

Although still in mourning for Veronica, a situation arose that we could not turn a blind eye to. A pure-bred cocker spaniel, of slightly darker coloring than Veronica, was being given away by a woman Linda and Kristi know. After discussing it with them, my family agreed the 8-week old female sounded very promising. Kristi brought the pup (named Princess by the other family) to her place so my mom and I could go have a look. Well, we were certain she'd be coming home with us before we even got there. Sure enough, this puppy is too cute and has a spunky personality to boot! Since the other family wanted nothing for the pup except that she get a nice home, we took her home as our own. En route, I suggested the name Jasmine since none of us were happy with Princess (although it went with the Princess theme and this is my favorite Disney animated princess--er, as much as a grown man can have one of those :-)).

We're keeping Jasmine in the laundry room for now to sleep and, now on night #2, she appears to be taking it in stride. We're all happy to have her as a member of the family and hope she gives us as many or more happy years as Veronica.