Keeping Up With TV - Fall 2015

Part of the spiel of why my productivity is so low, beyond family life and kids' activities is television catering to this man's demographic.  It's not perfect, but unlike comic book reboots, TV is even harder to cater to everyone's sensibilities.

The Walking Dead:  Considering I'm typing this after grabbing the DVR of the mid-season finale, it's as good a place as any to start with.  The "casual" WD fans hate this season.  Not enough deaths, weird pairings, and if I have to hear about the fate of Chinese kid for weeks on end, I'm going to start hitting people in the face with a shovel.

For me, it's the opposite reaction to the Season 2 at the Farm.  A whole half of a season dedicated to maybe 72 hours?    I expected a lot more maiming and death from the mid-season finale, but I appreciate the nods to the potential of things happening.  The Saviours are coming, and to do it properly might require more than a half a season of episodes.

And yeah, I know the kid's Korean  B-

Dr. Who:  This season has been rather bland.  I have a higher threshold for pain in regards to Moffat when compared to "True Whovians"  but everything is so intricately tied to everything else that I truly can't enjoy a "standalone" episode.  Oh, and my hate for Clara Oswald is finally pushing the boundaries.  I loved Jenna-Louise Coleman as Oswin long ago in  Asylum of the Daleks, but each appearance, each explanation of the storyline made things more insufferable.

The great news is that Peter Capaldi can chew through horrible lines and monologues like a herd of cows at feeding time.  "Heaven Sent" has been the only episode this season that I truly enjoyed, a "classic" Moffat redirection story that was tight, but ridiculous enough to make a great Who story.  My only worry is that the follow-up will be a flaming pile of crap that disregards half of what had been built up this season.   C

Jessica Jones:  This much vaunted second submission to the gritty, street level world of Marvel was supposed to blow the doors off Daredevil.  For me, someone with only the base idea of the original comic storyline, I watched the first four episodes, then the finale for very few surprises.   Dialogue was horribly inconsistent, ranging from updated noir-speak, to high falutin' indy comic scripts, to a vapid Image 90's style "THIS ENDS HERE!" approach.   C-

Agents of SHIELD: I was one of the few people who enjoyed the first season "Marvel Comics Present Spy/Police Procedural," so others may consider my standards low.  I'm enjoying all the haphazard moves Ward is making for Hydra, the other planet stuff with Simmons, but the spy soap opera stuff with the ATCU, May and Andrew, and Bobbi and Lance.  B

The Flash:  The girls and I started watching The Flash on Netflix and we've gotten through eight or nine episodes from Season One.  It's great.  The actors seem to enjoy the comic book lines when they get the chance, the special effects are solid, and for all the comic book logic that needs to be accepted, there is a more realistic look at death and dying in this series than I would have expected. And I love me some Captain Cold.  A

Supergirl:  My wife has crowded out our DVR on Mondays with The Voice and Dancing with the Stars, so hopefully the girls and I can catch up on a few missed episodes.  Another top notch series, although they drive home the feminist angle a bit harder than they need to.   The fact that an action series is populated by multiple highly-proficient women is fantastic (and something I missed before I started writing,) doesn't need comic-book level dialogue espousing the difficulty of being a woman under the scrutiny of the male-dominated peers.  Even with that minor nit-pick, and the cheesey super-prison as a main plot point, is my girls' favorite shows, finally supplanting Doctor Who as most requested Daddy-Daughter viewing.  A

The Big Bang Theory:  Even with the aftershocks of a wedding dominating the season, they've managed to keep up a healthier dose of nerdist itinerary to offset the practical relationship mumbo-jumbo that logically needs to be kept up.  Much better than last season  A

Drunk History:  The concept will always work on a base level, although this year I'm more enthused by the special guest stars reenacting the story (Urkel!)  B-

Gravity Falls:   There's only one more episode (Weirdmageddon III) before they close the book on the series as it is today.    There's so much more I want them to cover, but there are only so many days in a Summer to do it in.  Truly the one show that kept our whole family (wife included) entertained.  A+

Mister Rogers, Evil, and the Games of Make Believe

In a world of social media and 24-hour news cycles, it's not a surprise that the world was overwhelmed with the tragedy in Paris.  To see dozens of innocent people gunned down in cold blood, many with absolutely no chance to escape their faith,  

Everytime I see one of the  scores of "experts"  pontificate as to how this tragedy could be avoided, my eyes glaze over.  I'm not an evil person, but I'm much more interested in how much worse the terror attacks could be.

Since I'm not a member of the CIA, Al-Queda, or ISIL, I may be a game master. 

As a longtime GM with a background in history, I've spent considerable time going beyond the the flavor text and board game aspect that we all started with and more researching the "bad guys" to make them more effective than villain of week or boss monsters. 

Back during 9/11 I was stunned by the events just like everyone (15 hour days at the newspaper would guarantee it if it weren't so horrific to begin with.) By Friday, I had taken a half-day to have lunch with my friends who were still at college.  For a bitter, sarcastic bunch, they were simply abhorred by the end of the meal, as I went on a rant about how ill-thought out the attack was, the complete lack of contingencies, attacking a site on a holiday (Election Day in NYC), a devolving into a "if I were a terrorist I would do XYZ..." that involved six more conspirators, a completely different action, and would create a far greater panic in the Heartland.

Luckily I was not picked up by the FBI or other law enforcement for my rather tacky outburst, but the fact of the matter was I could think coldly and logically about such horrific things that allowed my friends to come to two conclusions:  (A) Don't make Eric angry and (B) Sometimes I may pull some punches when GMing with my friends, but most of the time, WATCH OUT!

Even the most "serious" role-players run their villains as a Scooby Doo monster of the week with some magic powers.  Heck, at best, they have the brilliance of some wild plan Cobra Commander or Skeletor devised on after-school TV, only to have it fall apart at the first glance of the heroes.   Greed and hate usually results in bank robberies and localized tragedies.  When we're playing in a world of drow elves, dragons, and liches living for for hundreds of years or more, shouldn't true evil show their faces in (horrific) competence?   Institutionalized evil is far more frightening than some raging bugbear barbarian terrorizing a hapless village.   The installed system could do far more damage to the PCs than the crazed machinations of the local doppelganger pretending to be a merchant.

Seriously guys, research some of the crazy atrocities committed by historical figures through the years.  It will add to your GMing style (and possibly land you on a terror list, but it's a small price to pay.)

To offset that talk about evil, I present a picture of Mister Rogers:

Roll for Initiative, Neighbor!

This has been floating around social media for awhile, with plenty of chuckles, but all of us know 1st Edition AD&D is much too violent for our favorite neighbor to run.   

What would Mister Rogers run at the table?  

In the show, he demonstrates a strong need for his neighbors to understand the difference between right and wrong and as much as the his stories can be railroaded (trollied?), it's more a device to get between one scene or another.   Most importantly, he would stress creativity and imagination.  He would certainly have a sandbox style often (C'mon he literally played in a sandbox in his backyard.)  

He would definitely run some of the more new-wave, independent games out there.   The Fates, the Fudges, and many a fast game of Risus.  I think he would like my attempt at making a game for the Disney Jr shows (with the serial numbers filed off, did you hear the stories about him going to prison, Vietnam, being a Navy SEAL?  All true! Honest!)     People would still get hurt, only killed in the most serious situations and when those traumatic situations occurred, he'd specifically look to award the helpers of the innocent.    Perhaps a game like Village on a Hill would be more his forte.  

Suggestions and ideas on either topic are welcome!

Bill and Ted's Excellent Boardgame

After weeks balancing between ennui and my head racing at a million miles an hour, something simple drags me back to Earth, and brings me unbridled joy.

Steve Jackson Games has announced the intended release of Bill and Ted's Excellent Boardgame.  

Excellent!!!!!

From the website:

Strange things are afoot in Bill & Ted's Excellent Boardgame!

Collect personages of historical significance in order to pass your oral history report. But beware! Every time you bag someone, the phone booth breaks most-heinously, and your adventure through time will take a most serious turn!

For $19.95, it immediately goes to the top of my want list.  This will arrive at the house as soon as it comes available... unless I find a phone booth

Edited due to over-enthusiasm.  I thought it was already released. 

This is Madness... This is SATLOF 2015!

Our extended group, both gamer and general weirdo alike, had a lot more mandatory high holy days than we had before.  Halloween and Paupuno Day (Super Bowl Sunday) are both run by Steve and attendance is nothing like it was before.   I have the day of Day of Sloth, and that has declined over the years to the point that this year we effectively had a secret enclave.

Nate has SATLOF, and while the numbers have declined, it is a can't-miss occasion for the core group.

SATLOF (Saturday After Thanksgiving Left Over Feast) was originally a concept (born of Steve's high school friend FATLOF) where everyone brought their leftovers for a party and pig-off two days after Thanksgiving.   It's evolved over the years, to where Nate essentially cooks a turkey with all the fixings, and we all bring a non-leftover item to the festivities (We took responsibilities for corn and rolls.)  Lots of good food, lots of good booze, and perhaps a game or two.

Outside forces have changed the holiday.  Nate moving to Allentown scared away a number of the Pocono attendees.  Kids have certainly changed the dynamic, but since there's more of them now they distract themselves.  And the desire to get completely faced has been whittled down to two or three participants.

This year, the front of the  food line was graced with this disturbing image.  

Of all the aluminum foil clad dishes, one was empty with another picture inside it and  "You chose ... Poorly..."  Food was great as always.

We managed to shed the children and meet at the basement bar for gaming and liquor.    Steve broke out Eggs and Empires, and it still ran great with six players.

The Silver Gnome overlooks the fate of the Empire.

I then broke down and played my first-ever game of Cards Against Humanity.    I stand by all my previous claims, although I must admit it was a raucous good time.  As my girls were quietly playing on the other side of the basement, I was given the questionable cards to read alot, essentially a parental filter.  Luckily, I only needed to rework one card.  

We got 15 minutes of game talk in, solidifying the 13th for the first game of the 2nd Edition AD&D campaign Hoyce wants to start.  I covered Spirit of '77 with a few of them, and we had a hasty debate about using Goodberries on unconscious characters.

The International Sign for a Par-Tay!

I had a great time, the girls had a fun time playing with some ... boys (???), and even my wife enjoyed herself.  So long as there are toys, I don't think I need to bring along kids games for the group, but it's a good cross-section for a playtest.

(Kickstarter) Harwood Hobbies Presents 28mm Cutists

The holiday season isn't the greatest time to launch a Kickstarter, but Harwood Hobbies' 28mm Cultists, is low-key enough that it should work

 

For the pledge levels, disregard the prices on the pictures.  A $13 CAD pledge (just over $10US) will net you the three axe cultists, and $25CAD/$19US level gets you the axe cultists, a Mr Karswell figure, plus the Daughter of Yog-Sothoth.   "The Duke" is considered an add-on for the time being.

 

 

They are also offering their current minis lines, Sinbad and Lovecraft Circle, as add-ons.

(Kickstarter) Runequest 2nd Edition Reprint

On a day full of new Kickstarter launches, most are just horribly displayed, disastrously planned, or seemingly redundant (really?  ANOTHER Kickstarter for magic missile dice?)

The one exception is the Runequest 2nd Edition Reprint, presented in conjunction with Moon Design/Chaosium.  The material is ready to go to the printer, the pdfs are bookmarked and are ready to be emailed.  

The $30 tier nets you the Runquest 2nd Edition hardcover, 20 pages of player handouts, and a handy GM screen, plus pdfs of all the products (Shipping from the US looks to add an additional $11-33+ to the cost of your pledge, but we aren't looking at Horror on the Orient Express-level disasters that eventually forced Moon Design into their current position within Chaosium. 

And yes, if stretch goals are reached, Apple Lane will become available again.

Shelving the Elf

***SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT***

This year, the lovable "Elf on the Shelf" may be unavailable to tens of thousands of homes..