Sunday, June 10, 2012
NTRPG Con 2012 - Day Three
Even more tired - if that is possible. :)
So, The Boy and I arrived back at the con in the morning to play in the finals of Circus Maximus. Tim Kask refereed the game. Regretfully, the rest of The Boy's team did not show up, so he was a solo player. Everyone on the White Team showed up though. However, it didn't help. None of my team made it across the finish line. it was brutal out there, I tell you - BRUTAL. Great fun, all the same.
Afterwards, The Boy found a Battletech table. That was lucky, as I'm sure he would have complained about going to do what I wanted to - which was to go sit in a room and listen to people talk. :)
The Artist Panel was great. It consisted of Erol otus, Jennell Jaquays, Jeff Dee, Diesel LaForce, and Jason Braun. During the panel, they drew monsters and answered our questions. I really enjoyed listen to ALL of them complain about things in art that I have a hard time doing - it makes me feel better as an artist. :)
I was soooo happy that Stars Without Number won the Three Castles Award. I'm a big fan of the role playing game, and I congratulate Kevin Crawford on his victory.
In the evening, we got to play Empire of the Petal Throne with Victor Raymond. Jeff Dee also played, as well as John Eric Holmes's son Chris. I had read about Tekumel, and had wanted to play the game for decades. I finally got my chance!
We decided to play a group of characters devoted to 'Change' - kind of like Chaotic in D&D. We had one alien in the group. I chose a female priestess named Merla, who was a devotee of Dlamelish. She was sort of a religious courtesan, I think. Odd for a courtesan to be dungeon delving, but I played her up as a spoiled rich girl who would throw away the lives of her slaves to ensure her own comfort. She burned through two of her three slaves that way.
i had a blast playing in Tekumel, and Victor Raymond was great. I know we frustrated him with out antics something fierce. More the once he physically banged his head against the wall after we did or said something. But somehow, we all survived. Well, we did that buy sacrificing slaves to monsters and running. Pretty effective, if you ask me.
After Tekumel, it was more Battletech for The Boy - whom I had to physically drag away from the table so we could get home.
One more day in the con left . . .
- Ark
Saturday, June 9, 2012
NTRPG Con 2012 - Day Two
Take my exhaustion from yesterday and multiply it a couple of times and you'll gt my exhaustion level right now. But it was a great day all the way round. I probably should go to sleep, but last year I tried to get a lot of rest before I wrote much about the con - and it backfired - becoming a jumbled mush in my head. So I'm writing now.
Today was a bit lighter. We hung out most of the day without actively gaming, just chatting with people, watching others game, and rooting loudly in other Circus Maximus contests.
I had a great talk with Diesel LaForce. We discussed his time back at TSR and what he's been doing since - and he showed me his own project to recreate some of the lost works from the TSR years. Wonderful stuff. His work has just moved light years since Deities and Demigods. We then went into his techniques with pen and the artists that he tries to emulate. He's also doing sculpting these days, and The Boy fell in love with a dragon piece, so he not only bought one for himself, the Boy also bought one for a new found friend of his at the con. My son amazes me often with his generosity. Diesel seems like a great guy too. :)
The Boy and I sat down with Frank Menzter during dinner and we ate Schlotzsky's sandwiches together. Frank regaled us with stories of his participation in the Gettysburg Centennial celebration - at Gettysburg. He's been involved with some really cool stuff. And, you know, talking to a guy who can describe what the downstairs and upstairs of Gary Gygax's house looked like - including what pictures hung on the walls - is just way cool anyway. I wasn't able to get into any of his games this time around, but it was a pleasure to get to sit down and talk to him. Hopefully next year we'll get to play in something of his.
The evening was spend playing OD&D with Tim Kask. Erol Otus was there too. Tim ran us through Snakeriders of the Aradondo. I was somewhat apprehensive about playing with Tim - as he always seem to to me as being a bit gruff and, well, a guy who didn't put up with shit from players. And certainly The Boy and I can dish out big piles of shit. But he was great. I mean, still, he was a mean bastard of a DM who didn't take any shit from us, but a DM who can howl in laughter at the PCs antics certainly isn't too gruff. We didn't complete our objective - midnight came around way too soon - so I guess the world ended (really) but officially, only two in the party died. The first was eaten by monkeys and became monkey poo. That will teach him to sleep in a tree during his watch, eh? And the second death was when another player was bitten in half by a giant snake. The Boy, Erol, I, and the rest of the team survived officially, I guess, so all was good. I mean, as long as you don't count the whole end of the world thing. :)
So, I'm exhausted, and will crash after I strain my bleary eyes over this post to check for typos. Goodnight.
- Ark
P.S. - Oh, and this guy here is a great dude. We keep on crossing paths and it is always a blast.
P.S.S. - Oh oh oh. And this guy here is great too. He makes these great wooden dice at Artisan Dice - some of which the Boy now owns. Very beautiful stuff.
Okay, really, time to sleep . . .
Today was a bit lighter. We hung out most of the day without actively gaming, just chatting with people, watching others game, and rooting loudly in other Circus Maximus contests.
I had a great talk with Diesel LaForce. We discussed his time back at TSR and what he's been doing since - and he showed me his own project to recreate some of the lost works from the TSR years. Wonderful stuff. His work has just moved light years since Deities and Demigods. We then went into his techniques with pen and the artists that he tries to emulate. He's also doing sculpting these days, and The Boy fell in love with a dragon piece, so he not only bought one for himself, the Boy also bought one for a new found friend of his at the con. My son amazes me often with his generosity. Diesel seems like a great guy too. :)
The Boy and I sat down with Frank Menzter during dinner and we ate Schlotzsky's sandwiches together. Frank regaled us with stories of his participation in the Gettysburg Centennial celebration - at Gettysburg. He's been involved with some really cool stuff. And, you know, talking to a guy who can describe what the downstairs and upstairs of Gary Gygax's house looked like - including what pictures hung on the walls - is just way cool anyway. I wasn't able to get into any of his games this time around, but it was a pleasure to get to sit down and talk to him. Hopefully next year we'll get to play in something of his.
The evening was spend playing OD&D with Tim Kask. Erol Otus was there too. Tim ran us through Snakeriders of the Aradondo. I was somewhat apprehensive about playing with Tim - as he always seem to to me as being a bit gruff and, well, a guy who didn't put up with shit from players. And certainly The Boy and I can dish out big piles of shit. But he was great. I mean, still, he was a mean bastard of a DM who didn't take any shit from us, but a DM who can howl in laughter at the PCs antics certainly isn't too gruff. We didn't complete our objective - midnight came around way too soon - so I guess the world ended (really) but officially, only two in the party died. The first was eaten by monkeys and became monkey poo. That will teach him to sleep in a tree during his watch, eh? And the second death was when another player was bitten in half by a giant snake. The Boy, Erol, I, and the rest of the team survived officially, I guess, so all was good. I mean, as long as you don't count the whole end of the world thing. :)
So, I'm exhausted, and will crash after I strain my bleary eyes over this post to check for typos. Goodnight.
- Ark
P.S. - Oh, and this guy here is a great dude. We keep on crossing paths and it is always a blast.
P.S.S. - Oh oh oh. And this guy here is great too. He makes these great wooden dice at Artisan Dice - some of which the Boy now owns. Very beautiful stuff.
Okay, really, time to sleep . . .
Friday, June 8, 2012
NTRPG Con 2012 - Day One
It's late and my head hurts, but that doesn't prevent me from smiling. The Boy and I just got back from day one of NTRPG Con.
We got to the hotel earlier than I had hoped, so we were able to watch the charity game. Well, I got to watch it. The Boy was lucky enough to win a raffle allowing him to play in the game. So, my son got to play first edition AD&D with Doug Rhea, Jim Ward, Steve Winter, Jennell Jaquays, Tim Kask, Sandy Petersen, and Frank Mentzer.
Jealous much?
I must say, I would have never guessed Sandy Peterson, the main author of the game Call of Cthullu, would be so hilarious playing a halfling. All the players were great fun to watch. Really. Watching that game alone was worth the entire price of admission for the con. Steve Winter as a druid cursed with pyromania against trees? Jim Ward playing a . . . mage maybe . . . who was a habitual liar trying to get everyone killed? Sandy the halfling and Tim Kask the gnome riding a horse in saddle bags. Then Frank Metnzer filling the saddle bags with manure? I mean - wow - my sides still hurt.
Regretfully, the Urutsk game did not happen. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I hope Timeshadows is okay.
Instead, the Boy and I played Circus Maximus. I was kind of skeptical, since it was a chariot race rather than a role playing game - but now I know - if you ever have a chance to play that game - play it. It's like the chariot races in Ben Hur - but nastier. The first game was viscous, with many contestants getting splattered. Near the end, the Boy destroyed my chariot, killing me, and winning a coveted spot on the Red Team for the Finals on Saturday morning.
Later, I fought in a match for a spot on the White Team. I spent far too much time bashing people, and being bashed, and nearly too late realized that I would never win with speed in my crippled chariot. So, I lurked around the track at slow speed, attacking charioteers as they raced by, hoping to win by attrition. Oddly enough, I freaked so many people out, and they made enough fatal mistakes trying to avoid me, that I won a spot on the White Team.
So Saturday, the Boy and I will be battling each other on opposing teams in a Circus Maximus Death Match that will be remembered for all time. Well, at least until the next con rolls around.
You might get the impression that I had a good time today - and you'd be right. :)
Now, I must get to sleep or my ears will start to bleed. Good night.
- Ark
We got to the hotel earlier than I had hoped, so we were able to watch the charity game. Well, I got to watch it. The Boy was lucky enough to win a raffle allowing him to play in the game. So, my son got to play first edition AD&D with Doug Rhea, Jim Ward, Steve Winter, Jennell Jaquays, Tim Kask, Sandy Petersen, and Frank Mentzer.
Jealous much?
I must say, I would have never guessed Sandy Peterson, the main author of the game Call of Cthullu, would be so hilarious playing a halfling. All the players were great fun to watch. Really. Watching that game alone was worth the entire price of admission for the con. Steve Winter as a druid cursed with pyromania against trees? Jim Ward playing a . . . mage maybe . . . who was a habitual liar trying to get everyone killed? Sandy the halfling and Tim Kask the gnome riding a horse in saddle bags. Then Frank Metnzer filling the saddle bags with manure? I mean - wow - my sides still hurt.
Regretfully, the Urutsk game did not happen. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I hope Timeshadows is okay.
Instead, the Boy and I played Circus Maximus. I was kind of skeptical, since it was a chariot race rather than a role playing game - but now I know - if you ever have a chance to play that game - play it. It's like the chariot races in Ben Hur - but nastier. The first game was viscous, with many contestants getting splattered. Near the end, the Boy destroyed my chariot, killing me, and winning a coveted spot on the Red Team for the Finals on Saturday morning.
Later, I fought in a match for a spot on the White Team. I spent far too much time bashing people, and being bashed, and nearly too late realized that I would never win with speed in my crippled chariot. So, I lurked around the track at slow speed, attacking charioteers as they raced by, hoping to win by attrition. Oddly enough, I freaked so many people out, and they made enough fatal mistakes trying to avoid me, that I won a spot on the White Team.
So Saturday, the Boy and I will be battling each other on opposing teams in a Circus Maximus Death Match that will be remembered for all time. Well, at least until the next con rolls around.
You might get the impression that I had a good time today - and you'd be right. :)
Now, I must get to sleep or my ears will start to bleed. Good night.
- Ark
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Glacia Cover - Inks
Due to prepping for NTRPG Con, playtesting 5e, and generally not managing time well, tomorrow's Rather Gamey Comic will be pushed back till next time. Instead, you'll be receiving sporadic, brain-fired con reports for a bit.
Until then, enjoy the faux comic cover I've been working on. :)
- Ark
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
5e, Tinkering and Dragon Magazine
Well, D&D Next certainly has got people talking. And hurling insults at one another. So nothing really changes except the name of the game, eh?
I was sitting around thinking about earlier editions of D&D, trying to remember what it was like way back then, and comparing it to the advent of 4e, and now Next. I think the big difference is Tinkering.
Let me give you some family history. My father was born to an age where automobiles were still pretty simple things. He spent most of his early years up under a hood, fiddling with engines, tweaking performance - heck - even rebuilding the body if need be to suit whatever wild hair was up his ass. By the 70s, when I was growing up, he had the same love affair with computers, buying the home computer kits, tinkering, soldering, blowing out fuses, and spending thousands of dollars just to replicate PONG and Lunar Lander. There was no off-the-shelf, pre-made computer that your average consumer could buy. Even the most complete kits still had to be handcrafted with love, blood, sweat, and tons of cuss-words.
To me, D&D was the same thing.
When I was first exposed to D&D in 1981, it blew my mind. A game of make-believe with a rules framework so people over eight could still play Bovine Tenders and Indigenous Peoples without stomping off in too much of a huff. How awesome was that?
Actually playing D&D, well, that got me frustrated. The rules, well, they frankly sucked. After a few go-rounds, I found them limiting and not able to create the game I saw in my head. Chalk most of that up to the limits of an 11 year old mind. But luckily, there was Dragon magazine.
Every month, Dragon Magazine would come out and fill my brain full of gold. There would be articles on game theory and design, new adventures, and new monsters. But most importantly, there were the house rules.
It seems like in each issue, crammed somewhere, would be an article about how someone had tweaked or adjusted the rules of D&D to better fit their gaming style. That's where I learned about concepts like Critical Hits and Misses, THAC0, Death and Dying Rules, Zero-level Characters, and god knows what else. I internalized many of these ideas, and the amalgamation became my D&D.
It's funny that so many of those house rules from Dragon Magazine became so standard for so many people that they actually were codified into Second Edition AD&D. If I had really understood that that's all 2e really was - AD&D + Dragon Magazine - then I would have never cursed Zeb Cook's name for two decades.
Another nifty feature of Dragon was that it would contain articles on games other than D&D, and often, games that were not even owned by TSR. That exposed me to a lot of other game and their mechanics, without having to actually plunk down money that I did not have an a teen.
By the time I got back into D&D with 4e, Dragon Magazine was a paltry shadow of it's former self. Sure, it had advice for DMs and such, but it wasn't chock-full of a wide variety of articles on subject ranging from game-design to how to fix a broken mechanic in your game. Dragon had become just yet another corporate shill.
You had to look to blogs for advice on how to kit-bash 4e.
I tried - I really tried to take 4e, learn it, run it as intended, then go and house rule it until the damn game felt like D&D again. But no, it never did. Like Dragon, D&D was just a shadow of itself. The remaining skeleton wouldn't even support changes I tried to make to it very well. D&D was no longer a KIT. It was a highly tuned sports car, with a welded shut hood labeled 'no user serviceable parts,' driving in the wrong direction. Sigh.
So that leads my thoughts to D&D Type V. What is this monster? Currently, from what I've been exposed to, it seems like a nice little rules light game. It won't stay simple, I'm sure. But the core appears to be a good one. By good, I mean it will will stand up to a heavy amount of kit-bashing and not fly off the rails like 4e did. They called it 'modularity,' which is kind of a pre-defined kit bashing. I'm optimistic for D&D Next on this point.
The next step, in my mind, is let some really radical game designers in to write Dragon magazine articles that show how to take D&D Next, spin it on it's ear, and spit out marvelous home rules sets that could turn 5e into things completely different that were never intended. Imagine letting good old Zak in and speak through the corporate-horse's mouth? How cool would that be? Imagine letting Monte Cook write an article on game design in Dragon. Now. After all that has gone on. I mean, wow.
Okay, all of that is pie in the sky. Bloggers serve the purpose that Dragon Magazine once did. But imagine if it came from the horse's mouth? Innovation and exploration and wild ass ideas. Tinkering galore. It would set an entirely new tone for D&D. Well, a very old tone.
- Ark
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Dungeonspiration: NTRPGCON 2012
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| From 2011: A jovial Jim Ward planning to kill EVERYONE IN THE UNIVERSE. |
Last year's Con was very inspiring. I think the highlight for me was when Jim Ward offed my son's character in a game of Metamorphosis Alpha. Eaten by a giant plant in one gulp. I mean, can life get much better than that?
This year, a big bag of guests will be attending - Sandy Petersen, Tim Kask, Jennell Jaquays, Erol Otus, James M. Ward, Frank Mentzer, Jason Braun, Steve Marsh, Steve Winter, Dennis Sustare, Jeff Dee, Peter Kerestan, Zeb Cook, and Diesel Laforce. Things might get a little awkward around Zeb Cook. I mean, I did curse his name loudly for two decades because of second edition. But now, I PLAY second edition, and am thoroughly enjoying it. So I should probably just dine on a big plate of crow in front of him.
The Three Castles RPG Design Award is going to be judged by Dennis Sustare, Robert Kuntz, Sandy Petersen, Steve Marsh, and Zeb Cook this year. Up for the award are Anomalous Subsurface Environment, Realms of Crawling Chaos, Stars Without Number, and the Tome of Adventure Design. I think we all know I am rooting for Stars Without Number, so I'll shut up about it.
So, over the four days of the Con, I have some things scheduled:
- Thursday: Urutsk with Kyrinn! Yay! Last year, The Boy faced Urutsk's strangeness head on - causing bouts of hysterical laughter. I'm looking forward to another visit.
- Friday: OD&D with Tim Kask! I'm dead. I'm sure he kills people who make bad puns.
- Saturday Morning: Aliens? Like in the Movie? With Alan Grohe? I there!
- Saturday Evening: Petal Throne with Victor Raymond. Yes, time to introduce The Boy to the sweet smell of MUSTY CINNAMON.
- Sunday: Quicksilver with Jeff Dee. Did I mention Jeff Dee? I've got, like, piles of his Kickstarter artwork on my desk.
That leaves lots of unscheduled time to shop, hob-nob, and crash other games. The Boy and I are pumped, and I'm sure we will be very exhausted, and very inspired, at the end of it all.
If you are planning on attending, I hope to see you there!
- Ark
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Naming A Champions Superhero Character
Kaye has been working for, what, a week or two on his super hero. Suddenly this moring we get an email from him. This is the exchange:
Kaye: Quick! Give me some ideas for Superhero names!
Me: Putrid Pete. Engorged Man. Left Eyeball Lad. Lactating Larry.
Kaye: Yeah, I forgot to mention that he does not have the power to lactate. Good try though.
Me: Okay, well, what powers does he have? Or should we just go with the obvious and call him MinMaxMan?
Kaye: Well his powers are super strength, flight and energy projection. And he is not totally min/max. He has one weakness.
Me: Well obviously, he should be called Superman.
Kaye: God damn I hate you. I was about to reply about how he is nothing like superman then I looked at his powers again..........now I have the urge to rework all his powers again. Are you happy now!
Me: One day I will be able to breath again. Until them, I am laughing too hard to inhale.
Any email exchange with Kaye is normally a source of hours of amusement. :)
- Ark
Kaye: Quick! Give me some ideas for Superhero names!
Me: Putrid Pete. Engorged Man. Left Eyeball Lad. Lactating Larry.
Kaye: Yeah, I forgot to mention that he does not have the power to lactate. Good try though.
Me: Okay, well, what powers does he have? Or should we just go with the obvious and call him MinMaxMan?
Kaye: Well his powers are super strength, flight and energy projection. And he is not totally min/max. He has one weakness.
Me: Well obviously, he should be called Superman.
Kaye: God damn I hate you. I was about to reply about how he is nothing like superman then I looked at his powers again..........now I have the urge to rework all his powers again. Are you happy now!
Me: One day I will be able to breath again. Until them, I am laughing too hard to inhale.
Any email exchange with Kaye is normally a source of hours of amusement. :)
- Ark
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons
Ah. Hi there. Good. I'm glad I got your attention.
Some of you may recognize the image over there as the one created as an April Fool joke back in 2011. The reason I reposted it is really to just mess with your head. Calm down everybody. ;)
I've just finished reading through the D&D Next Playtest files. I was planning to write a breakdown of my feeling about each and every bit of it. I've got the notes right here - all my little scribbles and chicken scratching.
I'm not going to post them.
Why? Well, First off, I'm not sure exactly what I can say with the NDA - I need to read over that again as well - but honestly, It doesn't matter. No one really cares about all that minutia, anyway. So, I'll keep to larger, more sweeping observations.
In reading the rules, and taking a peek at other peoples' writings on the matter, I think it goes like this:
- If you want to like the rules presented in the D&D Next Playtest, you will, and
- If you do not want to like the rules presented in the D&D Next Playtest, you won't.
It's really simple as that. The ruleset is so basic, and the actual rules that would evoke interest or disgust are so absent from this playtest, that I think your mind will probably try to fill in the blanks with what it is expecting, for better or worse.
I'm not sure whether that is by design, or by accident.
So what do we really have here with the D&D Next playtest? I see this is an attempt to emulate old school style play using the 'language' of modern role playing games. There are a few mechanics that offer a different flavor - but none of them are too repulsive. The whole Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic intrigues the hell out of me. The en masse move of virtually all saving throws and checks to the Abilities appears to be wonderful.
I could see running the kind of D&D games I like to run with this very ruleset. I could see sitting down with a bunch of young punk gamers in a book store get-together, playing with them, and not projectile vomiting all over their manuals.
The big thing that worries me is the creeping in of character customization and specialization. Race - okay. Class - sure. Background - umm . . . well . . . hmm. Theme - umm . . huh? The character creation rules are absent from the playtest, so this minefield of a subject is just hinted at by the pre-gen character sheets.
Of course, I haven't playtested yet, so all my thoughts are worthless until put into action. Since one of our GM's games is on hiatus at the moment, I'll be running a playtest starting Wednesday. Crazy Ass Tim has got the lineup over on his awesome blog.
One thing I'll remind ya'll is that you must sign the NDA to playtest. This includes children. The boy is under 13, so of course he can't sign anything at all legally - but WOTC has provided something for me to sign, which allows his to play and give feedback to them.
If WOTC keeps on going in a good direction with this, I see 5e as something I would play. Not as my go-to game or anything, but as a game I could sit down with some kids and play without feeling the need for a shower. And really that what I am hoping for - a game that can get the punks and the grognards in the same room together - for at least a little while. Of course, I am filling in the blanks with my hopes and expectations (and fears) - as we are wont to do with anything in life.
- Ark
P.S. - WOTC, if you are listening right now, why not take this simplified ruleset and publish it as BASIC D&D, then throw the kitchen sink in and publish that as ADVANCED D&D. Completely foreign and bizarre idea, I know, but it just might work!
Friday, May 25, 2012
A Call to Arms
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| These are doll arms, not maggots. I think. |
I'm torn right now. We've got a hole in our gaming schedule, and I've been prepping to run a Champions game. But Next is staring at me in the face.
Now, I'm already playing a version of D&D I like, a version that I see no need to toss away. So why am I interested in D&D Next?
THINK OF THE CHILDREN.
Okay, this is where I'm coming from. I'd like to be able to plop down with any group of random whippersnappers playing D&D and not get violently ill and projectile vomit all over their ruleset. How does this happen? Well, the easiest way is for WOTC to put out a game that doesn't upset my stomach.
If new players are introduced to a ROLE-PLAYING GAME, rather than a miniatures based skirmish simulation system, well, that's a whole crop of people who will be that much closer to 'getting' old school type play. That makes more people who are prepped to come to my table and play a proper game of D&D.
WOTC really needs feedback to make that happen. They need feedback from grumpy old bastards who can identify the steaming piles and point them out. They need US, the Guardians of Grognosia (or something like that, since the term 'Grognardia' is already taken.)
In the end, WOTC will make whatever game they want to. Will they pour a bunch of crap on this simple ruleset and turn me off? Yeah, probably. But we have the opportunity to steer them, even if it's slightly, into the kind of game we prefer. The very fact that the adventure module in the playtest packet is the CAVES OF CHAOS points to the fact that they are at least listening a little bit.
Is all that worth three or four nights of learning some new old rules, killing orcs, and filling our some questionnaires? Right now, I'm thinking yes.
- Ark
P.S. Of course, I have a track record of being horribly wrong at important times, too. So get out your grain of salt. :)
Thursday, May 24, 2012
His Were Pink Too
You know, I really didn't think that I'd get this finished today, what with work being such a pain and me lately obsessing over the mega-picture of Glacia. But I did it! Well, not exactly 'on time,' because I shoot for before 7:00 AM CST, but heck - I got the day right at least.
Hey, do you mind doing me a favor? I know there are a handful of people that actually read this strip on occasion from the stats, but I really don't know who. If you read it, could you comment below? Just a Hi or a MEEP or UTINI will do. I'm just curious.
THANKS!
- Ark
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Weird West Miniatures
Stuart Robertson has got a Kicksta^H^H^H^H Indiegogo project going. He's putting together some minis for his Weird West game, which could lots of other uses. Reenacting Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter immediately comes to mind. Check it out and throw him some cash!
[Regretfully, I've been BANNED from giving any more money to projects for a while, so all I can do is be a cheerleaders for cool stuff at this point. 8) ]
- Ark
[Regretfully, I've been BANNED from giving any more money to projects for a while, so all I can do is be a cheerleaders for cool stuff at this point. 8) ]
- Ark
Monday, May 21, 2012
Fivey
You know, at the beginning of all this D&D Next stuff, I was mildly optimistic that WOTC's design guru's were on the right path to making a game I might enjoy - you know, old school in a new can.
However, the more I read from Mr. Mearls, the less warm fuzzies I get.
A lot less.
J. Geils comes to mind for some reason:
My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
My angel is a Centerfold
Angel is a Centerfold
:sigh:
- Ark
However, the more I read from Mr. Mearls, the less warm fuzzies I get.
A lot less.
J. Geils comes to mind for some reason:
My blood runs cold
My memory has just been sold
My angel is a Centerfold
Angel is a Centerfold
:sigh:
- Ark
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Glacia's Smiley Farm
This is Glacia, my barbarian character in our 2e game. I haven't been as productive as I'd like to have been this weekend. I've got most of the basic line work down, though I still have to do the clothes sketch for the 'PG-13' version. I've gone through quite a few poses - that's where most of the time has gone - lot's of redraws. But I think she is shaping up well.
Enjoy - if you like this kind of thing. :)
- Ark
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Dungeonspiration: Glacia
Meet Glacia. Yeah, she's not done yet. She's ending up to be less cartoony and more comicy-realistic, which is taking me a bit more time to get right. Glacia is my replacement character for Chartreuse in Crazy-Ass-Tim's 2e campaign.
During the campaign, the party acquired a flying boat that only spellcasters could pilot. One day the cleric blew his piloting roll, and we ended up in the frozen northern wastes. While there, we attacked by some Yetis. We killed one and captured the other, then hauled it aboard the boat and lugged it around with us. Some of us were wanting to train the Yeti to dance while wearing a top hat and a monocle, and others had even more interesting plans.
Well, Chartruese died on me, so I needed a new character. We had a distinct lack of tanks (or people who were actually willing to get into the front line,) so I decided to make a fighter. I wanted a kind of wildling type fighter, so Tim pointed me to some splat books. After much though, I settled on a Barbarian Ravager, dispite my loud oath to never use, or even touch, a 2e splat book ever ever ever. Let's just call it scope creep.
Since Chartreuse's death had left me all 'coitus interruptus' in pursuing my Beard and Boobs Badge, I decided to make a lady barbarian. Glacia is of the Ice People, a tribe of the Frozen Northern Wastes that had intermarried with Yetis generations ago. That's right, Glacia is a half-Yeti.
Note - these are not the stupid looking gorilla yetis in the Monstrous Manual. In my mind, at least. The Yetis all look like Bumble, The Abominable Snow Monster of the North in Rankin/Bass version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The half-Yeti offspring have a varied feature set, ranging from almost human to very Yetish.Glacia is 6'2", pale skinned, has light-blue eyes, and miles and miles of bright white Yeti hair. Enough hair to make another person, in fact. And as a ravager, she can't wear armor, so the whole fur bikini thing makes sense finally! All those poor baby seals. So sad.
So, some moths ago, Glacia saw a flying kayak steal away with her very hairy half-Yeti brother, and she's been chasing after it ever sense. Come to find out that it wasn't a giant kayak filled with birds - but the PCs in their flying ship. But instead of killing all of the PCs, Glacia found out that her hairy brother (who was actually the smartest half-Yeti in the tribe,) actually has been enjoying his adventures as a captive, exploring new lands and learning new things.
Glacia is not really thrilled about cavorting around in a flying ship with an abundance of small, hairy children (i.e., dwarves,) but it's something to do other than brain baby seals to death. Or eat her fellow tribe members when they die - a socially acceptable and tasty alternative to burial.
On her first outing into a dungeon, things got weird. She very muchly enjoyed killing the Stone Giants. The Carrion Crawlers fought unfairly with their tentacles, which she did not like. The Mummies concerned her, as the concept of the undead horrifies her and is clearly the reason why the proper thing to do is to eat anything that you kill. But the thing that really confused her was the whole Deck of Many Things that Crazy-Ass Tim rolled up in the loot stash.
She took a card for fun, which let her pick two more. Suddenly, Glacia's charisma shot up to 18 and she acquired possession of a keep somewhere. The next card brought into being a 4th level fighter to serve her.
While she's much more charming now, she still insists on coating herself in the blood, juice, or ichor of anything she kills. And that keep? She doesn't understand the concept of property that you can't eat, or that kills things so you can eat them, so her Yeti brother will probably have to explain real estate law to her. But the 4th level fighter? She very much understands the concept of slavery, so she's got a 4th level one now - whether the fighter agrees of not. The card said so.
However, she did watch the deck rip the soul right out of the dwarven thief, and just kill poor old Torvalds outright. (Remember good old Torvalds the useless magician everybody? Yup. Toast. Go read all about poor Torvalds' convoluted and painful death here.) So Glacia will not be touching any more cards. Ever.
Glacia, the half-yeti girl has been most inspiring to play. She wild and crazy and psycho brave - exactly the opposite of cautious and cowardly Chartreuse. It's kind of nice to completely reverse gears, and helps to inspire whole new avenues of creativity.
- Ark
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Wild Hair Lady WIP
In case anyone is interested, here is a sketch of a picture I've been working on. I've been experimenting with Autodesk SketchBook Pro, at it is pretty nifty for sketching. I'm not so sure about using it for anything else, but for sketching, it blows away Photoshop.
In case anyone wonders WTF is going on up there, I sketch in different layers and colors, so I can keep track of newer bits as I experiment with different sizes, shapes, and positions of things. Eventually, I just take my favorite bits and trace over them in black, then blow everything else away. This one still has a whole lot of work to do on it before I get to the coloring stage.
So enjoy, or not. Your choice. :)
- Ark
Friday, May 11, 2012
That Man Is Playing Galaga
The Boy and I went to go see The Avengers today. I must say, I'm not sure how you could make a more perfect comic book movie. By letting Joss Whedon do a sequel maybe? And the lines - wow - just great. Robert Downey Jr. just lords over the screen. Galaga. Really. Just Galaga, man.
;)
- Ark
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Yeah, That's a Pool on Top of the Tower
The evil wizard Chernobog's Tower must be quite an eyesore for his neighbors. It's primarily designed to keep his teenage daughter Yazbella locked up and out of trouble. It's way too high for even Rapunzel. However, Yazbella did discover the concept of rope at a young age, so the poor evil wizard never had a chance.
I actually finished the strip on time again. I owe it to the greatly shortened format - only three panels. The top bit has undergone a change - the indicia, masthead, whatever the right word for it is. Nicer font, I think, and not as obtrusive - but there if you need it. Of course, my style continues to - morph? Evolve? Mutate? Something. Change. That's the word.
And in case you missed it - I'm keeping Chartreuse in the strip. I was bummed when she died in the D&D game, but I think I can go on with her alternate reality adventures in bizarro comic world. After all, it appears she has fans, and we can't let the fans down, can we? :)
- Ark
Friday, May 4, 2012
Come, Come My Child
Come, come my child, come rescue your downed pilot and the glorious and loyal soldiers of the Democratic People's Republic of Glory will spank you until the heavens' turn red with jarhead blood. Come, come my child, and enjoy your thrashing.
- Ark
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Dungeonspiration: RIP Chartreuse
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| Chartreuse, by Angel Urena |
Chartreuse, my 5th level wood elf ranger died last night at approximately 11:45 pm in Crazy-ass Tim's 2nd edition AD&D game.
It's been at least 30 years since I played a character enough to reach such a high level. Actually, Chartreuse was only 52 XP away from being 6th level. Dammit.
I played Chartreuse as a ranger with an emphasis on 'range.' She talked a big talk and rained horrible slurs down upon her foes, but she was allergic to melee something fierce. If she was 20 yards away from combat, she was too close. If she could be up in the tree branches, far above the party, she would be there. She even slept in the trees. She had a very nice hammock. Any excuse to be away from potential physical harm was a good one. I really enjoyed playing her.
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| Chartreuse Drinking |
Early in last night's session, Chartreuse has finally convinced Serendipity to go off and retire from adventuring. Perhaps it was the new found sense of not having to babysit her sister - perhaps it was just something wrong in the air - but this one night, this one dungeon delve, Chartreuse wasn't as cowardly as she needed to be.
A room had been found containing a pack of beetles and an sadistic ogre assaulting said beetles with a whip. Torvalds, the suicidal mage, dropped two burning hands spells on the roomular inhabitants, assured that he would clear the place out in a hurry. Regretfully, the DM didn't have time to mention that these were 11 foot friggin long beetles. And now, they were angry beetles. I had decided to start calling them John, Paul, George, and Ringo, because that's the way I roll.
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| Chartreuse Drunk |
Two heals from the cleric gave her a whopping 3 hit points back. That's when the ogre magi appeared. Well, she was an invisible ogre magi, so appeared isn't quite the right word. The hidden ogre magi sent a cone of frost down the hallway. Chartreuse failed the save in a major way and suddenly found herself at -25 hit points. She turned blue, iced over, and shattered into a million little fragments. In my mind, at least.
Ouch.
What's even more poignant is that Kaye, who has been trying to purposefully get Torvalds killed, survived with flying colors. Of course, he had help. When he was at -9 hp, the cleric maliciously saved his life. Out of spite. Really. Torvalds has actually become one of the more useful and productive members of our party, but that hasn't stopped Kaye from hating to play him.
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| The End |
One big problem is that I have this alternate reality Chartreuse in my Rather Gamey Comic. The intention was her to be a major character in the story. Yeah, she's not the 'real' Chartreuse, so it really shouldn't really matter what happens in the game - but it does. She's dead. Right now, I dont' have any interest in having her in the story or even drawing her. I just want to mourn her and move on.
Weird.
So here is to the characters that we play and how they inspire us to try on different personalities for other people's amusement - including our own.
Rest in Peace, Chartreuse.
- Ark
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