D.M. Guide 5th

Decided to grab the Dungeon Masters guide for 5^th edition. I wasn’t sure I really wanted it beforehand.

When we were into 4^th edition I wasn’t really impressed with that DM guide. It didn’t look bad. It just didn’t look to really be helpful.

After thumbing through the 5^th edition version of this book, I was surprised at how much usefulness there was in here.

After spending a few hours with this book it hit me. WOW! This really feels like a newer version of the Advanced D&D 2^nd edition DM guide. The treasure tables! Oh how I missed those things! The dungeon dressings! The lists of poisons and traps! The various charts for rolling up encounters, adventures, dungeon dressing, NPCs, villains, etc., are all in here. Boy howdy did I ever miss those!

If you ever need a quick game idea or have gamers block, then go to the randomized chart and pick a locale and beasties from the list. You can even go all crazy and roll for all of it too. I usually hate random. I have railed against it before and will again. However, in the case of game creation while lacking an idea or lack of prep time, it can be very helpful.

The Bloodthrister of Bloodthristers?

G.W. finally delivers a Skarbrand model. 

Rockin' a Khorne ear ring? Go ahead make a joke about it. I'm sure he'll find it comical.

Weekly schlock and Cronenberg

I’m hot and cold with David Cronenberg movies.

A quick aside….

This dude makes some outrageous stuff. I might not like everything he does, but damn is the majority of it just next level bonkers! The guy is has a delightfully twisted mind. I respect that.

When it  comes to the movies of his I have seen: The Fly, The Dead Zone, Scanners, and A History of Violence I find good on various levels, but I did not really enjoy Eastern Promises, Shivers, Naked Lunch, Crash and The Brood. I have never given Videodrome a chance. Not because I heard anything really bad about it, but mostly because I have been more disappointed than not when it comes to Cronenberg movies. Videodrome is on a lot of must see lists, so I added it to the queue to see why this is a favorite among so many.

We start with Max Renn (a fantastic character name) who is the head of a local cable channel. His station is known for startling and crazy shows. He knows that sex, violence and a mix of the two sell. However, he is always looking for something new to get the viewers. Low and behold a satellite control lackey finds a pirate broadcast of some torture, rape and murder show called Videodrome. Max sees this as a great bit of new programming and begins a search to find out more about it.

Best/worst show ever!

Pariah review

Finally decided to sit down with the follow up to the Eisenhorn and Ravenor books, Pariah. Well at least that is what I am hoping this will be about.

When last I left the great Dan Abnett Inquisition part of the 40K universe; Eisenhorn was a rouge and Ravenor was “retired” by the Inquisition. Now her come Pariah to open all this up again as it is touted as an Eisenhorn vs Ravenor trilogy.

Alright here we are thrust into the world of one Beta Bequin. Who is a psychic blank, or pariah. See what he did with the title! She is studying to be part of an Inquisitorial retinue someday, or is she? Beta’s world goes all wonky when her school is attacked and her world turns into a whole bunch of cat and mouse meets cloak and dagger. She has friends who might be enemies. Strangers with and without candy after her. A creepy old man following her. A chorno gladiator (or it more than just that?) helping her. A psychic floating chair talking to her. A psyker with killer hair pins is after her. Wait who is she really? What are these killer dolls about? Look out Word Bearers are on the move! Plus she may be a clone of her long dead mom? Ho didn’t see that coming? What the feth is going on here? HOLY CRAP the last two pages are the payoff I was waiting for!

Khorne model reminds me of......

The new Khorne Slaughter Priest, a fantastic name by the way, is very reminiscent of someone else. 

Think real hard.

Turn his horn collar around and add an armor plate  here or there and chains on the belt.

Tonight!

The best way to end a college football Saturday?

The premiere of the new season of Doctor Who!
I welcome back another year with Peter Capaldi's Doctor and his space faring police box!

The downside is that they are bringing back the character of River Song,
Maybe that was thrown out as a giant interweb hoax?
Her character is annoying and an unneeded love interest.

I guess if that is the worst part of the season, then I can live with it.
Here is hoping for another fun trip through space time with the Doctor!

Weekly schlock and an awesome throwback feel!

The Peterson family has lost their son, Caleb, in some sort of military activity. Along comes David a member of the same squad as Caleb. He is popping in to check on the family as last request from his buddy/ their son.

David is quite, friendly, mild mannered, reserved but also has an intensity about him. The Peterson family quickly befriends him and everything looks to be on the up and up. David helps the son ,Luke, deal with his bullies. He woos the friends of the daughter, Anna. He helps the mom, Laura, with hose hold chores. He also becomes the drinking buddy of the father. He is an all-around pretty awesome dude and a beef cake too boot!  Well, that is until we learn that David more than just a quite friendly lost soul. He is an uber level bad ass and possibly a bit insane.

You see, some people get killed that are friends of Anna. Her dad’s boss also dies tragically too. Anna then has to go all Scooby Doo and try to figure out this David guy, as she thinks he is involved somehow. This is where the film goes from possible creep-o stalker to full on next Jason Bourne psycho. David, with his identity known to Anna and her family, goes all scorched Earth on the Petersons and anyone else around them. The really question is who survives his bloody onslaught?

I had no idea what to expect when I watched this. I still am not sure why I did. I do know that I am glad I did give it a chance. It was stupid fun!

Back from the war and all the guy wants to do is show proper pumpkin carving technique.

2nd attempt at Raccoon lake hike

After a week we decided to hit Raccoon Lake again to see the other side trails and locales. This time we had fantastic temperatures and fresh legs, but then it rained on us the majority of the time there. Oh well., that is better than 90+ degrees and humid for a six mile trek.

The start of the trail.

What is waiting for us at the start of the trail. A tree of carrion eating turkey vultures.

A dark foreboding sign or happenstance?

 

Found why all those vultures were hanging around.

Dead deer breakfast!

The Meredius scourge has arrived!

Well after several months I got around to finishing this guy.

Aiakos the Scourge of Meredius, or the “I’m not an amalgamation of the Predator and Scorpion!” mini-warcaster.

This was the model I threw into the Warmachine: Tactics Kickstarter for. Sure, I could have waited two weeks after the Kickstarter ended and just got the almost identical re-sculpt of him, but whatever.

The only beef I have with the model is his little ponytail. It looks a bit silly, but I guess they couldn’t get the long hair modelled like in the artwork.

 

I LOVE FOOTBALL!

The best time of the year has officially started. The next 20 weeks are relegated to all kinds of football! The best time of the year for me!

Well actually one might call it an emotional roller coaster every Sunday that Denver is televised. I tend to be excessively jubilant, melancholy and incensed several times with the span of a game. I cheer on players only to curse their existence plays later when they fail. I ride the highs and lows of every game and occasionally drag people and pets along with me.

It is the best time ever!

Football season is here once again!

Embrace the madness! Grab a fast pass seat on the couch beside me. For the crazy train that is watching grown me beat each other up and down the field in the name of the most glorious game ever is now in full swing on multiple levels.  Fall has begun!

FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE!

Weekly schlock and 90's

Oh the 90’s. It was a strange and magical time. If you weren’t a boy in the hood, strapped, a menace, a new jack hustler, a dead  president, or juice on a Friday then what were you? Well you were either some various version of In Living Color or Kid and Play.

What happens when two high school students, one a straight laced A student and the other a student who is one strike away from the “big house”, swap identities?
You get an retelling of the Prince and the Pauper with an L.A. public school as the back drop, or as it is known Class Act.

Duncan Pinderhughes is looking to graduate high school with top honors, until he realizes he needs to pass phys ed. Which we all know that egg head who lie their booky-books can’t pass. Meanwhile, newly released from juvie, Michael “Blade” Brown needs to graduate high school as part of his parole. Both of them are starting school on the same day when low and behold a tragic mishap occurs. Due to some clumsiness Duncan and Blade’s school records get swapped. Now the smart kid is a thug with a scary rep and the thug is the uber nerd. Oh how the hilarity ensues!

BATTLE CHASERS! Video game?!

Well this looks to be happening.....or is it?

Back in the 1998's Joe Madureira released a fantastic comic called battle Chasers. it was a steam punk high fantasy tale that was awesome and looked even better. However, Joe Madureira being Joe Madureira slowed to a crawl or got distracted by something shiny. This caused the comic to stop.

Oh Red Monika! We missed you!

Now if you have never seen this then I urge you to go find it. The artwork is just incredible. The story has the makings of a great fantasy tale. It just sucks that it stops without warning.

Labor Day weekend nature review

Labor Day weekend started with a 10 mile hike that was more workout or homework than relaxing and enjoyable. Now the locale was visually appealing, but this was a training hike by the pace that was set.

Now Sunday was a hike to look around, keep a slow pace and get some photos. Well that is what we were planning.

We zipped over to the Raccoon Lake state park and while the majority of people there were boating or swimming, we hit the trail.

Ian plays Undercity

I had the chance to try Undercity out this past weekend. I had high hopes for this game.

These hopes were not squashed.

Undercity is a four player co-op dungeon crawl that has mechanics loosely based on the Warmachine/Hordes game and the Iron Kingdoms role playing game.

Set in the Undercity, which is…..well under some city in the Warmachine world you control one of four members of a mercenary party called the Blackwater Irregulars. They are comprised of a trollkin warrior, a gobber mechanic and his warjack, a gun mage and a mad bombing alchemist. They are on a series of missions that have them exploring and killing their way in, through and around the Undercity.

I grabbed the gobber, Pog, and his warjack, Doorstop. They looked more fun to play than the other three characters.

Pistol Wraith...before the errata

It’s not that I dislike the pistol wraiths that are currently out there, it is that I just wanted to convert my own.

I really like the cairn wraith from G.W. and I think it would look great on the battlefield. I never had a reason to get one of these until now.

This guy will be the base for my pistol wraith.