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Ironfist - the beginning of the end of Superhero movies, or just a wake up call? And an accidental rant about Ghost in the Machine...

I have sat on this post for a while, but finally have the inspiration and the time to write it. I had hopes for the Iron Fist series - I read Heroes for Hire in the day and while Iron Fist not a favorite of mine, I am a big fan of the "street level" hero genre. For those unfamiliar, the street level heroes tend to be way less powerful than a Superman or Hulk, and many times a one or two trick pony. BUT they are normally grittier Batman as opposed to superman, Daredevil as opposed to Thor. Anyway, on all accounts, Iron Fist was a disappointment. Oh, the bones were there, but the weak plot, preachy (phony) politics, the meandering (lack of) focus...it was just painful to watch.  And maybe it was a little of Scarlett Johansson's fault too. I heard that she'd been picked to play the Major in Ghost in the Machine and it just pissed me off. Does Hollywood hate Asian actors and actresses? I can only conclude that, yes, it does. Honestly, I'm not sure who the blon...

Done With RPG Kickstarters

No more Kickstarters for me. Too disgusted by the crap planning by both "professional" game company's and RPG authors as well as by amateur game authors who despite professed intentions, have no appreciation of why a group that has provided them seed money expects that they actually; 1) Have a plan 2) Have a final draft of what they plan to produce - so all the "other" stuff - editing, art, publishing, distribution - can be what you are concentrating on. 3) Get a "game face" - yes, your product is something that you may love doing, but you tookother peoples money on the promise to make it happen so set your dislike of some of the less fun parts of the journey and whatever politics or weird ideas you personally have aside and...just get it done. Instead, how often have I seen clowns running off to GenCon or some other convention to "promote" their product - yeah, right. I'd have no problem, really, if they provided the...
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Played in a wonderfully crazy Dungeon Crawl Classics game last night hosted by Stephen Murrish on G+. It was a great funnel with 0-levels making deals with demon lords for the resurrection of their pony, rabbits with murderous intent, root babies trading secrets for blood, intelligent ape/orcs, and this guy..

Dungeon Crawl Classics - Old West Style!

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My first effort as part of DCC's Road Crew 2016 was ALSO a Black Powder Black Magic funnel! (Creepy Minds thinking alike - see James August Walls own detailed write up). I was definitely influence by having a nice collection of 25mm western minis and a number of old west miniature buildings... My scenario was based on the old Boot Hill rulebook scenario the Battle of Coffeyville. In the original, the Dalton gang was robbing two town banks at once and the townsfolk were trying to gun them down. Since this is DCC, the Darlton gang also had employed a necromancer as a diversion in exchange for some of the "ghost rock" in one of the banks. The Daltons were all 1st or 2nd level warriors and only had to make it out of the bank for the necromancer to bring on his zombie army at the other end of town (ie Boot Hill).   To add some spice for the players, each player's four zero levels represented a group in the town; sheriff and deputies, town drunks, Mexican cowboys, I...

Sailors on a Starless Sea, in Miniature

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Years back, I was at a convention in Biloxi, Mississippi and saw a guy running a massive dungeon crawl with miniatures and an enormous miniature dungeon, using the D&D 3.5 rules, The thing took up maybe ten large tables. Coolest thing ever. And I always wanted to do something like that - although the dungeon and how to build one on an economy escaped me. Fast forward a decade, and I am sitting at mt workbench looking at a Miniature Building Authority castle and some Dwarven Forge dungeon corridors...and I think, hmmm maybe I could run Sailors on a Starless Sea at a miniature convention. In this case, Fall In at Lancaster, PA in early November. Thus a project was started...which I am still nervous about, yet less so after my CCPA gaming group allowed me again to use them as playtesters for a mad scheme... Here are some pictures. The mob approaches the mysterious keep... A view of the courtyard, abandoned chapel, the sinkhole, the tower, and the well of souls. ...
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Sorry, mad pictures to support an online game!

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So, I am running a play-by-post of 12 to Midnight's Last Rites of the Black Guard. Lots of open story and plenty of handouts and detailed information, maps, etc. Perfect fit for me, since I've never run a published adventure "as written".  Anyway, they just found the "occult basement" And the zombie living there... As I said; 12 to Midnight and I share a fetish for maps...good stuff and plenty of them! And in my World's Largest Dungeon game...we are still on the third ring of rooms, level 1...