The greatest car commercial ever!

I came across this on Newsarama and just had to share it.
I'm sure more than a few of us can see ourselves in this mini-Vader. As a kid I know that I ran around in my Vader Halloween costume (it was one of those cheap plastic ones from the late 70's - early 80's) terrorizing anything and anyone who crossed my path on more than one occasion. If I had a costume that fit me now, I'd probably still do it.

Gotta love Foxtrot

The comic Foxtrot is one of my favorites and I think it is funny that such a geek oriented strip makes it into my local paper. Now if only they'd add Spider-man, Full Frontal Nerdity, Flare and the Phantom.

Old School D&D Still Around(Repost)

I've been in a 2e AD&D mood lately so I thought I would repost this.

I was goofing on the internet, as I am too prone to do when I should be sleeping, and I found some interesting links. I've seen complaints about how WotC took down the links to the older edition products brought up on numerous message boards and blogs and when I stumbled upon this I thought I'd share it.

I don't know if this is a mistake or intentional, but I have tested a few of these links and they worked. I haven't had time to test them all so if some are broken, don't blame me. Perhaps WotC heard fan's cries and decided to be nice, or perhaps this is just some oversight on their part. I honestly don't know. Either way here are some AD&D links for your enjoyment, while they last.

Silver Princess: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x7

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/downloads

Forgotten Realms
Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1165.zip

The Fall of Myth Drannor: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9558.zip

The Horde: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1055.zip

Lands of Intrigue: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1159.zip

Savage Frontier: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9233.zip

Gold and Glory: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9373.zip

Elminster's Ecologies I: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9489.zip

Elminster's Ecologies II: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9490.zip

Four from Cormyr: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9531.zip

Castle Spulzeer: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9544.zip

Cult of the Dragon: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9547.zip

For Duty and Deity: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9574.zip

City of Raven's Bluff: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9575.zip

Calimport: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9589.zip

Arcane Age: Nethretil - Empire of Magic: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1147.zip

Volo's Guide to the North: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9393.zip

Marco Volo: Departure: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9444.zip

Marco Volo: Journey: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9450.zip

Marco Volo: Arrival: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9455.zip

Volo's Guide to Cormyr: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9486.zip

Vilhon Reach: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9520.zip

Volo's Guide to All Things Magical: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9535.zip

Villain's Lorebook: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9552.zip
The Fall of Myth Drannor: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9558.zip

How the Mighty are Fallen: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9541.zip

Undermountain I: The Lost Level: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9511.zip

Undermountain II: Maddgoth's Castle: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9522.zip

Undermountain III: Stardock: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9538.zip

The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier: http://www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/thenorth.asp

Endless Armies (FMA2): http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/tsr9340.pdf

Birthright
Blood Spawn: Creatures of Light and Shadow: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Blood%20Spawn2.pdf

Player's Secrets of Hogunmark: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Hogunmark.pdf

Player's Secrets of Muden: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Muden.pdf

The Book of Regency: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/BookofRegency.pdf

The Legacy of Kings: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/BoardGame.zip

The Falcon and the Wolf: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/FalconWolfsingles.pdf

Some other Birthright stuff: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x5

EX1 Dungeonland and EX2 The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x8

Al-Qadim
caravans: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/tsr9459caravans.zip

Corsairs of the Great Sea: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/tsr9449corsairs.zip

Legends & Lore, 2nd edition: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/LegendsAndLore.rtf

The Castle Guide (DMGR2): http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/CASTLE.ZIP

Savage Coast Campaign Setting: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/campaignbook-rtf.zip

Ravenloft
NIGHT OF THE WALKING DEAD: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/notwd.pdf

Ravenloft II: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x9:

Greyhawk
I11 Needle: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/i11.txt

Ivid the Undying: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ividform.zip

Map #1 for Ivid the Undying [Dragon #204] http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ivid204.gif

Map #2 for Ivid the Undying [Dragon #206] http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ivid206.gif

Map #3 for Ivid the Undying [Dragon #208] http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ivid208.gif

Description: Ivid the Undying Maps http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ivid_Composite_Map.gif

L1: The Secret of Bone Hill by Len Lakofka
text http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/l1.rtf

cover http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/L1_cover.zip

interior maps http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/L1_maps.zip

interior art http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/L1_interior.zip

L2: The Assassin's Knot http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20001229b

S1: Tomb of Horrors http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051031a

S2: White Plume Mountain http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051207a

Halloween Reading Material

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Here are just a few of the books I've been reading recently to inspire my Halloween game as well as some upcoming games.

D&D: the Mark of Nerath
Given that it is dealing the a mad Lich, undead and the Shadowfell I thought this would make a good choice for my Haloween D&D Essentials game. I'm almost done with it and so far it has been a really good read.

Next on my Halloween season reading list is Star Wars: Death Troopers.

This books received a lot of criticism because it strays too far from the normal Star Wars universe and others claim it is just poorly written. Honestly, I liked it. It isn't the most brilliant novel I've ever read, but it sure was fun.

I've just started reading Dead City but so far it seems pretty good. There's sort of a Walking Dead feel to it. I believe it is set to be a trilogy, so I'll definitely be picking the other two up when they are released.

The trilogy of Monster Island, Monster Nation and Monster Planet are ones I definitely recommend. This is one of my favorite zombie series, so far.

                                              

Naturally Halloween wouldn't be complete without some King and I recommend the short story collection, Just After Sunset.

 Since most of the books I've mentioned have been about zombies, I can't leave out two of my favorite by Max Brooks.

World War Z

and The Zombie Survival Guide. Everyone should own a copy of this book. You never know when you are going to need it.

Although this has little to do with Halloween I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my copy of Towers of Midnight (November 2 release from Amazon). I'm a Wheel of Time fan, as are many others, and I can't wait to read this book. If Sanderson did as good of a job as he did on the last one, I'm sure it will be great.

Sunday Video Fun

Just for the heck of it, I'm posting a punch of geeky videos that I've found. Some are funny, others are dumb and some just kick @$$.
Enjoy.





















this is one of my favorites

Happy Leif Erikson Day!!!!

In honor of this great holiday, don't forget to put on your horned helmets, animal skins and go out pillaging and plundering.



Once your done with all that strenuous plundering, don't forget to kick back with your spoils (Pizza and Mt. Dew is also acceptable) and relive the glory with a nice viking rpg adventure.
Vikings RPG

Greenland Saga

Viking Age RPG

Vikings-Midgard

Some more viking goodies for your game at RPGNow

My new favorite old comic may be my next RPG campaign

Ok really the comic isn't necessarily old, but Femforce,  published by AC comics, is the longest running all female team comic, since 1985, that I know.
I use to pick this book up back when I was a kid, but as I got older, got a job, had a family and the cost of comics went up, it was one of the books that got cut from my monthly purchases. Other than the occasional issues I came across over the years, I haven't read the book regularly in well over a decade. I actually thought it was canceled long ago. Last year I noticed a current issue on the shelf of my comic shop and I asked the owner to pull me an issue and I'm glad I did.
Is Femforce a groundbreaking and thought provoking title? Honestly no, but it sure is enjoyable. Reading through an issue of Femforce reminds me why I started reading comics in the first place. The book is just fun and I don't mean that in the "ha ha ha" sense, I mean that when I'm done reading an issue I don't feel bogged down by heavy continuity or preachy stories. Granted there is continuity, but unlike some comics, that I will be X-tremely careful not to MENtion,  I don't feel completely lost when I pick up an issue whether it is current or from 5 years ago. I like the simple nature of the book.
Featuring what is referred to as "good girl" art, the all girl team is full of scantily clad, well developed babes, but they are not defined by their looks. The characters are competent and capable heroes. Their sexuality is not hidden, but it doesn't define the characters. They are not a bunch of sex starved, vixens. The sex in the book reminds me of something from the 50's. You know what's happening, but you don't see it.
     However the comic is a flip book with the comic Gargantarama on the flip side of the book. Gargantarama has a bit more sexual overtone than the FemForce feature. Women growing into giants tend to rip clothes, but there is no actual nudity that I've seen, just very little clothing. Of course I think that is the nature of the comics in Gargantarama, giant women are suppose to be sexy. I won't deny that this isn't my favorite part of the book, but some of the stories are kind of entertaining.
The tone of the book is light, meaning that they don't go around constantly killing villains or using curse words in every sentence, though there are a few mild ones at times. The stories occasionally contain political or social issues, but they don't beat you over the head with the messages. Over all the book is very much what I loved about 80's comic as a kid, but with current stories.
I recommend this to everyone who wants a comic that is just entertaining to read. Besides with the rise of retro-gaming I don't see why retro-comics can't gain in popularity. Some may argue that if I want retro-comics I should just go buy Gold or Silver age comics, but that's not the point. I want the feel of an older comic, but without having to drudge through a story that feels like it was written for a 5 year old.Many of those older books they feel like they were written by a 5 year old. Besides most are incredibly outdated. That's one of the reasons I like Femforce, the old feeling with new stories.
The books is mature enough for an adult but not so mature that you couldn't let your tween(10-12 yr old) read it. The writing in Femforce is "simple" meaning that the stories are not overly complex, they are basic superhero fare, but are not childishly simple. 
Since I've already mentioned, in a previous post, my new obsession with old school superhero rpgs, I don't think that it should be a surprise that I plan to run a Femforce campaign. I haven't decided if I will use Villains & Vigilantes, DC Heroes or even Marvel Superheroes. Personally I think V&V would be the better choice.
However, I have also recently been reading a lot of Truth and Justice and BASH!(you got this if you bought the Helping Hati megabundle at RPGNow). Both are simple little systems that could easily be used for my planned campaign, but honestly I'm more torn between using V&V or T&J than anything else. I'm sure there are people that would say I'd be better off using Savage Worlds Super Powers, Mutants & Masterminds or even Silver Age Sentinels for my FemForce game, but I don't think so.
First of all Savage Worlds just doesn't feel like a superhero game to me. Granted I am not that familiar with the game, having just bought it recently, but I don't think it suites my needs. Besides I don't have the Super Powers supplement anyway.
Mutants & Masterminds is the obvious best choice, as it is probably the best selling superhero rpgs out right now, but it doesn't have the simplicity I want for my game. The simplicity requirement is also what took Champions(Hero System), and Heroes Unlimted out of the running.  Silver Age Sentinels (d20 or tri-stat) would also be good choices, but still not as simple and fast as I want. Honestly the d20 version, while playable, is far inferior to M&M or the Tri-stat version of SAS. At least in my opinion.
So right now that is where my mind is regarding which system and why. When it comes to supers games I am completely enamored with V&V and T&J at the moment. Honestly, I'm usually the type to shy away from smaller press games, which I find tend to be amateurish at best, but Truth & Justice has been a pleasant surprise. From my reading it seems to be a damn good, yet simple system that captures the feel of a comic. But to me so does V&V.
My first dilemma is deciding whether I want to use V&V because it actually is a game from the time period I want to capture the feel of or because it is the best system for the campaign I want to run. My second dilemma, and the most minor, will be stating up all the FemForce characters I plan to use in my game. If anyone knows of a site with pre-gen stats for these characters in one of my preferred systems post a comment.
My third dilemma is going to be convincing my group, currently comprised of all males (ages 12-36) to play an all female team in a mature fashion. Ok maybe I'm setting my sites a little too high, as long as they will agree to at least play a female character I can work on the "mature" part as we go along and they get use to the idea.
Like I said this is where I am at the moment, in the early planning stages. I have the feel I want for my game, I'm going to try to expand my groups playing skills beyond all male macho stereotypes, and I have an idea of what direction I want for the campaign. Now is the hard part, deciding which system to use.
I'm going to spend the next few weeks rereading the two systems. I'll stat up a few FemForce characters, in each, go over combat rules and hopefully make a decision by the end of February. That's usually when our winter break ends and we start fitting in an occasional game until spring hits and we get back on schedule.
I'll keep you posted.


*Support the small press comic book publishers.*
The recent changes that Diamond Distribution has made are apparently having a sever impact on all comic publishers, but small press in particular. I'm not going to try and go into the details of the changes here, you can find tons of info and articles about it on the web. My point is that small publishers such as AC comics will probably be harder to find in your FLCGS. Readers are going to have a harder time finding their favorite small press books, unless they go directly to the publisher's website. Some may even disappear completely.
While I may not have always been a big supporter of small press rpg companies I am coming around, but I have always been a supporter of small press comics. I know that I have whined and complained about pdf versions of both rpgs and comics over the years, but I am looking at digital versions more and more these days. I hope that smaller companies, like AC Comics, are doing the same thing. I'd love to see the title continue and I will buy all the issues directly from the site or as pdfs if necessary.
I still prefer reading hard copies of my books and fortunately I have the capability to print them at this time. If I didn't my opinion would likely change again. Despite my dislike of digital versions, I have to admit that I never would have discovered some of my new favorite rpgs and comics if not for RPGNow and DriveThruComics. Plus I have to admit the cheaper price is a big motivational factor in my purchasing decisions and pdf/digital copies are usually much cheaper than their print counterparts.
The point to all my rambling is directed towards the comic book fans in the rpg community. You could do a lot worse than try a few extra small press books.
Femforce may not appeal to you, but there is also the Champions line or Flare from Heroic Publishing that are available in comics shops(for now), at the publishers website or at DriveThruComics. Champions is another comic with that retro feel that I read regularly. Heroic Publishing has several titles other than Champions and Flare (League of Champions, Anthem), but since I have yet to read them I can not give any details about those titles. Some of the other digital comic books I'm reading are The Uniques and issues of Crusade Comics' Shi that I either missed, never got around to, or lost track of over the years.
Help support the small press comics in the same way many gamers support the small press RPGs. If you are willing to buy a pdf RPG for $20, you can buy about 20 copies of some digital comics for the same money.

**Update****

I've been communicating with Mr. Heike of AC Comics about the book and the impact the changes in Diamond policy will have. I've mentioned that I'd be willing to support Femforce by subscribing , but there is no subscription. I was told that if enough people would go to the site and contact them about opening up subscriptions to the public, they would be happy to create a subscription program. If not you should continue buying the book from their site or just pre-order at your local comic shop..

Scooby Doo vs Cthulhu

I found this site with Call of Cthulhu stats for Scooby and the gang and thought this might be of some interest to those running CoC this Halloween. If nothing else this would be a fun way to run a light hearted CoC game with everyone's favorite paranormal investigators.

Scooby Doo Cthulhu

Star Wars and Zombies?

As a Star Wars fan I am intrigued by the release of Death Troopers, the first ever horror novel for the Star Wars universe. The books is written by Joe Schreiber and should be available in a bookstore near you, or online, Tuesday October 13th. I've already got mine ordered.
I don't really play Star Wars RPGs anymore, but I may break out my d6 or d20 SW book and try running a one-shot based on this premise. As a lifelong fan of zombie horror and of Star Wars this seems like genre mixing made in geek heaven.
While it is gratifying that there is so much zombie activity in nearly every form of media, and very cool to have zombies in SW, it is also kind of sad that someone felt it was necessary use a gimmick like this in the Star Wars universe. Still I'm a sucker, I did buy all of the Marvel Zombies comics after all, so I have to get this book. Besides, it would make a good halloween game for Star Wars gamers.

Death Troopers (Amazon.com)

Image From Fantasy Clip Inks Spell Casters Set 1

Image courtesy of William McAusland and the gang over at Outland Arts.

Our Legendary Campaign....(Repost)

Maybe once in a DM’s life they will have that one campaign that they and the players will never forget, their Mona Lisa, the highlight of their DMing career; the legendary campaign.

A legendary campaign is one that keeps the players begging for more, people who have never played it know about it and for those involved few, if any, other games will ever be quite as good. While some groups may never give the DM the satisfaction of saying the campaign was legendary, everyone involved will know if it happens.

While any smart DM will take credit for the brilliance of this campaign when it happens, a good DM knows that they only played a part in making it great. It takes the right mixture of ideas, a lot of quick thinking, preparation and of course just the right player mood and chemistry.

My legendary campaign happened not long after D&D 3e came out and I found myself as the newly christened DM for my new gaming group. The group was small consisting of myself and 4 players (there were 3-4 other players that would drift in from time to time but I’m focusing on the core group) who were still using 2e and had been gaming together for quite a while. I had only sat in with them a few times and other than that hadn’t really played for years. I was a little intimidated to say the least. Yet there I was, the new kid on the block, taking over their group and introducing new rules to boot. I knew my first run had to be something big or else they might not trust me to DM again, so I had to pull out all the stops.

I spent nearly a week just coming up with ideas and fleshing out the campaign setting before I even started putting the first session together. I did the standard DM prep, creating NPC’s, preparing encounters and coming up with the most brilliant villain ever, or so I thought at the time. Game night came and after converting some of their 2e characters to 3e we ventured into the homebrew campaign that eventually came to be known as "The 5 Towers".

Before I get into the specifics of the game, I would like to give you a little insight into this campaign. The back story for the 5 towers was a little convoluted to say the least. The old gods created the universe, and then they created the elder races (dragons, elves, etc). The gods felt that something was missing because there was no race that truly conveyed the brilliance of the gods, so they created man. The ruler of the gods had two sons. One was very wise and would one day take his father’s place as ruler of the gods. The other son was a selfish, little brat who despised his brother.

The brat decided that since man was favored by the gods he would turn them against their creators. So he went down and started pointing out to the humans that if they were favored by the gods then why weren’t they as powerful as the dragons, and why didn’t they live as long as the elves. Being the conniving brat he was, he also worked to make the elder races jealous of the humans since they were favored, yet were “inferior” to the elder races. Of course everyone began to question the gods and the races declared war on each other. All the while the bratty god was conspiring with some evil outsiders to invade the gods’ domain so he could take over. Then, as the gods dealt with the war between all the races, the bratty god and his army of outsiders stormed the gods’ domain and he attempted to over throw his father.Naturally he failed.

Once the races were placated, and the outsider invasion was driven back the king of the gods turned his sights on his treacherous child. As punishment he took his son down to “earth” and in front of all the races he broke him into 5 pieces and placed each piece into a crystal. Each piece contained a portion of the bad son’s godly knowledge and powers and the only way his son could be made whole was by bringing the crystals together. Each of these 5 crystals were placed in one of 5 towers, each tower had a key that the gods hid.

As if this all wasn’t complicated enough, the gods placed each of the towers and each of the keys in different dimensions/realms that they controlled. Then to make it even harder to rejoin the pieces each tower and each key would periodically shift to a different dimension/plane, but no single piece would ever appear in the same dimension as another piece, so the gods thought that there was absolutely no way for the bad son to every be made whole.

Jump ahead quite a few years to a magic school where a young mage finds a tome with the details of the events I have just described. He is intrigued and wants to harness the bad son’s powers for his own. So like any good villain, he becomes obsessed with this quest and becomes an evil wizard in the process. Just as he is on the cusp of finding the first key our heroes are recruited by an emissary of the gods to stop him.

In hindsight I can see that my main villain and even the campaign itself was mediocre at best. I tried too hard to come up with a great idea and honestly ended up with a complicated back story (believe me the version you have just read is an overly simplified version) and a crappy, cardboard villain. If someone else had told me this idea I would have told them it was too complicated and the villain was too bland. How did this become our legendary campaign? The thing that elevated this campaign to legendary status was some quick thinking on my part, some good NPCs, interesting supporting villains and the brilliant, often hilarious, roleplaying by the group.

The first hour or so of the game was less than great, in truth it stunk. Everyone was brought together and naturally accepted the quest, gathered their gear and went on their merry way. They found out which key the evil wizard was going after (you had to have a key before you could unlock the corresponding tower) and decided to beat him to it. Naturally they were too late, but it was around this stage of the game where things got interesting.

While racing to find the first key they stumbled upon a laboratory. The place was covered in blood and body parts were scattered everywhere. As the group’s ranger, wizard and necromancer scoured the area looking for anything of use, two small children entered the room. They told the group how they had come in search of their parents who had been kidnapped and brought here and asked the group to help them. Naturally the group agreed, and boy did they regret that.

Soon the group found themselves being tortured by the two children who ended up being two of the most sadistic villains I have ever created. I won’t go into any details about what happened but needless to say if I ever needed to get the player’s attention in future campaigns, all I had to do was mention the fact there were children present. I may have gone a little over the top with these two but they definitely left their mark on the group, in more ways than one.

The PC’s managed to escape using team work and a lot of dumb luck only to end up watching the first tower disappear just as they reached the door. (Each time you unlocked a tower it would return to the spot where the bratty god was ripped to pieces.) This is when someone in the group had an idea. Instead of racing to keep the bad guy from making off with the towers, they should just go after the keys that the villain hadn’t gotten yet and hold on to them. Everyone agreed and once they found his next target they went dimension hopping in the opposite direction.

From a GM’s point of view this was brilliant move on their part as it turned the tables and forced the villains to start chasing them. The PC’s ended up being the ones on the run and it led to some great chases, unforgettable battles and most of all some of the best roleplaying I have had the good fortune to encounter. The whole dimension/plane hopping aspect was really fun as well because I was able to drop them into nearly any fantasy setting I could come up with (I'm a fan of the show Sliders in case you hadn't figured that one out). They visited almost everything from the Forgotten Realms to Middle Earth to the Wheel of Time world. They even picked up a stray Warder whose Aes Sedai had died trying to help them.

Now the demon twins, as they came to be known, were not the only memorable NPC/supporting villains I pulled out of my bag of tricks. The group’s emissary to the gods had a twin sister who worked for the other team and when the evil twin impersonated her sister to throw the group off track they began to distrust everyone, which created a lot of conflict and kept the group on edge.

They encountered a “friendly” vampire who informed the group they were not the first, but the third group the gods had recruited for this quest. With the exception of the vampire all the other groups had perished, which made the PCs suspicious of the whole mission and question their chances of success. So again some one had the idea that they should one up everyone else and keep the towers for themselves and again they all agreed. (This group never played truly good PC’s) Now they were not only trying to keep the first villain from attaining the keys but also trying to avoid the new group the gods had recruited to stop them; no matter where they went someone was after them.

This campaign went on every weekend, and some week nights, for nearly six months and only continued to improve each session. In that time I threw everything I could at them, I had the group change bodies with some of the villain’s minions, one member of the group even sacrificed themselves and remained in the body of a goblin just to return the others to their rightful forms. They got caught in the middle of a dragon war, one PC became a vampire and was subsequently beheaded by another PC (they were later brought back), they battled evil copies of themselves, one PC was cursed with killer BO, they found creative uses for a mirror that would randomly teleport them to another dimension and fought valiantly in the final battle between all the various factions.

For my first run as a DM in this group I was proud of what we had created and no game since has had quite the same spark. Sure there were a lot of other fun campaigns, and a few that I would venture to say were great, but none were quite as perfect as "The 5 Towers". As time went by problems arose within the group, and players began to move on, some even quit gaming completely. Every once in a while some of us would get together and try to get things going again, but something always got in the way. Often during these get togethers, usually when there was a new player to impress, someone would bring up "The 5 Towers" and all of our faces would light up as we told old war stories. We even tried to play through it again, to let the new kids see what a great campaign it really was, but it was never the same.

Eventually I took the campaign notes and filed them away in my closet, but occasionally I drag them out, read them and reminisce. There was something magical about that campaign and that group. Somehow we took a mediocre campaign and turned it into something great, something that all of us were a part of and that will forever live on in our memories. As a DM or even as a player I may never be fortunate enough to find that perfect mix again, but I count myself as one lucky gamer for being a part of it.

Team Fortress 2 RPG

I just found an article that came out earlier this month in regards to a rpg being home brewed based on Team Fortress 2.

Not sure how many of you have seen it as I missed it the first time around.

http://tf2rpg.blogspot.com/

I'd buy that for $1

A Latvian firm is giving loans of $100-1000 in exchange for their souls. The borrowers have 90 days to pay back the money or they take possession of their soul. How does that work exactly?

Original article

The dead are rising...

Everyone pretty much knew it was going to happen but the original Captain America is defintely coming back from the dead. The news of his return can be found all over the net and from what I hear it made it to some of the major news networks as well.

I for one am a bit disappointed. While I thought it was idiotic to break the "only Bucky and Uncle Ben stay dead" rule, I admit that Bucky Cap has had some of the best Captain America stories I have ever read. I would say that Captain America's book has been one of the best books at Marvel with Bucky at the helm. Steve Rogers was going to come back, that was no secret, but Marvel had a good thing going with the current star of the book. It would have been nice to get to know the character a little bit better before they brought the old guard back.

Marvel is also rumored to be bringing back the Scarlet Spider over in the Spiderman books. Now I was a fan of the character when he was originally introduced and was disappointed when they killed him off. I actually quit reading Spidey for a while. I even liked his low budget costume, which was much more realistic than Peter Parker, a teenage boy when he got his powers, sewing a costume with a very complicated design. I admit the whole clone saga was a pretty crappy story as a whole, but a character with a lot of potential came from that story. Unfortunately he paid the price for the horrible taste the story that spawned him left with fans. Hopefully, Marvel will bring old Ben back with a bit more dignified story this time around.

We all know Dick Grayson has replaced Bruce as Batman and Damian has taken up the mantle of Robin, for now. DC seems to have plans for the new dynamic duo for at least the next year, so when will Bruce return? My vote is never. Even though they've only been a team a short while, I am already enjoying the new direction of the Batbooks more than I have in years. I say it is time for a changing of the guard... permenantly. Of course we all know that won't happen. Bruce will be back in the cowl in the near future, my guess is next summer.

Who else has returned from the dead in recent years? Here is a list of the characters from DC and Marvel who are again among the living. These are just the ones I can recall off the top of my head. If I think of more I'll add them later.

Superman... although that was a long time ago I decided to add it to the list anyway.

Aunt May (not sure how that happened. her death story, the start of the clone saga, was a really good Spidey story. Then she almost died recently to start the OMD story.. or as I call it WTF.. she is a tough old bat.)

Barry Allen (Flash)

Bart Allen (Kid Flash... still think the explaination for that was a bit dumb... he wasn't even that important of a character and he didn't die using the speedforce like every other speedster that has come back... he was beat to death! )

Wally West (not really dead... living in another dimension for a little bit??? that's dumb)

Green Arrow

Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)

Superboy (Connor Kent)

Jason Todd... he still sucked the second time around.

Bucky

Captain Marvel (the Marvel comics version... not the real one)

Mockingbird

Goldstar

Blue Beete (Ted Kord...temporarily taken out of the time stream, don't know if he is actually dead again or not??? Also isn't he suppose to be coming back as a Black Lantern/Zombie? Will there be 2 Teds running around? I hate time travel)

Norman Obsorn

Harry Osborn( he was dead wasn't he?)

Wilson Fisk

Ghost Rider(s) (haven't both of them died at some point? if not they will)

Jericho (how many times has this guy died anyway? Didn't his dad gut him or something?)

Dead Characters that will more than likely be returning soon:

Martian Manhunter

Bruce Wayne

Blue Beetle (Ted)

Jason Todd... didn't they kill him again? If not they should.

Reverse Flash

** *Blackest Night may make the returning soon list much longer. I didn't add those characters, such as Bruce's parents, because I think they are just going to be zombie like things. Even though zombies rock, they do not count as living and were not added. That may change as the story unfolds.***

Characters that should be killed off permenantly just because I don't like them ;-) or I like/would like newer versions better.

John Stewart

Martian Manhunter

Charles Xavier (is he dead now or alive? He's died and came back so many times I can't keep track)

Magneto (same as Xavier)

Aunt May (WHY WON'T YOU DIE!)

Aquaman

Jericho

Jason Todd

Flash (Barry)

Batman (Bruce... I like the character, really, but it is Mr. Grayon's turn to prove himself as the new Dark Knight... he's earned it and I bet most fans like it.)

Captain America (Steve Rogers... again I like the character, but the current stories are just so damn good I hate to see them screw it up with an event.)

All of the New Gods, except Darkseid... he is one bad mamajama....

All those damn Kryptonians... How can you be the Last Son of Krypton when there is 100,000 other Kryptonians running around? Not to mention the dogs and cats and monkeys, it's ridiculous.. although I do want to see a super badger. It could dig a Burrow of Solitude and fight for animal injustice... and table scraps. What do badgers eat anyway?(Update.. wikipedia says badgers eat worms, small mammals and poisonous snakes... badgers are bad @$$)

FYI for all the fans of the characters I listed in the "should be killed" list... these are just characters I personally don't like and you should not take this opportunity to be offended. I have no control over the creative direction of these characters and my opinion has no impact on the characters. This is just my opinion and should be taken as the good natured jab it is intended to be. Despite the fact that I am right and most of those characters suck, the list was made in jest and should be seen as such.

Board Game for Readers

A new board game lets people who love to read revel in their knowledge of books. It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: A Game of First Lines challenges players to identify the author or title of a book with only the book’s first line as a clue. It’s that simple and that challenging. It Was a Dark and Stormy Night covers everything from novels to poetry, from mysteries to children’s books, from science fiction to books made into movies, and six other categories, so there is something for every interest.

The game, which features hundreds of clues, a design that blends modern and old-world imagery, and wooden pawns is currently sold at a dozen Chicago-area bookstores and is available online at www.goodreadgames.com. The game retails for $39.95.

WTF!

Recently I have been hitting the various Tee shirt shops online looking for new tees to add to my collection. A good geek can never have enough, you know.
Anyway I have noticed that no where, on any of the sites, are they offering a Blue Beetle or Booster Gold t-shirt. Sure there are a couple of JLI and Formerly Known as the Justice League shirts that have those characters, along with others, on the front but none with only those characters. I want a Blue Beetle and a Booster Gold logo shirt. They have them for all the Lantern Corps and most of them haven't even been introduced yet! Hell they even have shirts for characters like The Greatest American Hero, Madman, and the Atom! But no Blue and Gold shirts?!?! WTF?
So if anyone out there is reading this and you work for a company that produces tees, make a note. Gimme Blue and Gold merchandise!
So say we all!!!

Justice League My Way...

For no reason, other than the idea just popped into my head, I am posting the version of the Justice League I want to see. The team that I would have in the book if I had the power to make it so... my JLA dream team.

Blue Beetle(Ted Kord)
Booster Gold
Firestorm
Animal Man
Captain Marvel
Captain Atom
Manhunter(Mark Shaw)
Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)
Flash (Wally West)
Powergirl
Green Arrow (Conner)
Nightwing
Red Tornado

If I think of any more I'll post them later.

You Are 60% Nerdy

You may be a bit surprised with this score, but you are more of a closet nerd than an actual nerd. Stop denying your inner nerd! You're truly dorkier than you think.

How Nerdy Are You?

You Are Very Skeptical

Your personal motto is: "Prove it." While some ideas, like life after death, may seem nice... You aren't going to believe them simply because it feels good. You let science and facts be your guide... Even if it means you don't share the beliefs of those around you.

How Skeptical Are You?

You Are 40% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird... But too damn weird to do anything about it!

How Weird Are You?

Your Brain is Creative

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

You Are 68% Politically Radical

You're political views are just plain weird. A little far left, a little far right, and a whole lot of radical.

Are You a Political Radical?

You Speak General American English!

65% General American English 25% Dixie 5% Upper Midwestern 5% Yankee 0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

You Should Rule Mars

Mars is a planet that shines brightly and loops wildly around the solar system. You are perfect to rule Mars, because you are both energetic and independent. Like Mars, you seems attractive and bright to others - but you're difficult to pin down. You are a great thinker, but you only think in the present and ignore the future. Full of enthusiasm and inspiration, you are into your own thing... and are rather insensitive to others.

What Planet Should You Rule?

Which D&D Character Am I?

D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium

Name the new spacestation node

This may not be directly RPG related, but there is an RPG connection and this is something I think gamers will like to know about.
I was over at Cthulhu.com and saw that they were asking for readers to vote for Cthulhu as the name of NASA's next space station node. So naturally I wanted to see what this was all about and followed the link to NASA's site.
After voting, yes I voted for Cthulhu because I think that would be absolutely hilarious, I decided to check out the top names at this point and almost kicked myself when I found out what was number 1... Serenity with 78% of the vote!
I can't believe that I didn't think to write in Serenity, Millenium Falcon, Star Destroyer, Galactica or some other name that would have made geeky, sci-fi sense. So while I still think having a part of the space station named Cthulhu would be some funny shit, I have to admit I like the idea that it could be named Serenity. Knowing that up there, in the black, Serenity was flying high would be pretty damn cool. Plus with the other nodes being named Unity and Harmony, Serenity just makes sense.
So I am asking every reader and RPG blogger to go to the site and either vote for Cthulhu or Serenity.