The Warlock's Review: The Dark Knight Rises

When our weekly game group went to see Avengers in May, I could hardly believe my eyes.  Walking from the theater, all I could think of was the magnitude of what I had just seen.  As a film experience, Avengers was simply mind-blowing:  a four-panel blowout translated seamlessly onto the screen.

The question looming, however, was "How could The Dark Knight Rises possibly measure up?"  With huge shoes to fill in terms of its predecessor, TDKR now would suffer comparison to its massively successful Marvel competitor as well.  So, how did it do?

It pains me to say this.  The Dark Knight Rises just isn't as good as The Dark Knight.  It's not even as good as Batman Begins.  While it's far from being a bad movie--it's still head and shoulders over dreck like Daredevil or Green Lantern--it's just not a good movie either.  This was supposed to be Christopher Nolan's "piece de resistance," but The Dark Knight Rises collapses under its own bulk, entangled in a bloated, unwieldy plot.

The Dark Knight Rises
An unsatisfying ending to
Christopher Nolan's genre-defining run.

TDKR begins eight years following the events of The Dark Knight.  After the death of Harvey Dent, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has vanished from the public eye and has retired the Batman mantle.  When rumors of a mercenary named Bane (Tom Hardy) begin emerging, coupled with links to the League of Shadows, Wayne takes up his cape and cowl once more to investigate the motives behind Bane's activities.  However, as he does so, Wayne's company teeters on the edge of default as a new technologies firm run by Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) appears on the verge of takeover.  Cotillard's performance may be the weakest out of the cast, as she vacillates between being a canny entrepreneur and a piece of arm candy for Bruce Wayne, only truly showing her true colors (in an incredibly unsatisfying manner) in the last ten minutes of the film

Bane's appearance is concurrent with that of Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), an intensely skilled burglar--never once called Catwoman--who steals Bruce Wayne's fingerprints in exchange for a chance at wiping her criminal record clean.  Hathaway's Kyle is truly the brightest spot in this movie, using her femininity for manipulation and lethality while simultaneously providing a vulnerable, sympathetic viewpoint.  It'd be a revelatory performance...if Scarlett Johansson didn't already play these same cards as Black Widow in The Avengers. 

Also joining the story is John Blake (Joseph Gordon Levitt), a beat cop-turned-detective who has somehow deduced Batman's identity--it's never stated or shown how--and who pushes Wayne into action.  While Blake's character is meant to be an uncompromising idealist and a point of entry for the viewer, he seems to just stumble across major clues haphazardly which, when exposed, advance the plot. 

If The Dark Knight was based in part on Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's The Long Halloween, TDKR pulls primarily from the Knightfall and No Man's Land arcs.  Without spoiling too much, if you've read Knightfall and know the basic premise of Bane's character, you can anticipate exactly what happens to our cowled hero.  But, the scene in question occurs less than halfway through the film, just after Wayne "learns how to be Batman again"....resulting in an entire second hour of Batman doing the same thing he just did, just in a different setting! 

With Batman out of the way after said incident, Bane and his allies are free to establish martial law in Gotham City, stealing the fuel core from a Wayne Enterprises nuclear fusion reactor and using it as extortion fuel against the surrounding government.  "What about the police?", you might ask.  Well, Bane has them trapped in a warren of tunnels beneath the city, yet for some reason keeps them alive with regular shipments of food and water.  The city descends into chaos absent their protectors, holding kangaroo courts to exterminate the city's entitled elite.

Unfortunately, this is where the plot bogs down.  Why does Bane keep the police alive?  So that we can have a climactic police-vs.-anarchist beatdown scene in the third act, of course!  Bane and his lackeys know that their fuel core-turned-bomb can be shut down by reattaching it to the reactor, but the reactor has a flood control to prevent meltdowns.  Why not just trigger the flood control and prevent the possibility in the first place?  For that matter, why extort the populace in the first place?  The plot simply breaks down upon cursory examination, with both villains and heroes taking actions directly contradictory to their own motives and even logic itself! 

The Dark Knight Rises further suffers from a core storytelling flaw of "telling" rather than "showing".  Rather than acting through or physically demonstrating his frustration with Bruce Wayne, Alfred (Michael Caine) goes on a literal three minute diatribe directly into the camera, telling Bruce why his retreat from the world was so wrong.  Rather than show romantic interest in Bruce Wayne, we merely hear from other characters that Miranda Tate is interested in Bruce Wayne romantically, which makes a love scene between the two halfway through the film seem totally unrealistic.  Rather than demonstrating the decadence and corruption of Gotham's elite, we merely hear speeches from Bane, culminating in a stolen speech from Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) that went undelivered in the first act.  Bane's attack on a Wall Street-esque investment area made good progress in this regard, but the focus shifts almost immediately from Bane's mysterious motives to the police's erroneous pursuit of Batman.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, the element that separated The Dark Knight from the majority of genre-movies out there was its willingness to address greater ethical and philosophical questions.  We didn't simply deal with Batman and The Joker--we examined the fundamental flaws with moral absolutism and addressed the depths to which men and women would sink in order to preserve their status quo.  These sociological and philosophical questions arise in The Dark Knight Rises, but as quick as the questions arise, they are simultaneously backhanded back down. 

Bane...you won! 
You got exactlywhat you wanted!
What more are you trying to accomplish?

Case in point, Bane's fundamental plan for Gotham.  Bane encourages the populace to rise up against their upper-class oppressors, distributing arms to any willing takers.  CEOs and socialites are put on trial and exterminated while Bane himself simply stands by and lets the people do their thing.  However, even as thousands flock to Bane's cause, he still plans to detonate the fuel core, destroying Gotham City entirely!  Why?  Well, it's never really explained.  His goal worked.  He was successful!  Why destroy the fruits of your labors?  It simply doesn't make sense. 

I almost want to give The Dark Knight Rises a pass, simply because of the massive steps it had to follow in. The basic flaws in storytelling, editing, and scene structure found here really are uncharacteristic of Nolan's work and of the series in general.  But, at the end of the day, I'm left with one defining decision that sums it all up for me:

When I left the theater after The Avengers, I immediately thought to myself, "This is awesome!  I need to see this again!  I need to get this on Blu-Ray/DVD!"  I'm even contemplating shelling out for the massive 10 disc ultimate edition.

When I left the theater after The Dark Knight Rises, I felt let down.  I might ask for it as a Christmas present on DVD, but I don't want to shell out to buy this myself.  And, certainly, I don't care to see it again in a theater.  It's a servicable, if unsatisfying ending, but it's not the magnum opus we were all hoping for. 

In Which The Warlock Examines Some Ethical Dilemmas...

A bit of honesty here to begin this entry:  I've been a little bit skeptical of the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises.  While it's been extremely well-reviewed thusfar, 2008's The Dark Knight and Inception only made me more appreciative of Christopher Nolan as an introspective, nuanced filmmaker.

While I'll still be seeing it on Friday with the PlatinumChick before game night, The Dark Knight Rises has massive shoes to fill in the wake of both its predecessor and The Avengers, both of which stand as the crowning achievements in genre-filmmaking in this decade, maybe of all time.

The inspiration for 2008's
The Dark Knight.

The reason I'm so skeptical of TDKR comes from the moral and ethical weight of its predecessor, stemming directly from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's timeless Batman storyline "The Long Halloween".  The majority of the plot from The Dark Knight comes from that comic series, as Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and Harvey Dent work towards taking down the mob-influences that infest the city.  However, their uncompromising war on crime comes crashing down through the death of Rachel Dawes or, in the comics, the search for the killer known as Holiday.

The Joker sums this up concisely towards the end of the film.  Dangling upside-down from a half-finished building, he tells Batman: "This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever."

The Joker:  madman, or simply
demonstrating the flaws in
moral objectivism?

Batman's attempts to do things "the right way" and without loss of life often serves to bring about great tragedy and  heartbreak, simply because he attempts to do what is "just" and "right".  The story could have ended much, much earlier had Bruce Wayne simply stepped forward though, truth be told, negotiating with The Joker isn't exactly something reasonable in and of itself!  That's what makes The Dark Knight such a great film, as well as what puts The Dark Knight Rises in such a difficult position.

Why do I bring this up?  Well, you see, Cold Steel Wardens is deliberately built to allow players to emulate and even play through this continued moral quagmire.  Every Hero in Cold Steel Wardens begins play with a series of Stances, in addition to their more standard background elements (Motivations, Flaws, and Origins).  These Stances represent important portions of a Hero's mindset and comprise their own moral and ethical "high ground" as they fight crime.  Perhaps a given Hero refuses to fight against police, or won't attack what he views as "children".  Maybe a Hero is driven towards vengeance against those who have committed sex crimes or crimes against police.  Maybe the Hero is outright bloodthirsty and doesn't care who gets hurt as they wage their war on crime.  There's room for all these at the table, as they're consistently meant to be challenged.

In addition to providing impetus for great role-playing opportunities, Stances provide a method for Heroes to add dice to the communal Hero Pool.  When the GM of a Cold Steel Wardens session challenges a Hero's Stance, the GM must add a die to the Pool.  However, if the player themself places their Stance into question--let the mafia thug get away, or pick up the gun on the floor and keep him from reporting back to his superiors?--he gets to add two dice  to the Hero Pool!  It pays to role-play!

Stances are simply one way to add dice to the Hero Pool, though they may certainly be the most dramatic.  When Heroes are forced into uncomfortable situations which question their morals, players themselves become engaged with the plot and its characters.  Here's for hoping that we see it  out soon!  With the first draft of Cold Steel Wardens nearly wrapped up--and in the hands of my two editors already--here's for hoping that we hit print in time for next August!

Next time, friends and neighbors--the results of my name-poll and my review of The Dark Knight Rises!

In Which The Warlock Polishes off the Six-Pack...

Whew!  Fitting title for this one today, cats and kittens.  The PlatinumChick and I love entertaining, and we just held our mid-summer barbeque last night.  Friends of ours streamed in from all over Ohio to raise a glass, enjoy some burgers and brats, and enjoy a glorious fire in our firepit.  Luckily enough for us, we haven't been under a burn ban!

But, all that hasn't stopped me from finishing out a six-pack of a different sort!  Just a few moments ago, I've finished off my present to you, faithful readers:  the final touches on the "Reno Six-Pack"--a ready to play set of six pre-generated characters for Hell on Earth Reloaded setting by Pinnacle Entertainment.

You can access the full Reno Six-Pack through this link:  Reno Six-Pack!

Inside, you'll find our six adventurers:

• Doc Neutron--a Heretic Doomsayer
• "The Main Man" Marlow--a chainsaw-wielding road warrior
• Edward Castellan--a mighty Templar
• Carrie Ann Waltrip--a Harrowed gunslinger
• Leslie Marvin--a plucky Junker
• Garrett Walker--an intrepid Librarian, with his faithful companion Felix, the Bobcat

All six characters are built at Veteran tier (40 XP) and are equipped and ready to play.  Naturally, you'll need the Hell on Earth Reloaded book and Savage Worlds Deluxe to make the most of these.

Enjoy, gang!

In Which The Warlock Needs a Name...

As I've been rushing towards finishing Cold Steel Wardens, I've also been doing quite a bit of research on incorporation.  Before I start any Kickstarters or establish any copyrights, I'm going to need to exist as a corporate entity--boy isn't that scary to think of!

And, while I have several ideas, I've decided to take the actualy decision out of my hands...and put it into yours, friends and neighbors!  Below are the five names that I've been contemplating.  I'll leave up a poll on the right sidebar for you to vote on your favorite--the most popular name becomes the name that I'll submit for registration for my company, and will be used on everything I ever publish!

1. Stormcrown Press:  This was my first idea.  It very much "feels" like a gaming company name, evoking references to royalty and thunder.  The 'storm' idea came from my full-time gig, as my school's mascot is the thunderbolt.  Depending on how things hash out, I may be working with their DECA program for some marketing opportunities, but nothing's confirmed yet.
2. Pendulum Press:  Obviously, the name for this one comes from my upcoming Pendulum essay compilation, which will hopefully be one of my first products.  I like the alliterative nature of it though I'm unsure about having something so closely tied to a single one of my products.
3. Steel Witt Productions:  Get the pun?  Yeah...this may be my least favorite of the choices.  But, it shows both my relationship to the Steel City and my connection to Wittenberg, while making a pseudo-funny joke.  It's memorable, but do I really want my company to be memorable as a joke?
4. Blackfall Press:  Ah, the obscure one!  Blackfall refers to a city in which I ran series of one-shots while back at Wittenberg, legendary for their lethality and their player-vs-player conniving.  Really, if I can point to a part of my time at Witt that really led me towards game design as something I'm good at, it would be these.  It's tied to my history, but not overtly.
5. Iron Pendulum Productions:  A combination of #2 and #3, with a little less emphasis on Pendulum and a little more towards Pittsburgh and the Iron Age of Comics.  That said, the name is a little on the long side, which would make it harder to remember. 

Okay, those are my options, amices!  Name my company!!!

In Which The Warlock Presents The Main Man...

I finished him up a little early, so I figured, "why not?!" 

Here's my latest entry in my Reno Six-Pack:  "The Main Man" Marlow!

And, if you missed out on his predecessor, Doc Neutron, here's the link for the full stack!

In Which The Warlock Contemplates a Cluster of Points...

Friends and neighbors, it's hot here.  Whooo, man, is it hot!  Too hot to think, all told.  So, mes amices, while I prep your next participant in my ongoing Hell on Earth series, here's some random points!

• As per my usual, I've all but taken on a nocturnal schedule here in the summer.  I stay up late, either working on Cold Steel Wardens or playing Diablo III, then go to sleep in the early morning.  Most people tend to think I'm a little nuts, but it tends to work for me.  I stay out of the oppressive heat of the morning, and still manage to be productive.  Besides, I'm more of a night-owl anyway!
• My long-running (and almost as long on hiatus!) campaign of "The Flood" is finally reaching its conclusion.  After a stopover at Fort 51 with "Mr. Eddington" and "Mr. Andrew Lane", my posse has only two glyphs to find--which they've already located and mapped out--before triggering the titular flood in Lost Angels.  While I've been enjoying this game through and through, it makes me wonder what we're going to be doing next.  The PlatinumChick has mentioned the possibility of running Hell on Earth, and I'm still contemplating that All For One: Regime Diabolique game, but nothing's concrete yet.  We'd better get our ducks in a row:  we only have about 3 sessions left in Deadlands!
• Instead of braving the heat and traffic on the 4th of July, the PlatinumChick and I decided to go see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  Figuring it'd be a better bet than the up-and-down Amazing Spider-Man, we weren't disappointed in any sense of the word.  It's an over-the top action flick with a goofy premise and some great scenes. In fact, there's a point near the end that I'd swear is ripped straight from John Goff's infamous Night Train scenario.  Not that that's a bad thing, mind you!   Go give it a run, if you find yourself near a theater!
• What's in a name?  In the hopes of taking a serious run at seeing myself in print, I've been planning on incorporating (most likely through an LLC) in the very near future.  However, in doing so, it occurs to me how important naming my company will be.  Obviously, you want a name that will stand out, but will also be able to be taken seriously.  I've come up with one idea which has tested well, but I'll keep under my hat for the time being...
• It appears that, following the current "Avengers vs. X-Men" crossover event, Marvel appears to be headed towards some restructuring.  While I'm sad to see Brian Michael Bendis leave the core Avengers books, Johnathan Hickman makes for a fantastic heir to the big chair.  That said, it makes me wonder who will be taking up Fantastic Four!  In either case, the PlatinumChick will no doubt be happy with the upcoming Captain Marvel ongoing series.  I'm eager to read that one myself!

I think that's about all my brain can take before baking, friends and neighbors!  Next entry, you'll meet "The Main Man" Marlow!  Until then!

In Which The Warlock Posts a Pre-Gen...

A few weeks ago, DigitalKat decided to put out a great little utility for all those Savage Worlds/Deadlands players:  a folio of eight pre-generated archetypal characters, complete with backgrounds and motivations,  ready to use in your favorite one-sheet or plot-point campaign.

Her work is really spectacular and it served as a really great idea so, deciding that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...the recent release of Hell on Earth really needs some supplements, like pre-generated characters!

As such, enjoy the first of the pre-gens I originally created for my classic "Ravenous in Reno" scenario, now updated for the Hell on Earth Reloaded rule-set!

If you'd like me to complete the set, just drop me a comment down below.  If I get enough interest, I'll write up the full posse for you!

"Doc Neutron"--Heretic Doomsayer!

The Warlock's Review: Hell on Earth Reloaded (First Impressions)

Boy, oh boy! 

I really wasn't expecting this to come out so quickly, or so stealthily for that matter.  While I'm a fairly frequent poster on the Pinnacle Entertainment message boards, I'm not sure anyone not on the inside really anticipated such a quick release for Hell on Earth Reloaded--the long-awaited "reloading" of the post-apocalyptic Deadlands sequel game.

As you might remember, I've been pretty psyched for this release for quite a while.  Since picking up the Hell on Earth original editions at Origins last year--and getting them signed by Shane Lacy Hensley!--I'd been looking forward to seeing a "Reloaded" style Savage Worlds edition.

This was only further confirmed in my mind after running my "Ravenous in Reno" scenario both for my home Friday night group and at WittCon IX.  While the sheer amount of background info on the Hell on Earth world is worth having and reading, the clunkiness of the original rule-set was a bit alarming, after enjoying the increased speed and clarity of the Savage Worlds rules.

Hell on Earth Reloaded
Now available at the Pinnacle Entertainment Store

Firstly, this book is gorgeous.  While maintaining the custom of using a combination of new art and art from prior "classic" supplements, the layout of HoER is immaculate.  It's easy to read, easy to follow, and comes with a gloriously voluminous index.  The book has numerous sidebars which are set off with grimy, jagged steel and yellow and black 'caution' tape.  The art simply oozes a feel of "after the bomb," which perfectly fits with the genre's idiom.

Content-wise, the book is pretty much what you'd expect:  mainly setting information, detailing power groups and locations in the Wasted West, compiling and condensing the numerous classic volumes into a single book.  While this seems to be an onerous task, HoER does a more than adequate job of trimming the fat, while still including some of the great encounters of the earlier game.  Some of my personal favorites--DempseyWorld and the Mall of America--were left intact, which definitely scored bonus points in my book!

Mechanically, many of the biggest changes came in terms of the Arcane Backgrounds.  HoER contains five rejuvenated backgrounds:  the Templar, Doomsayer, Syker, Toxic Shaman and Junkers.  I was pleased to see how these were handled--while all of the five operate on power points, each background has unique elements that reinforce their traits.  Templars, for example, automatically gain the "Improved Trademark Weapon" edge for their starting sword, but can only cast spells (aside from Healing) on themselves.  Junkers only start with a single device, but start the game with the Gadgeteer edge automatically, and can distill 'spook juice' (ghost-rock powered gasoline) with enough time and supplies.  Sykers and Doomsayers each get access to unique powers, accessible to no other arcane background.

A heretic Doomsayer, ready to nuke some
 unlucky waster in the Wasted West!

This wasn't to say that Hell on Earth Reloaded wasn't without its own surprises, though.  Firstly, I was a bit shocked to see the timeline advance, after the events of the classic adventure "The Unity".  That said, the timeline doesn't advance very far--only 6 months--though the setting does seem more hopeful, now that the Reckoners have been whisked away.  But, with numerous threats still waiting in the wings--Raven, the Combine, and numerous others--there's plenty for your survivors to do!

Another slightly shocking element that I found in HoER came in the fact that you could, in fact, begin the game as an undead Harrowed!  Yes, friends and neighbors, you can start the game as a walkin' dead, powered only by your very own manitou!  I rather like this option, though not as much as the "Operation Damocles Soldier" edge.  "ODS"provides a slightly more limited version of the "Veteran of the Weird West" edge, turning your player into a cryogencically frozen soldier devoted to restoring the United States to glory.  This makes for a great "Omega Man" archetype, which immediately got my character-creation juices flowing.

Two slightly odd changes that I was surprised to see included dealt with Fear checks and with Bennies/Fate Chips.  You see, in Deadlands Reloaded, Fear checks are made using the "Guts" skill, but modified by a rank-based bonus called Grit.  Grit often offset penalties for fighting particularly frightening monsters or by an area's Fear Level.  However, in HoER, Fear checks are made via Spirit roll, which is more in line with the current Savage Worlds rules.  While Fear Levels still exist, Grit and Guts became edges, allowing wasters to ignore the Fear Level in various increments.

While I removed the "Guts" skill from my own home Deadlands game, I was a bit stunned to see that become canon.  But, considering that this removal puts the game more in line with Savage Worlds Deluxe, I can understand the change.  The change I don't understand, however, came in terms of Fate Chips.  While Deadlands itself uses four separate types of Bennies, which have varying degrees of utility, HoER reduces this system back down to the generic system listed in Savage Worlds.  I can't say I really agree with this change, and I'll likely house-rule it back to the original Fate Chip system, if I run HoER anytime in the near future.

Due to page length, there are a few omissions that would have been great to see but didn't quite make it into the HoER final draft.  Information on cybernetics is sparse, instead referring back to the Smith and Robards Catalog from Deadlands.  Witches are nowhere to be seen, though they were poorly supported even in "classic" Hell on Earth.  I'd have loved to see a little more on Raven's machinations following the Battle of Worms, though there's both a companion in the works as well as a plot point campaign.  Given the superior quality of "The Flood" and the huge amount of material in "The Last Sons", I'll likely be picking it up as soon as it's released!

Truthfully though, these are slight nit-picks.  Hell on Earth Reloaded makes for a spectacularly savage and long-overdue entry into the market, just in time for GenCon.  I'm already planning on revamping my heroes from "Ravenous in Reno," and may just be planning on putting out a scenario for next year's "Savage Saturday" at Origins.  If you love Deadlands, Savage Worlds, or are looking for a new post-apocalyptic game, you won't be disappointed with Hell on Earth Reloaded!

In Which The Warlock Reveals His Coming Project!

Sorry about the delay, but real life has taken its toll once more.  However, this time around, it's in a good way:  the PlatinumChick and I just bought our first ever new vehicle.  As in, not used...brand new!  Our new Kia Soul(+) had just 11 miles on it when we drove it off the lot earlier tonight!  Exciting, to say the least!

But, that's not what you want to hear about.  Rather, you want to hear about my latest project!

As I mentioned in my last entry, I've been retooling the mechanics and concepts behind my first attempts at a board game, Dungeon Slam!, into a new genre with some streamlined mechanics.  While I don't yet have a name for my concept, here's the elevator pitch:

As a budding super-scientist, you've been putting in 80+ hours at the top-secret Twin Valley Research Facility for the past month and a half.  It's Friday, and you've scheduled Monday off:  three days of nothing but sweet, sweet sleep.  That was before your superiors rang down, saying that you have to finish up that big project you've been tinkering with.  No one gets to go home until their project is done.

That was before the rift opened in the main reactor room, leaking in otherworldly energies and strange monsters.  Surely the security team can lock down that leak, right?  All you've got to do is find your three Prototypes and make your way to the time clock before the lab gets locked down entirely!

Much of the essence is the same:  avoid or kill monsters, kill or steal from other scientists, and assemble your "MacGuffins" before the others to win the game.  While I've eliminated much of the complicated advancement mechanics of Dungeon Slam!, I've kept elements of item upgrading, which is now framed as "mad science" advances:  your crowbar can now be Tesla-powered or Irradiated! 

Dungeon Slam's character sheets were originally incredibly complex, with six stats on slider scales, Health and Mana pools, and at least 4 abilities for each archetype.  As you can see below, I've trimmed that down massively!

Preview for my yet-as-unnamed Lab Tech board game!

Each scientist is down to four stats--Speed, Combat, Science! (yes, with an exclamation point!) and Health.  Rather than 4 laborious special abilities, each scientist gains one, focusing on their expertise. 

While I have yet to run a playtest--any takers out there, by the way?--I think this game really has some promise.  Idiomatically, it appeals to that mad-science/steampunk/Portal-loving crowd, with homages to games like Half-Life, Portal, and Bioshock.  I have yet to see a real board game cover this idiom/genre well, so it's untold territory that's waiting to be taken up!

Here's for hoping that it'll go over well!

Oh, one more thing, friends and neighbors!  The PlatinumChick and I are heading out to go camping in Ohio's glorious Hocking Hills this weekend.  So, with no internet out there, there's no weekend entry this week!  I'll catch up with you guys on Wednesday!  Cheers!

In Which The Warlock Makes a Major Alteration...

So, let's talk about something that I haven't brought up in quite a while:  Dungeon Slam!

I've occasionally broken out DS! now and again in the last year or so, but I haven't exactly been doing a whole lot of substantial revision on it.  The biggest issue keeping DS! from being a "real game" is the run-time:  I can't seem to get it under two hours without making major changes to the game mechanics and the way that chance is involved with the game itself.

Risk--has anyone finished that game?

That's a major problem, because few games run longer than two hours while maintaining an element of fun.  Ask yourself, when was the last time that you played a game of Risk for more than two hours, before the novelty of Risk wore off and a clear winner was evident, and everyone else worked to stave off that winner for an extra hour or so.  Don't get me wrong:  Risk can be fun, but it often takes so long to play that few manage to ever complete that game.



A session of Dungeon Slam!
from Origins 2008.

Similarly, Dungeon Slam! also suffered from a pretty major issue that many rpgs also suffer from:  Contested Roll Syndrome.  Contested rolls--also called opposed rolls or contests--have a propensity to slow games down immensely, as they make every chanced encounter (which are fairly common, natch!) into a minimum of two dice rolls, rather than one.

Imagine, if you will, a "static" system like Savage Worlds or even d20.  Each dice roll is compared against a number, which varies based on the difficulty of a task.  Modifiers are then made based on the circumstances facing the situation and the person acting within it.  However, in a system based on contested rolls--such as Dungeon Slam! as well as Marvel Heroic Roleplaying and several other games--that static modifier is replaced by another roll, on the act-ee's part.

While you'd figure that this wouldn't slow down the game too much, once you start adding in modifiers, re-rolls, and other chance-altering mechanics common to most games, the game slows down to a crawl, which brings us back to the core problems with Dungeon Slam!.  It simply takes too freaking long.

But, with its numerous problems and several competitors on the market--Super Dungeon Explore, Munchkin Quest, and Dungeon Run come immediately to mind--I've decided to put Dungeon Slam! on the shelf indefinitely.

That said, writing Dungeon Slam! hasn't been a waste in any sense of the word.  In fact, I learned a lot from the act of writing it--particularly in how to structure a game and how to format a prototype for Publisher and Adobe.  And, there's a lot I can take from the best elements of Dungeon Slam!...

• The PvP race structure.
• The item upgrades mechanic.
• The open-board motion.
• The ability to actively screw your neighbor without specifically engaging them.
• The fundamental stats and mechanics (minus the opposed rolls).

And, friends and neighbors, that's just what I've been doing for the past two weeks.  I've been reformatting the best bits and piecees of Dungeon Slam! into a new game with a new genre and idiom...

...but to see the fruits of my labors, you'll have to tune in for the next entry!

In Which The Warlock Prepares an Answer on Preparation...

Just after returning from Origins, DigitalKat posed a question to me.  She's been up to her eyeballs with "real life" obligations recently--a full-time job, an internship on her days off, plus family and friend obligations.  Prepping game for one group, let alone two or more, has been a huge challenge for her.  She's written up some of her trials and tribulations here, where she describes how she manages to fit in her game-prep in the midst of her busy schedule. 

Just don't look up!
Then again, don't look down!

She asked me, "How do you manage to do it?"  Naturally, this is a question that I get asked quite a bit, considering all that I have on my plate.  Between freelance writing, working on my own projects and writings, and the struggles of grading and teaching, it almost appears like I'm working miracles!  Truth be told, I often make the analogy of a juggler:  as long as I don't look up, I can stay in rhythm and keep juggling indefinitely.  But, it's when I sit back and "look up" at the massive amount of projects I have on deck that I get overwhelmed!

While the summer affords me quite a bit of time to get caught up--I average about 4,000-5,000 words a day, if I spend a fully day writing--the school year often "interferes" with my ability to write.  But, during the school year, this time is curtailed significantly, due to my obligations in the classroom!  That said, I do manage to find times during the day where I can actually get some game-based work done!

Journaling and Silent Reading

As part of my daily teaching procedures, I begin almost every day with either a 7 minute journaling time or a 15 minute session of silent reading.  While the benefits of reading and writing each day are well-documented, this has a multi-faceted benefit for the teacher.  First, it establishes a gravitas and attitude in the classroom, allowing students to calm down and focus on something literary or philosophical, rather than their own items.  Secondly, it gives me a time in which I can take attendance and take care of any outstanding issues, like make-up work or conferencing with individual students.  However, while I keep my attendence software on one tab in my browser, I arrange it so that it only takes up half the screen, leaving the other half free for Word, Excel, or Publisher.

Writing during this period--under a massive deadline and in short spurts--usually doesn't net me much at each session, though tallied over a full day of 5 class periods, that's about an hour's worth of writing, usually totalling around 500 words by itself.

Hall Supervision and Prep

What the Warlock's schedule
is usually like...

This past year, I was afforded a boon:  my supervision period (hall duty for half the year and study hall for the second half) and my personal prep period were back to back.  My duties during these times were particularly small:  sign passes, keep track of attendance, and ensure that no one's really messing around. 

Mondays, most days, I spend formalizing and submitting my lesson plans, then sending them on to my department head.  Tuesday through Thursday, under normal circumstances, I spend my time either organizing my thoughts, taking care of e-mail correspondence, or actually writing.  Fridays, though, is where the real "prep" takes place, as that's game night.

This time span affords me almost two full hours--with a glorious little break right in between, wherein I can get coffee--to focus on writing and the like.

Prepping for Game

Oftentimes, the amount of prep that I do directly relates to the type of system that I'm running.  For a game like Savage Worlds or ICONS, I find that my prep is almost negligible.  I'll come up with a few plot elements or ideas that I'd like to introduce, or spend my time focusing on elements actively sought after by my PCs.  Oftentimes, if I have information that's privy to only one or two, I'll drop them a private e-mail during this time, providing them whatever info they've happened to stumble across.  Unless it's something I'm likely to forget or if I'm juggling a whole pile of plot hooks, I often don't even have to write these down.

For a game like 4e D&D, however, I need a little more time and effort put in.  Most times, this occurs through the (offline, of course!) Monster Builder.  I start by filtering monsters by level and type, then see what kind of monsters might fit for the adventure hook I'd been planning.  If there are some pre-built, or at least close in terms of level, I'll simply adjust the monster level, print and go from there.  If not, I often take a pre-existing monster, re-flavor it (by changing names, adding or subtracting an attack or two, and adding in thematic items) and then print away.

Behind the Curtain

Instant Gunslinger!  Just add dice!

One of the biggest secrets I can pass on, though?  Cheat!  Once you have a degree of system mastery in the game you're running, it becomes easy to fudge NPCs for a session or two, then fully flesh them out when you have a little bit of extra time.  Let's say, for example, an bounty hunter is pursuing your PCs in a Deadlands game.  You know he wields a shotgun, and he makes a living pursuing criminals (or, in this case, your players!).  If you know Savage Worlds reasonably well, you could assume that he has a d10 in Shooting, a d10 in Tracking, and probably a reasonably high (d8) Notice.  He'd probably be pretty quick (maybe a d8 or d10 in Agility) and fairly tough (d8 in Vigor).  Anything else?  Call it a d6, unless it really fits into his "bounty hunter" schtick!  Want to give him some more personality?  Give him access to a skill that he wouldn't normally have--maybe this guy has a d10 in Taunt, and he always opens combat by taunting the group.  As for Edges, go thematic--Woodsman would make sense, as would Quick Draw or Marksman. 

You can do the same thing for nearly any system, once you have a handle on the math.  For 4e D&D, it all starts with the base of 1/2 Level + Ability mod.  If you had to build an archmage on the fly, start with his Intelligence score, perhaps something around a 22.  Ability mod for a 22 is +6, to which you add half of his level.  Is he trained in a given skill?  Probably, if it's academic--give him that +5 bonus pretty indiscriminately.  Now, how about some personality--let's make him a dwarf!  He'll have slightly higher hit points and a slightly lower movement speed, as well as the rest of the dwarven traits--don't worry about those unless they come up.  As for spells, pick a theme!  Maybe this mage is all about manipulating fire or earth.  You could give him a bog-standard "Flaming Sphere" and just reflavor it as a half-sentient earth elemental rampaging through the battlefield.

Obviously, these stats aren't concrete.  They're meant to be "just enough" to get you through a single session or two.  If you need more, that's when you can devote the time to putting forward a full NPC writeup.  If this character is meant to be recurring, it's time to give him the full business.

A Major Mistake

I didn't always take the minimal prep route, truth be told.  In fact, I used to obsess over game prep, particularly when I was in college.  While working in an amusement park gift shop over the summer, I'd craft epic campaigns filling whole notebooks....only to have most of that material go either unused or underused.  Plus, when I'd plot out the entire plot of the adventure, I'd end up denying my players the opportunity to go "off book" and improvise on their own. 

It wasn't until I had almost graduated from Wittenberg did I finally realize this phenomenon.  Actually, it was in one of my infamous "Blackfall" games--the epic Blackfall II, which spanned over 48 hours--that I finally divorced myself from my over-preparatory tendencies.  With over 15 players and a co-GM at my back, we had to be ready to improvise at a moment's notice!  Combat had to be fast and furious, to allow everyone an opportunity to shine--getting bogged down in minutia simply wasn't an option! 

Everyone, however, has their own balance of preparation against improvisation.  For me, I fall much further on the side of improv than I did even a few years ago, and my choices in games indicate that shift in philosophy as well.  It's all a matter of what works best for you or for your table, as always.

In Which The Warlock Wraps Up Origins 2012!

Whew!  I'm really running behind on this one!  The PlatinumChick and I scurried back from Columbus on Sunday evening, and I have yet to say a thing about our Origins weekend.  Man...I'm slacking!

The entrance for Origins 2012!

As I've said many times earlier, our trip to Origins was significantly abbreviated from its prior years.  Under normal circumstances, we'd drive out Tuesday night, get settled in, run games Wednesday through Saturday, then leave Sunday after the dealer hall closes.  This year, as I've been up to my eyeballs with students' finals and closing down my classroom--thanks to the date change, primarily--we were only able to attend half of the time, arriving on Friday afternoon and staying through Sunday.

However, this did afford us one luxury that we hadn't been able to enjoy prior to:  our own hotel room!  Yes, cats and kittens, the PlatinumChick and I actually managed to stay in a place to ourselves this time around.  Mind you, not that we did much sleeping....no, seriously:  we were up each night till around 3:00am or 3:30, either raising a glass with El Willy and the WEGSHogz or grabbing a bite to eat with the Journeyman GM!

The Events!

Friday evening started for me with another session of the D&D Next playtest.  Yes, I know what you're doing to say:  "But Warlock, you hated D&D Next!  You wrote this scathing review of it when you ran it, not three weeks ago!"  And, yes, you'd be right.  But, I figured that I'd give the game another chance, this time as a player--more particularly, as a player of the one character that wasn't represented at our home table, the human "laser" cleric. 

And, truth be told?  I'm still not impressed.  My cleric, with an 18 Wisdom, had all of two spells for the entire day.  Rather than heal, I focused on combat utility, eschewing the mediocre Cure Light Wounds for Spiritual Hammer, which more than doubled my potential damage output.  However, it was to little avail.  Our characters nearly suffered a TPK from a sliding stair trap, and our fighters--while admirable at damage output (but little else)--spent most of their time in single digit hp, falling in and out of unconsciousness constantly.  D&D Next has a long way to go before I'll be putting down money on a new edition.

My Saturday started much better, with a session of El Willy's newest release:  Pittsburgh 68:  a quick and dirty card game (edited by yours truly) emulating the old grindhouse horror classics, particularly Romero's quintessential Night of the Living Dead, which was set--you guessed it!--in Monroeville, PA, right along Pennsylvania Route 68.  I actually ran two sessions of this on Saturday, and a third on Sunday, to help take some of the strain off of El Willy and his crew as they pushed both WEGS and P68. 

Saturday was also seminar day for me, as I sat in on three separate seminars on game design, game development and genre emulation.  While listening to the gaming industry's self-styled "sublebrities" (as in, sub-celebrities) is always enlightening, the actual utility of these seminars has been...well, I'm not exactly sure.  Going to these gives me the chance to hobnob with some of the industry luminaries--I think Kenneth Hite may get sick of seeing me after all of this!--but their advice is only useful if I can actually put it into action!  That comes this summer, as I focus on finishing up oh-so-many projects. 

Unfortunately, I wish I could say that my third seminar, featuring Lou Zocchi, would have been more useful.  Zocchi's "insider" information brought several useful tidbits, but most of these were minutia, not applicable to most current situations.  Further, Zocchi's source information was woefully out of date, attempting to tell the audience about Kickstarter and DriveThruRPG, as if they had just come about and were some experimental force in publication!  I'm not sure whether it's a matter of his tendency to avoid computers or a genuine unknowingness, but Zocchi's information probably wasn't worth my time.

Sunday, the PlatinumChick and I spent most of our time trolling the dealer hall, but also spent a good bit of time with a Myrmidon's "Zombie Containment Rally"--a fun little zombie-killing romp, using heavily modified OGL rules for quick, streamlined mechanics.  Teaming up on the far side of the map, we managed to seal one of the four rifts in the complex and come in, guns a-blazin', to save the rest of our team.  It made for a fun game, in all, and a great way for us to wind down our convention.

The Swag!

The Origins 2012 Swag Shot
Not much this year...maybe next?

Not too much in the way of swag this time around, all told.  I was hoping to pick up a copy of All for One:  Regime Diablolique while there, but no retailer actually had a copy!  I did manage to pick up a copy of Unspeakable Words for $10 as well as winter-themed set of Dungeon Tiles for $6--can't beat those for prices!  The biggest bit of swag, though, is the mace I purchased from Edhellen Armory.  Yes, friends and neighbors, the first piece of my Man-at-Arms cosplay is in place.  I'm hoping to pick up the helmet and the blaster next in July, then the armor (football pads) and Wonderflex in August.  If all goes well, I should be able to have a costume in time for Halloween!

The Observations!

As predicted, this year's Origins was a ghost town in comparison to years prior.  While GAMA has yet to release the official numbers, you only had to walk around for a few minutes to note the sheer lack of attendees.  The convention center food court, which normally would be jam-packed at dinner hour on Saturday, was deserted:  many restaurants had no lines whatsoever, and seats were plentiful.  The Hyatt Grand Ballroom, which was reserved for RPGA games and D&D playtests, was barely one third full during a prime gaming hour:  Friday, at 7pm. 

Speaking to several dealers, sales were down at this year's show as well.  El Willy noted several times that the weekend "felt like a Thursday" from prior years, with a significantly lessened gamer density.  Luckily, Origins will be moving back to June next year--well after the vast majority of schools have let out, allowing educators and families with children to come back.  With any luck, they will. 

You know, it's weird.  While still running demos of P68, I find myself missing the act of running RPG sessions for the convention crowd.  The only issue I'm going to run into next year, though, is what to run?  I could easily continue running the games I love:  Deadlands (especially with Hell on Earth coming out at GenCon!), ICONS, and many others.  I could easily also run sessions of the games I've helped to write or edit for, like The Laundry or WEGS.  But, I'm also trying to keep a weather eye to Cold Steel Wardens...which means running demo sessions and showing off what I have.  And that's to say nothing of my board games!  So many decisions, and only a year to do it in!

In Which The Warlock is Worn Out!

Hey, gang--sorry for the lack of updates this week.  This week was finals week at my school, after which the PlatinumChick and I left immediately for the Origins Game Fair!

I'll fill you in on all the gory details of our slightly-abbreviated Origins experience this Wednesday!

Until then, fellow gamers!

The Warlock's (P)Review: D&D Next Playtest Rules (Actual Play!)

It's been buzzing all over the web that the D&D Next playtest rules--the next incarnation of the most storied RPG in history--are now available online.

The playtest begins...

Truth be told, I haven't been following the updates on 5e as diligently as I had 3e, 3.5e, or 4e, despite the numerous ways to keep updated on the rules.  After running several lengthy 4e campaigns, I was a bit burned out on D&D, frustrated at the release of Essentials, and not really willing to continue chipping in money on a product that wasn't satisfying.  Other games--most notably Savage Worlds and its numerous settings--have been providing more entertainment for my table, with less numerical crunch, more interesting and flexible mechanics, and more unique settings.

However, I still remained on the mailing list for Wizards of the Coast's upcoming playtest and, when it went live, I figured that I had nothing to lose:  just this past Friday, my home group had a sesssion off (as two players were AWOL), so the rest of us threw together a quick session of D&D's newest incarnation, using 3rd level versions of the playtest characters in section K:  "The Caves of Evil Chaos" in the provided adventure.

The result of that session?  A resounding 'meh'.  The current mechanics for D&D Next are a Frankenstein's Monster of grafted together mechanics, combining seemingly random mechanics from prior editions while adding few new or innovative mechanics of its own.  Billed with the expressed intent to unify gamers, these current rules will do little to placate any of the fractious factions in gaming. 

Truth be told, D&D Next most reminded me of Heroes Unlimited from Palladium Games.  Kevin Siembieda's system was a loosely cobbled-together amalgamation of rules from early editions of D&D, GURPS, and a host of other homebrew systems.  While it was fully playable as a system, its flaws were numerous and its mechanics were incredibly fiddly.  While using d20s for its combat mechanics--which were culled right from AD&D, minus the THAC0--Heroes Unlimited used a percentile-based mechanics pulled straight out of Call of Cthulhu's first edition.  This schizophrenic feel carries over directly into D&D Next to great detriment.
We'll start with what hasn't changed with D&D.  The standard races, classes, and six ability scores are all there, with little change between them.  In addition to class and race, each character also gets a Background (a combination of mechanical element from 4e and a pre-determined choice of 3e feats) and a Theme (almost identical to a Kit from 2e).  While these are nice touches, they serve as little more than cursory elements--chosen once, with little variation or customization to come.  While WotC has claimed to be shooting for a "modular" rules-set, there is little evidence of such in play currently. 

But, it's still D&D at its core...just a mish-mashed, unenthused version of D&D, pulling its mechanics from prior editions like Herbert West pulling bodies from a grave.  Elves still get bow proficiency and a dexterity bonus, halflings and dwarves still get a speed penalty, and fighters still suck out loud.

While printing the materials for the playtest, I couldn't help but note that where every other character--two clerics, a wizard, and a rogue--each got a two-page character sheet, the fighter's entire information fit on a single sheet with room to spare.  Hands down, the fighter received less interesting mechanics, less diverse options, and few things to do aside from say, round after round, "I hit it with my axe."  ChaoticFrederick--as open-minded and creative a player as I could imagine--had an incredibly hard time staying interested with his character. 

I'm fully aware of the continual argument over the fighter in terms of D&D--some believe that fighter should be the "simple" class, given to newbies and those players who prefer limited or simplistic options, while others (myself included) relished tactical elements, enemy placement, and holding aggro.  However, the fighter present in the D&D Next playtest was dumbed down to the point of disinterest. 

The frustrating portion of the playtest, for me, was the fact that the PlatinumChick's "guardian" cleric served a better job as a fighter than the actual fighter did!  She had 3 higher AC, dealt almost as much damage with a one-handed weapon and a single buff spell, and still was able to buff the party and provide out-of-combat healing!

Unfortunately, while the PlatinumChick's cleric out-fightered the fighter, it absolutely failed at fulfilling its own archetype of sagacious healer!  The playtest packet contained two clerics--one "tanked" cleric and one "laser" cleric--in order to show off the 'versatility' of the cleric class, though it only went to show that the clerics provided could do precisely one thing well--fight in melee, heal/cast as a spellcaster, etc.  The actual class differences between the two clerics, however, came only in spell choices and in their choice "Channel Divinity"--a holdover from 4e, which relied on the use of Turn Undead attempts.  If real difference and variety is the end goal for clerics, why not replace Turn Undead entirely and give a domain-related ability?

The wizard and rogue, thematically, were closest to their archetypal roots, though they weren't without their own issues.  Both clerics and the wizard were given at-will attack spells (coming straight from 4e), though both relied on Vancian-style 2e spellcasting.  However, either the wizard's spells were incredibly underpowered or the rogue's Backstab ability was massively overpowered.  After achieving stealth (possibly every other round, as the rogue could hide behind his own party members!), the rogue could pull off a ranged backstab dealing 1d8+3d6+ability mod!  Every other round!  The poor wizard, on the other hand, could only manage such damage maybe twice a day, using his Arc Lightning spell.  Our wizard and rogue player--FridayNightWill and Chris I, respectively--probably had the best time of the group, but even they were left dissatisfied.

As a GM, I had similar problems with running the adventure.  A revamp of the old 1e adventure, "The Caves of Chaos", the session brought next to no actual opportunity to role-play, eschewing characterization and interesting NPCs in lieu of dungeon-crawling and combat.  Okay, I can understand that on some degree, as the playtest is meant to exercise the combat rules.  But, the adventure's set up and organization was amazingly miserable.  Monster mini-stat blocks were tossed into the adventure at seemingly random points, and did not include basic, vital information like initiative bonuses or special defenses.  I had to keep referring back to the Bestiary packet, which defeats the entire purpose of having mini-stat blocks in the adventure!

That said, the game wasn't entirely a wash.  Here and there, the game managed to shock me with a novel concept or idea which really made for an elegant change.  The "Advantage/Disadvantage" mechanic provided a quick and easy way to adjucate basic benefits and drawbacks, and my group didn't have the seeming "Advantage-fishing" issue that some other playtest groups seemed to have had.  While the mechanic itself is a little "swing-y" in terms of mathematics, it makes for a spectacular way to toss out bonuses and penalties. 

Similarly, the replacement of Fortitude/Reflex/Will saving throws with saves based directly on the core 6 ability scores made for a novel and intuitive change.  However, I worry about how these will hash out at higher levels, particularly if the dreaded "Christmas Tree" effect of prior editions carries over.  Skills actually work almost identically to Saving Throws, as well, which makes for an awkward sense of understanding.  Coupled with that, there are few ways to customize ones' skills, as they're intrinsically linked to Themes and Backgrounds.  As such...yeah.  Skills are almost negligiable in this edition.

All told, we did not have fun with D&D Next.  The enjoyment we had at the table really came only from our own table-banter and from another's company, which we could do with almost anything.  Not saying that's bad, but the D&D Next playtest failed to engage my group on almost every level.  There's a lot of work to be done on this edition before release...and a lot to be done to win us back over from the numerous other games that we're enjoying.

In Which The Warlock Kicks the Tires!

Quick entry for this weekend, as I'm up to my eyeballs in grading here at the end of the school year.

The Savages over at Pinnacle Entertainment have been busy little bees, teasing about their new, ultra-secret setting which has just gone live on Kickstarter.

Their big reveal?  Deadlands Noir!  A hardboiled take on the classic Weird West setting, taking place in the Big Easy. 

I'll definitely be chipping in on this one, as soon as payday rolls around.  While I'm looking forward to Hell on Earth a little more, Deadlands Noir will bring a ton new backstory to the table and a great new setting to play in!

In Which The Warlock Comes Up With a Backup Plan...

For those of you playing along at home, you may have noted that I haven't been talking much about our romps in Deadlands on Friday night.  Truth be told, it's been quite a while since we've actually had a session of "The Flood"!  Real-life issues took their toll, between our trip to C2E2, some illnesses, and a few alternate obligations, resulting in over a month of missed sessions!

Yeesh!  That's a lot of time.  But, many groups face the same situation--what do you do when you need the whole group present, and it just hasn't happened?

For us, the answer is usually board games.  Arkham Horror is a particular favorite, as two sessions of that can fill an entire game night for us.  Lately, we also broke out Innsmouth Escape and had a blast with Munchkin Axe Cop.  These are usually good for single night sessions where we're just looking to unwind after a long week, but occasionally we just get the itch for some actual dice-rolling RPG that a board game just can't scratch.

The PlatinumChick and I, after years of running games for conventions, have quite the library of one shots.  Under normal circumstances, we tend to use these sorts of nights for playtesting.  Most of my WEGS games and several of our other one-offs get tested with our home group when a few players are missing.  Again, that's good for most circumstances, but when we don't exactly have a lot of one-shots to test this year, due to the Origins date change, that leaves that option out in the cold.

So, the question has been:  "What do we do now?"



Straight from the comics, onto my gaming table! 
Iron Man and the Avengers take on Carnage in Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

The answer, interestingly enough, arose from one of my recent reviews:  Marvel Heroic Roleplaying.  After going to see The Avengers a few weeks ago (and again a week later...), we were all really high on some superhero goodness, and I was eager to give the system a run.

So, with no prep at all, we decided to delve into the book-built scenario, based on Brian Michael Bendis' "Breakout" arc from "New Avengers".  Serendipitously taking on Bendis' Avengers--Iron Man, Captain America, Miss Marvel, and Wolverine--we dialed up the action as the SHIELD/Riker's Island prison known as "The Raft" exploded with an EMP pulse.  With Iron Man in the in the sub-basements upgrading security and the rest up top, examining some new holding cells with Maria Hill, we started with the party already split....and Carnage making a beeline for Iron Man!

The nice thing about all this?  I've already managed to lay down enough plot hooks in one session to provide a ton of possible "episodes" in the future.  Where did Carnage escape to, after attacking Iron Man?  Who was at fault for the explosion?  Who were the infiltrators in the northwest guard tower, and what's their relationship to "Mutants Sans Frontiers"? 

While we're hoping to get back to "The Flood" this week--with the Battle of Shan Fan, no less!--we'll be revisiting MHR off and on, when we have missing members.  And, it's already looking to be spectacular!

In Which The Warlock Muses on Rewards...

In amongst all of the other numerous projects that I've been working on--and, y'know, my actual "real" job of teaching--I've been contemplating what exactly I need to do, when I start the Kickstarter for Cold Steel Wardens.  Obviously, I'll need to officially incorporate as well as establish my copyright and trademark registries, all of which I hope to have finished by August of this year. 

But, rather, I mean the actual Kickstarter itself.  I've been reading numerous blogs dealing with the issue, as KS can be a massive boon when done correctly...and an utter disaster when not.

Analysis shows that Kickstarter projects tend to do significantly better when accompanied with some kind of audio-visual element (not necessarily a video, though video does tend to help) as well as preview material and character sheets to show what the game itself will look like and how it will play.

Rewards, though, are really what drive Kickstarter projects.  After all, as a patron system, it's hard to get people to patronize you without good reason!  One of the neatest things about Kickstarter is the fact that rewards aren't necessarily always tangible.  A high-level patronage might provide some experience or opportunity that not necessarily be "worth" anything, but ramps up the level of awesome instead.

So, in thinking about all this, I've begun brainstorming a reward system with tiers based on the three levels of adversaries in CSW:  Mooks, Made Men, and Masterminds.  Take a look!  And, as always, if you have any feedback, it'd be greatly appreciated!

Mooks ($1-$100)

• $10--A PDF copy of Cold Steel Wardens.
• $30--Both a PDF copy of Cold Steel Wardens and a softcover copy of the same, upon publication.
• $50--A signed softcover copy of Cold Steel Wardens, the PDF copy, and an exclusive adventure set in Greensburg (pdf).
• $75--Two signed softcover copies, the PDF copy, the exclusive adventure, and a pre-order for the next books:  Cold Steel Wardens:  Rogues' Gallery.
• $100--all at $75 level, plus a lifetime 10% discount on any of my products.

Made Men ($100-$500)  (All "Made Men" rewards levels automatically include all rewards given for the $100 "Mook" level)

• $150--An 8 1/2" by 11" art print of a piece of your choosing from the Cold Steel Wardens core rulebook, signed by the artist.
• $200--Either an original 8 1/2" by 11" art print of a character of your choosing from Cold Steel Wardens OR inclusion of a character of your creation in the upcoming book, Cold Steel Wardens: Rogues' Gallery.
• $300--Both rewards from the $200 level!
• $500--Both rewards from the $200 level AND I will run an exclusive, off-the-books Cold Steel Wardens session for you and up to 5 of your friends at either GenCon Indy or the Origins Game Fair, at a day and time of your choosing. 

Masterminds ($1000+) (All "Mastermind" rewards levels automatically include all rewards given for the $100 "Mook" level and the $500 "Made Men" level)

• $1,000--At my expense and on a weekend of our combined choosing, I will travel to your house and prepare a dinner for you and up to 5 of your friends.  I will then run an exclusive, never-before-seen Cold Steel Wardens investigation for you and said friends, using all new characters made specifically for the evening.  All materials, including the adventure and the characters, are exclusively yours following the session.  (Limited to the Continental United States only).
• $2,000--All rewards listed at the $1,000 level, plus a two free copies of every Cold Steel Wardens product produced...ever!
• $5,000--True partnership.  You'll be brought on board as a consultant for further products, design ideas, and more.   Obviously, there'll be negotiation at this level, which will be hashed out upon such a pledge.

So...what do you think?  Viable?  Is this a scale that seems reasonable?  Am I missing an opportunity?  Feedback would be great!

In Which The Warlock Expounds on Scheduling...

With only three weeks till the show itself, GAMA's finally managed to open up event registration for this year's Origins Game Fair.  I've always tried to be supportive of GAMA, as they're propped up significantly by their volunteers, rather than the full time staff that GenCon benefits from.  Even though I've disagreed with them at times--particularly about this year's date change, they've always been really receptive to receptive criticism and feedback.

But, with the open registration, I'm faced with a greater quandary:  what to do?  what to play?! 

Compared to prior years, there are significantly fewer events on the docket, which restricts ones' options significantly.  After doing the math, there's about 300 less events.  Strangely enough, there are actually 30 more RPG events than last year, though!  Go figure, right?  However, it feels like the variety that we'd always been able to enjoy at Origins seems to be in rather short supply.  Less people means less GMs, which means less variety of events. 

Truth be told, scanning through the spreadsheets of events, I wasn't really jazzed on many of the role-playing options in general.  While I'm eager to sit in on an advanced session of El Willy's "Dingbitt's Inferno" scenario, the only game that I actively sought out was an opportunity for the upcoming D&D Next playtest series.  The PlatinumChick was eager to jump into one of the events held by Matinee Adventures, but our scheduling conflicts prevented her from jumping in as one of the "Birds of Prey".  Many of the less-played systems out there are playing only on Wednesday and Thursday, which precludes our enjoying them, as we won't be arriving until Friday evening.

Where I have found a good degree of interest, however, is in the seminars.  Moreso than in any of the other years we've attended, the seminars at Origins have really come up.  Plus, most seminars have no entry fee, which keeps down our attendance cost!  If my schedule runs out as it stands now, I'll be sitting in on at least three seminars on game design, including one with the dice-master himself: Lou Zocchi.  With my editing and drafting cycle of Cold Steel Wardens approaching so rapidly, I think it'll do me some good to hear as much as I can from the "industry insiders" as possible.

I want to make sure that I get a good deal of time in the dealer hall, if for no other reason than to check out the new releases and see what other indie designers are coming out with.  Plus, trolling for deals at the SJGames booth and other places almost always ends out with me walking away satisfied.  Though, this time around, I'm hoping to manage to pick up the first component for my Man-at-Arms cosplay:  his iconic mace! 

Truth be told, I already miss my annual ritual of prepping games for Origins.  While this has afforded me some additional time for other projects--finishing out Tyrian Horror and doing some new freelancing--I love GMing at convention games, and I'm disappointed to be shut out this year.  That said, there's always next year...

The Warlock's Review: "Marvel's The Avengers"

Let me put this out there:  I've been waiting for this movie for almost the entirety of my adult life.  I started reading comics back when I was in 3rd grade, after I'd picked up the late-Silver and early-Bronze Age comics left behind at my grandparents by my Uncle Ron.  I threw myself into them anytime I was there, reading about Spider-Man's adventures in trying to find the true identity of his parents, of T.O. Morrow's victory over the Justice League, and of the Fantastic Four's journey into the Negative Zone to save Sue Storm's life while she was in childbirth.

But out of Uncle Ron's stacks, he only ever had one issue of Marvel's iconic team:  The Avengers.  Reading that book was like reading a tantalizing preview of all the things that could be--the idea of a group of conflicted, bickering heroes coming together for a greater good, to face those foes that no hero could face alone.  It was unfathomable!  It was amazing!  It was...a teaser for all those things that could be out there.  And, truly, there was!  I started watching the "Marvel Action Hour" on CBS, and the spectacular Spider-Man and X-Men series which aired on Fox.

Marvel's greatest gamble:
The Avengers

When Iron Man came out in 2008, the world of geekdom nearly imploded with a few simple words.  An eye-patch clad Samuel L. Jackson ignited our imaginations, telling Tony Stark that he'd "come to talk about the Avengers Initiative."  Since then, Marvel Studios had begun preparing for something totally unprecedented:  a gestalt universe of films which would eventually combine into a crossover that would shake the fundamental concept of what it meant to be a "superhero movie".  It was ambitious, it was foolhardy...and it was unheard of.

Needless to say, I was nervous.  While Jon Favreau's Iron Man films were spectacular and Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Incredible Hulk were all quality films, blending their various idiosyncracies would prove a monumental task, despite the scaffolding made throughout each film.  When geek-icon Joss Whedon was brought aboard as writer-director, I grew apprehensive.  While Whedon was well versed in comics, having spent quite a bit of time on "Astonishing X-Men". 

And that's where we emerged this week.  The build-up for Avengers was one for the ages and, of course, one we couldn't resist, as the JourneymanGM, FridayNightWill, Chris2, GeoMike, the PlatinumChick and I headed off to Fairborn for a 3D showing.

In a word?  Brilliant!  (And, at this point, the spoilers begin--turn away, if you fear!)

The storyline of Avengers is simple enough:  Tom Hiddleston's Loki has emerged from Asgard with the help of some mysterious benefactors (who are spoiled brilliantly in the credits!) in search of the Tesseract--the Cosmic Cube used by the Red Skull during Captain America: The First Avenger.  Loki seeks dominion over the Earth and Nick Fury's SHIELD command stands in his way.

The film opens with a literal bang, as Loki's theft leaves the SHIELD facility crumbling and the action split between Nick Fury's escape and Maria Hill's pursuit of Loki through a series of underground tunnels.  Cobie Smulders (of How I Met Your Mother fame) brings the right attitude to the role of the all-business Maria Hill, but outside of this opening action scene, she doesn't have much to do.  Word is that just under an hour of footage was cut for the final version of The Avengers, so hopefully she'll see more screen time in the DVD/BluRay cut.

From there, the titular Avengers begin assembling.  Black Widow (Scarlett Johanson) heads to India to collect Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Nick Fury pulls Captain America (Chris Evans) out of proverbial mothballs, and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) heads to Stark Tower to recruit Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.).  However, the bonds bringing these heroes together begin cracking in the second act, providing internal conflict that must be conquered before the external threat of invasion.

What really struck me was the level of characterization given to each of the Avengers.  Whedon somehow manages to find time for unique pairings and groupings of the heroes to act together, using their natural charisma to fuel the conflict and charm that makes the film work on so many levels.  While I had no doubts about Robert Downey Jr.'s ability to bring Tony Stark's snark and self-obsession to the table, real surprises emerged from Ruffalo and Johanson.  Black Widow really didn't have much to work with in Iron Man 2, so seeing her really come into her own as a deadly martial artist and manipulative spy was really a treat.  Similarly, Mark Ruffalo's treatment of Bruce Banner brought a lot of humor and humanity to a role that typically reeks of melodrama and inhuman rage.  Plus, the script really calls upon Banner's ability as a scientist, which gives him some great scenes with Stark and with Steve Rogers.

Black Widow flees from
the rampaging Hulk!

Whedon strikes a great balance between scenes of characterization and utter action, and isn't afraid to keep his foot on the gas in either case.  A scene between Loki and Black Widow in the second act brings back echoes of Silence of the Lambs, while the Hulk's rampage through the SHIELD Helicarrier brings with it real echoes of fear from Johanson and even Chris Hemworth's Thor. 

It's because of this that my favorite scene in the movie isn't one of the action scenes, or even a conversation.  The second of two post-credits scenes--the first, setting up a cosmic-level sequel!--has our heroes, exhausted and battered, sitting down at a meal together in a shwarma joint, referenced earlier in the movie.  This scene of camaraderie, of togetherness despite differences, despite toil, despite conflict, really shows all the things that makes The Avengers great.  And what's better?  It's wordless.  No dialogue, no witty repartee necessary.  It's just a matter of cinematographic perfection.

The Avengers, assembled!
A payoff for 60 years of comics
and 5 long years of incredible films!

The third act of The Avengers provides a beyond-suitable climax, with action scenes streaming from character to character in a free-flowing melee.  Iron Man bounces repulsors off of Captain America's shield, while Thor calls down streams of lightning and Hawkeye snipes at Chitauri warriors from the rooftops.  Reminiscent of recent issues of Bendis' Mighty Avengers, the film looks like a comic-book brought to life, more than any other film in history.  Depicting the medium as it is, The Avengers scores on all fronts.

Really, I have but few nitpicks about this movie.  Early on, Hawkeye is mind-controlled by Loki, which stunts his depth of character in the second and third acts, in comparison to the depth provided by his foil, Black Widow.  Thor suffers from the same issue, though not to the same degree, as the development built in his own movie provides relationships for Hemworth's ability.  We never really get a good look at the Chitauri, though they're meant to be faceless, alien troops, led only by the charismatic Hiddleston. 

But, all these are minor quibbles.  The Avengers provides the greatest, most true-to-the-medium comic-book movie experience ever seen in a theater.  After 5 years of build-up and anticipation, Marvel Studios has pulled off the impossible:  a gestalt film linking their films together in a manner never before seen.  See this movie.  See it multiple times, even.  This one changes everything. 

See it, revel in it, and enjoy it!

In Which The Warlock Taps, Swipes, and Pinches...

A few months ago, I mentioned that I'd come into possession of a certain tablet device, as part of a program through my school.  Now that I've finally had some time to play with the darn thing, it's round about time to give some opinion on the various toys that I've been playing with!

GoodReader

PDF viewing and editing comes foremost for me, in terms of utility on the iPad.  With so many books nowadays coming out in digital and dead-tree versions simultaneously, it's often a lot easier for me to just carry a tablet to my various games around the Ohio Valley, rather than lug books around.  While I still love books while at my home table (and to read before bed!), the convenience of a PDF really trumps a book when elsewhere.

GoodReader's tools are intuitive, easy to use, and usable with any number of cloud storage utilities out there.  Pllus, the PDF mark-up tools allow you to annotate, copy, and denote texts easily and quickly.  I actually used a character-sheet from Cold Steel Wardens to demonstrate GoodReader's PDF mark-up tools to my fellow teachers!  It's that quick and easy.

Hands down, GoodReader is worth the $4.99.  It's gotten rave reviews from numerous sources, and the praise is well and truly due.

Gamer Dice

This one, however, I was much less a fan.  One of the biggest draws for me, as a gamer, is the social and visceral feel of sitting around a table, rolling dice.  While Gamer Dice provides a stable replacement for the actual art of rolling dice, it can't replace that tactile feel of letting your d20s tumble between your fingers, clatter across the table, and roll to a stop.

Now, obviously, there are situations in which polyhedrals simply aren't realistic, but Gamer Dice doesn't do much to make me want to use it.  The app's base configuration is a flat, matte gray.  While its interface is functional, it has no visual appeal and no ability to simply input a number--rather, you have to tap the plus or minus button numerous times.  While this isn't a problem with small dice pools, rolling 5d12+22 would take a huge amount of time.  Plus, Gamer Dice doesn't allow for rolling of multiple types of dice simultaneously, which means that games like Marvel Heroic Roleplaying aren't playable with this app.

I'm sure that there's got to be a better dice roller out there than this one--save your time and effort.

Elder Sign:  Omens

Now, here's a real winner!  Fantasy Flight Games--producers of Arkham Horror and numerous other games--decided to take their card-based Cthulhian race-against-the-clock and build a version for the iOS and Android systems.

ES: O, as a product, is really polished and smooth, using art from its various Cthulhu lines and smooth mechanics.  Visuals and sound effects are evocative and immersive, drawing the player in.  While some have criticized the game for being a "trumped up version of Yahtzee", the more recent patches and the addition of two more Ancient Ones--Yig and Cthulhu himself, to go with the default Azathoth--have really expanded gameplay.

I find myself playing this one anytime I have nothing to do and have my iPad close at hand.  It's addictive, has a good deal of depth, and is outright fun to play.  Pick this one up and splurge on the expansion.  It's worth it!