Showing posts with label people. Show all posts
Showing posts with label people. Show all posts

Monday, August 31, 2015

RPG a Day 2015, Day 31

Day 31: Favorite non-RPG thing to come out of RPGing

That's a pretty easy one.

The friendships I have made over the years.  Going all the way back to Jr. High to today I have had the pleasure to meet so many really cool people.  Not just "famous" people, but people I consider friends.

One of the the things I love most about Gen Con, or any large Con, is walking around and seeing so many people enjoying the same hobby as me. Maybe not always the same game, but the same sorts of things.   These people are kindred. They are my tribe.

Despite anything else that happens in gaming I still value to people I have met along the way.


Sunday, August 30, 2015

RPG a Day 2015, Day 30

Day 30: Favorite RPG Playing Celebrity

I will be honest I have never given it much of a thought.

I did think it was cool that Vin Disel plays, and not only plays but knows things about the Silmarillion that only a true fan would know.

But I will be honest and say that I have recently become a fan of Felicia Day.  She seems to have been the model for the word "adorkable".  Plus I loved her on Supernatural.  No, I have not seen Season 10 yet.

I also have not seen "The Guild" yet either. But I do at least know about it.


Thursday, June 11, 2015

Christopher Lee: Farewell Good Knight

By now many of you have heard of the passing of the great Christopher Lee.
Very, very few actors have cut across so many of my interests quite like the way Sir Lee did.

If you have spent any time here whatsoever you know of my love of the Hammer Horror and of Lee's portrayal of Count Dracula.    But he also starred in other films that I equally enjoyed.

Not so well known is my love of the James Bond films.  But it's true, I love watching the Bond movies and some of my best birthday memories was going to see many of the Roger Moore bond movies in the theaters.  One of m favorite Bond villains was Francisco Scaramanga, played by Lee and written to be something like a Moriarty character to Bond.

Speaking of Moriarty and Holmes, Lee has played Sherlock, Mycroft and even Sir Henry Baskerville in three different Sherlock Holmes productions.  Playing Baskerville against Peter Cushing's Holmes was a treat.

Christopher Lee is most well known for his take on Dracula and maybe more so that any other actor he defined the role.  His verbal and physical sparring with best friend Peter Cushing as various members of the Van Helsing family made these movies extremely popular.  Lee and Cushing would star in several movies together even outside of the Dracula ones.  One of my favorites is still "The Creeping Death".

Christopher Lee would go one to be featured in over 200 movies.
Here are a  few of my favorites.
"The Wikerman", not the god-awful Nicholas Cage movie, gut the original creepy pagan one featuring Lee as Lord Summerisle.   "To the Devil A Daughter" which has Lee battling Richard Widmark over the soul of Nastassja Kinski. Yes in case you are wondering, Lee's character wants her for the Devil.
Lee also gave a great (to me) performance as Dr. Gannon in Disney's "Return to Witch Mountain".  I remember him freaking me out in this.

It was Lee's performances as Saruman in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" and the "Hobbit" movies that made him well know to a younger generation.  Lee gave Jackson's film an air of authenticity.  Christopher Lee knew Tolkien, he had read Lord of the Rings many times. He was very, very particular about how you pronounce everything.  He once said "if a man spends time creating and entire language then you must be careful to say everything correctly." or something to that effect.

He also played Count Dokku in the Star Wars Pre-olgy films. While the role was done as a means to honor his legacy as Dracula, I could not but help to see the ghost of Peter Cushing there.  Tarkin and Dokku had no screen time together, but I think it is fitting that Cushing and Lee could share this film series together.

Casting him as a dentist in the newer Willy Wonka movie is exactly the type of twisted joke I come to expect from Tim Burton and Lee did not disappoint.

Christopher Lee once said of his friend Peter Cushing that "he died because he was too good for this world".  I say Lee died because there was nothing left for him to do.

This meme makes it's way around the net right around his birthday, I think it is appropriate here as well.



I want to end with this.  I have a new project coming up. Nothing I want to talk about right now, but this will be the dedication in the book.

This book is dedicated to memory of Christopher Lee (1922 - 2015).  His contributions to my horror and fantasy education could begin and end with Dracula and that would be enough. But few people have cut across so much of my own fandom. He was Lord Summerilse, Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes, Francisco Scaramanga, Saruman, Count Dokku, Death, Dr. Victor Gannon, Father Michael Rayner and yes, he was Dracula.  So much of this book would not be possible if it were not for him.

He was much more as a man than any of these characters. But that is how I knew him the best.

To quote his fellow countrywoman, J.K. Rowling:

"And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly, and, equals, they departed this life."

For your consideration, here is my Christopher Lee inspired stats for Dracula for Mutants & Masterrminds.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Let's Talk About Sex(y)

Here is a question I am pondering this snowy Friday.

How much sex and/or nudity is "too much" in an RPG?

I know the stock answer is "depends on the person".  Well in this case the person is you.

I recently bought some art for inclusion in a new book.  One piece I got is a full frontal of a woman. It's line art, and not "porn" but certainly more than you would have seen in say the Monster Manual of 1979.

briefly touched on this before.

I have picked up some books recently that featured a fair bit of nudity of some sort another.
In the Teratic Tome it is meant to horrify, in Sisters of Rapture it is meant to be alluring.

For me. I guess I don't really know.
I mean I buy these games to play so the art is great, but are the words with it good?
I am an adult, but my kids also like to play and read my books.  So some books I stick on the higher shelf for now. My oldest does have his own 1st Ed Monster Manual, but he also has access to the internet.
I try to be honest with myself and say yes I like looking at sexy women, but don't want to objectify people either.
Plus why am I squeamish about this and not the violence?  I have spells in The Witch that send out waves of necromatic power to twist, break and slash people for crying out loud.
I do know what I like.

Share your thoughts.
What would you buy?


Sunday, May 27, 2012

Happy 90th Birthday Christopher Lee!

Sir Christopher Lee is 90 years old today!



Congrats on this milestone to man that was (is!) Dracula, Saurman, Count Dokku, Lord Summerilse, The Jabberwock, Sherlock Holmes, and not to mention he played Death in numerous unrealted movies and TV shows. Oh, and was Special Forces in WWII.

Chuck Norris can suck it!

Read more here: http://news.moviefone.com/2012/05/24/christopher-lee-90th-birthday_n_1543929.html