Zatannurday: Deviant Art

I was out looking for artists that might be interested in submitted art to my new books. No luck in that department, but a lot in the looking for awesome pics of Zatanna one.

Here are some artists.  Make sure you go to their DA page as well and tell them how good they are.



Commission: Zatanna by *Offworldtrooper on deviantART


Zatanna Con Commission by *olivernome on deviantART


Zatanna by *shoot-o on deviantART


Zatanna by *SeanE on deviantART


Zatanna and Constantine commission detail by *MarcLaming on deviantART


July 20 - Top hat by *CallMePo on deviantART


Zatanna Motor City Con 2012 by *ComfortLove on deviantART


Zatanna - Comic Con Paris 2012 by *MahmudAsrar on deviantART


Zatanna bust by *MichaelDooney on deviantART


Zatanna by ~Klatte on deviantART


zatanna by *crisdelarastudio on deviantART


Zatanna by =ExoroDesigns on deviantART

October Challenge: Solomon Kane (2009)

Solomon Kane (2009)

Pity poor Robert E. Howard.  Considered one of the best of the pulp writers of the age, the movies made from his works, Conan and Solomon Kane, have languished.  In the case of Conan, three movies across two franchises and not a one is considered true to the character.  Then there is Solomon Kane.  His movie is out in theaters now despite being filmed over three years ago.

Now I have just started reading some Solomon Kane, so I will say this.  The movie is brutal but it holds close to the books at least as far as I can tell.

While this could have descended into the pits of hell know only as "made for the SciFi channel" this is actually a very good movie.  James Purefoy is almost Hugh Jackman like in his portrayal of Kane.

The build up to the end is slow, but it starts with a very bloody fight, so it does pull you right in.

While it could be classified as horror, dark fantasy might be a better term for it.


Tally: Watched 5, New 4

What are you watching?

Review: Doctor Who Defending the Earth (2012)

The latest Doctor Who source book is out for the "Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space Game".
This book is the UNIT source book, "Defending the Earth".

Like all the Who books this one is full color.  While it skews more to the new Who series, there in a lot of Classic Who material here including stats for the 3rd Doctor (Jon Pertwee).

The UNIT (Unified Intelligence Taskforce) is tasked by the UN with protecting the Earth from Alien threats.  This book allows you to create UNIT bases, personal and comes with two sample adventures.

In many ways a UNIT based game can be more interesting that a Doctor-based one.  In this everyone can have a nicely defined role.  You have field scientists, soldiers of all sorts and even civilians.

Among the features of this book are the expanded firearms and mass combat rules. The History of UNIT. Personnel, which includes plenty of new traits for military, science and civilians. And two UNIT based adventures.

This is one of my favorite sourcebooks for DW so far.  Not just because of the limitless possibilities, but also because there is more attention paid to the older series than other books (note I am not saying this is a flaw of the other books, but it is a nice feature of this one).

I also see this as one of the more flexible books.  You can set up a small UNIT command base and let the wackiness ensue. In fact, my own playtests adventures with DW could easily be converted into a UNIT game.  Think back to the 3rd Doctor's adventures, these were mostly Earth based with UNIT.  All of those are great ideas for a game.  Or even the Sarah Jane Adventures.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out the cross-game compatibility with this and Primeval.  While such a thing is never stated in either book and I am certain that it was not design consideration, there is nothing the ARC can't do that UNIT can't also do and visa-versa. By adding them together you get something very cool AND adventures to last for a couple of campaigns.

As with all books in this line, it is full color, well laid out and full of stills from the show.

A great addition to the collections of gamers or Who fans.

October Challenge: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (2008)

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (2008)

I might be stretching the definition of "movie" here, but at just about 2 hours I challenge you to find something more frightening than the Vashta Nerada aka "The Shadows that Melt Flesh".

We have mysterious deaths, a monster that hides in the shadows that can strip your flesh bare in seconds AND then use your bones and space suit as a means to walk around.  This is the scariest monster in the Doctor Who universe.  Daleks, aim for the eyestalk. Sontaran, back of the neck.  Cybermen, gold in their chest plate.  Vashta Nerada, just run.

Doctor: "Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark, but they’re wrong, because it’s not irrational. It’s Vashta Nerada."

All against the man that monsters have nightmares about;
The Doctor.  When they come after him this is the exchange.

Doctor: Don't play games with me! You just killed someone I like, that is not a safe place to stand! I'm the Doctor, and you're in the biggest library in the Universe. Look me up.
The monsters move  back.

This is a pitch perfect horror episode and no one comes out of it scarred.  I think this quote near the end sums it up.

Donna: How about you, are you alright?
The Doctor: Oh, I'm always all right.
Donna: Is "All right" special time-lord code for... not really all right at all?
The Doctor: Why?
Donna Noble: Because I'm alright too.

Plus not only did this give us one of the scariest monsters for a show known to send kids hiding behind the sofa. It also gave us River Song who might be one of the most interesting characters in the history of Doctor Who.

"When you run with the Doctor, it feels like it'll never end. But however hard you try you can't run forever. Everybody knows that everybody dies and nobody knows it like the Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark if he ever for one moment, accepts it. Everybody knows that everybody dies. But not every day. Not today. Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair, and the Doctor comes to call everybody lives."
- River Song.

Tally: Watched 4, New 3

What are you watching?

Rabbit's Foot and other Lucky Charms

Adventurers live a dangerous and sometimes short life.  They are constantly looking for any edge they can fine.  Many spend years questing for even the most minor of magics, others though turn to older magic to aid them.  For these characters these older, simpler magics provide them with the edge they need.

Many times these minor talismans can be purchased, but more often than not they are nothing more than a gaff or a non-magical variety.  Unfortunely these items posses such minor magics that they are difficult to detect with the use of the standard Detect Magic spell.

4-Leaf Clover
These naturally occurring, but rare variety of the common three-leaf clover provide a minor luck bonus.
Once per day it can provide a  +1 bonus to any roll the player makes.  The player must state this intent before the roll is made.  The clover can be used 4 to 7 (1d4+3) times before it becomes inert.
GMs have to decide how rare these are but typically a roll of "00" on a percentile die.

Horse Shoe
If blessed by any priest or cleric (not necessarily by a Bless spell), this item gives the processor a +1 to all rolls (attacks and saves) vs. Fae folk.  This includes all sorts of nymphs, pixies, dryads and even elves.  It is not effective in the hands of an elf or those with elfish blood.

Rabbit's Foot
A specially prepared left hind foot of a white rabbit killed during a full moon and enchanted by a witch using her Create Talisman power (or feat).   This item provides a +1 to anyone one type of roll per day.  So in one 24 hour period it can add +1 to an attack, +1 to a save, +1 to damage and so on.
Witches cannot use these items themselves.

Lucky Copper
Adventurers can be a superstitious lot.  One of the more common ones is to keep the first copper piece from their first treasure hoard. If they do they gain a +1 to any roll till they gain their next treasure.  The +1 can only be used once.

OGL statement Section 15 "Lucky Charms.  2012 Timothy S. Brannan"

October Challenge: Ginger Snaps (2000)

Ginger Snaps (2000)

The best thing about cable during Halloween is all of the horror movies you can find.  I remember hearing about this one when it was out and then promptly forgot about it.  No fault of the movie, just me.

The relationship between emergent female sexual  urges and horror/monsters is old ground here at the Other Side.  This though is the first time I have tackled the link between it and the werewolf myths.  We will see later how this plays out in "Jack and Diane", but tonight we have Ginger.

Ginger and her sister Brigette are the weird girls in school. Obsessed with death, dying and all that fun stuff and ignoring the in crowd when they can.  That is till something not-quite a dog bites Ginger.

There is serious Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibe about this flick.  Came out right around the same time to be honest, so that is no surprise.

The movie was not was I was suspecting and the ending was a surprise.
I enjoyed it to be honest, I am not a big fan of werewolf movies in general.  The leads were great and I am going to look for them in other movies to see if they are as good as this in all flicks.

Tally: Watched 3, New 3

What are you watching?

White Dwarf Wednesday #34

White Dwarf #33 takes us to the state of gaming of October 1982.   Unless I did my math wrong this is the last time I will write about a month in the same month I am writing in till issue 49 (Jan 1984).  Give or take.

So let's talk about this October some 30 years ago.  What do we know?  Well the cover always reminds me of the Hawkmoon RPG cover.   Ian Livingstone talks about Game Day '82.

Andy Slack is up first with Droids for Traveller.  It is easy to poke holes in Traveller tech; computers that only run one type of program and the like, but for some reason I never liked Droids in Traveller.  Maybe it was because they seemed to be too "Star Wars" and Traveller was more "Dune" and "Star Trek" to me.  There are lot of different types of functional droids, robots and even an android here.  Though there are some obvious ones that are missing; and I don't just  mean Galaxina (1980) or Cherry 2000 (1987).
The article takes a lot from Asimov's ideas on robots too.  So ingrained are these "Laws" that I never thought to question them, despite the inclusion of a Warbot in the article.  Assassin droids were something we all knew about from Star Wars, at least in concept, so there seemed to be a mismatch here to me.

Mike Costello is next with a new feature, Microview, to cover computers.
This first installment, Space Invader, is about how "microcomputers" (we will be using this term for sometime to come) can have an affect on your gaming.  Mostly in this brief first issue it is about what he calls GAP or Game Assistance Program.  I am sure will hear more on this exciting new world!

In the "Clip and Save" file Lew Pulsipher is back with a Guide to Dungeonmastering, Part 1 Setting up Adventures. There is some great advice here that can be applied to any game, but D&D is assumed.  Again, unlike the previous two articles that have dubious quality in today's age (again, no fault of the original authors), this article is just as useful today as it was 30 years ago.

Open Box is next with out independent reviews.  First up is Cults of Terror for RuneQuest by Chaosium. Oliver Dickson calls it "essential reading" though he has some issues with some of the content.  Mostly due to it not fitting together in the way he likes. It gets a 6/10.  Aftermath! from FGU is next.  We have been seeing the ads in WD now for a little bit and now we get to learn about this Post-Apoc game.  Andy Slack loves it and gives it a solid 10/10.  Worlds of Wonder is next and it is a very interesting one.  WoW was Chaosium's first entry into the Generic RPG market, or one system for multiple games. We would see this many times over and over.  GURPS became the undisputed king of "Generic" systems, but WoW was one of the firsts.  Based on the Basic RPG system that powered RuneQuest and Call of Cthulhu you got various "Worlds" to play in.  Trevor Graver gives it a 7.10 and marks it down for being only the bare bones.  These days that same criticism would be touted as a feature in a Sandbox game.

RuneRites for RuneQuest is next with some monsters.  I always liked the monsters for RuneQuest, they seemed so much more strange to me.  I worked out conversions based on Call of Cthulhu so I could use them in my D&D games.

After that are some letters and then on to an AD&D adventure from Paul Vernon, Troubles at Embertrees.  Designed for 5-8 1st to 2nd level characters. It is a densely packed 4 pages.  The adventure itself seems fine. The inclusion of the new monster sets it up above a simple wilderness adventure.

Starbase introduces us to Morality in Traveller (oh nos! Alignment! not quite...)  and new race, the Mahwrs, a large, bi-pedial bat like creature.

Fiend Factory gives us our 200th monster since WD #6.  These monsters are all undead or something like that; appropriate for October.  Morbe are neither undead or alive. They feed on Con points and once they get to 18 they are human again. The Unborn are souls that died in childbirth.  The Rusalka is an evil, dead female magic-user, the Wraith Warrior and the Goldfinger, which are like an undead battery.

Treasure Chest has some magic weapons.  Of note is the Houri's Dagger, though it does not mention the Houri from issue 13 specifically. We get some Hellfire arrows, demon's knifes and the Druid's Cudgel.

We end the issue with some ads, including an ad for Gangbusters.

A lot of interesting bits in this issue.  First it is nice to see that WD can transition ot monthly format without too many hiccups.  I did not feel any part of this issue was filler. This issue continues the trends of the previous ones, but doesn't start any, save for the feature on computers. Traveller, D&D and RuneQuest still reign supreme as they have from the early days.

I will note that WD has not raised their price from 75p in a while.

Also the ENTIRE time I was re-reading this and writing this post I was humming "Winds of Change" by Jefferson Starship.  I went back and checked, Winds of Change was released October 4, 1982.  I must have been listening to that the first time I read this magazine.

Baker Street Justice Society 1899

A very, very cool piece from Paul Hanley.


The Baker Street Justice Society by *PaulHanley on deviantART

Featuring some of my favorite characters from Doctor Who in Victorian times.
This upcoming Christmas we will get another Victorian tale and a new companion, and much to my delight, Vastra and Jenny are back.

Of course I have stated Madame Vastra and Jenny for both Ghosts of Albion and Doctor Who. I really should do some more.  Sherlock Holmes is certain on my to do list.  Jago and Litefoot might also be a lot of fun to do as well.

Maybe a Doctor Who Victorian Age Source book is in order!

October Challenge: Sweeney Todd (2007)

Sweeney Todd (2007)

Oh Tim Burton. Sometimes I think you are a mad genius. Other times, well maybe only half that.
Sweeney Todd is horror. Is Victorian and does star Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. So really it has "win" written all over it? Right? Right???  Well yes and no.

I enjoyed this movie. It was a lot bloodier than I expected it to be. For some reason I had forgotten there was singing in it, but that is fine.  Part of me of course kept thinking of this a Edward Scissor Hands gone really, really wrong.

Depp is great in this. As he is in everything. I loved him in Sleepy Hollow when I watched that last year.
And one can't but help see Bellatrix in HBC during this as well.

My one complaint about this movie was it seemed to be over so fast.
Ah well.

Surprisingly, this is a new one for me.

Tally: Watched 2, New 2

What are you watching?

Faith: The Last Witch

Faith Scott, the Last Witch

Faith is the “Last Witch” of the newest book from Elizabeth Kolodziej’s “The Last Witch” Series.  The most recent book Witch Devotions (the 3rd) is out now.

I have read the first book and I enjoyed it. I also have the second, but have not read it all yet, the third one is just now out.

Faith is an interesting character and I enjoyed watching her growth throughout the first book and the bits I have picked up in the next two.  She is still young and kind of naïve, but learning more.

So what do we know about Faith?  Well she is new to her magic, but comes from a long line of powerful witches, so her power has the potential to be quite powerful.  She does have a family spell book, a Book of Shadows in one of my games. But while most of the witches in Faith’s line learned while they are growing up, Faith didn’t have that advantage.  She did learn later on from an instructor.

According to the author, Faith resembles an Earth Witch. So she is quite adept at making potions, charms, herb use and healing.  She also has a number of elemental based powers; power that help her innate abilities.  It was this description of her that got me thinking that Faith would work great as a witch in one of my games (though my games have plenty of witches in them; no ‘last witch’ in sight!) She can use her magic to increase her speed or strength.  Not quite at the level of a vampire, but more than a mundane human.

We know Faith can manipulate energies, but I saw that more of an ability rather than a spell.  Since she also has other innate powers I was thinking she might be a good fit for “WitchCraft” or even the “Buffy” RPGs.

Faith, like a lot of other types of witches, can live a very long time, maybe even hundreds of years.  This is also in line with most of my games.

So here is Faith, The Last Witch in Ghosts of Albion/WitchCraft RPG stats.

Faith Scott (played by Isla Fisher in the game)
Motivation: To learn as much about her power/herself as she can

Attributes: Strength 2 (7 with magic), Dexterity 3 (8 with magic), Constitution 2 (7 with magic), Intelligence 5, Perception 6, Willpower 5

Life Points: 35 (75 with magic)
Drama Points: 15

Qualities & Drawbacks: Adversaries (various) 2, Attractiveness +2, Contacts (Supernatural) 1, Hard to Kill 3, Honorable, Love (Trent), Magic 5, Magic Family, Magical Philosophy Earth/Elementalism (closest game wise), Nerves of Steel, Obligation, Occult Library (Fine), Secret (She's a witch who belongs to a powerful magical family), Supernatural Senses (Basic and the Sight), Telekinesis,

Useful Information
Actions: 1/2 or 2/2
Perception: 1d10 + 11
Lesser Sensing: +16
Endurance Points: 32 (62 with magic)
Essence Points: 25 (using Magic squared)
Speed: 10 (30 with magic)

Skills 
Acrobatics 2
Art 1
Computers 1
Crime 1
Doctor 1
Driving 0
Getting Medieval 2
Gun Fu 0
Influence 3
Knowledge 5
Kung Fu/Fisticuffs 2
Languages 1 (English)
Notice 5
Occultism 5 (still learning, but has picked up a lot in the first two books)
Science 1
Sports 1

Maneuvers

Name	Score	Damage	Notes
Punch	+5 or +10	4 or 14	Bash
Kick	+3 or +13	8 or 18	Bash
Dodge	+2 or +7	-	Block
Grapple	+4 or +9	-	Blocked by Dodge
Magic	+15	Special	Varies by Spell
- Deflect	+15	-	Deflects magic

The extra pluses are from her Magic boost.

Given her role in the books I debate on whether or not to give her “Chosen One” from Army of Darkness.  In the end, I figured that she wasn’t quite up to that level just yet; maybe in the new book.

Monster Monday round up, part 2

I think I will wait till Tuesday next week to do the monster round up.  Plenty more were posted since my post yesterday.

• Vicious Stickmen, http://gothridgemanor.blogspot.com/2012/10/monster-monday-vicious-stickmen.html
• Hit Adjacent Ally gives us two, Banshee Raiders of the Red Moon and Clockwork Devils of Taltun, http://hitadjacentally.blogspot.com/2012/10/monstrous-monday-late-post-2-new.html
• Noose Golem and Gun Droid, http://mutantsmagic.blogspot.com/2012/10/new-monsters-noose-golem-gundroid.html
• Shadopeople for Everway, http://everwayan.blogspot.com/2012/10/monstrous-monday-shadow-people.html
• Alien Aspects (for FATE), http://fatesf.blogspot.com/2012/10/monstrous-mondays-alien-aspects.html
• Dreams in the Lich House, The Faceless, http://dreamsinthelichhouse.blogspot.com/2012/10/monstrous-monday-faceless.html
• Dwarven Stronghold, Eye Imp, http://thedwarvenstronghold.blogspot.com/2012/10/monstrous-monday-eye-imp.html
• The Erare - The Gutter Deaths, http://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/2012/10/monster-monday-erare-gutter-deaths.html
• Yoggidam, http://hereticwerks.blogspot.com/2012/10/yoggidam.html
• Web Witch, http://mutantsmagic.blogspot.com/2012/10/new-labyrinth-lord-monster-web-witch.html

So 17 18 19 22! total entries for the first unofficial Monster Monday!  Not too bad really!

Can't wait to see what everyone is doing next week.

October Challenge: The Woman in Black (2012)

The Woman in Black (2012)

I wanted to start off my October Horror movie Challenge right.  I wanted something with a good actor and a pedigree.  I choose the 2012 version of The Woman in Black.  Starring Daniel Radcliffe and Ciarán Hinds (good actors) from Hammer Films (pedigree).

I am never sure how much to put into these reviews.  They are not reviews in the fullest sense but I think recapping the entire movie would be a bad thing for others participating in this Challenge.  I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone.

So I will say this.  Daniel Radcliffe never once reminded me in word or deed that he was Harry Potter in this.  He is a great actor and has a great carrier a head of him.  I went into this film expecting only a nice period piece haunted house movie and that is what I got.  The story is one we have all seen dozens, if not hundreds, of times before, but that did not make it less enjoyable. On the contrary I rather enjoyed this movie a lot. It also goes to show you that there is no such thing as a simple ghost story.

Not that the movie is perfect either, it had it's own issues. But all in all this is a great start to the Halloween season.

Tally: Watched 1, New 1

What are watching?

Monster Monday round up

The first unofficial Monstrous Monday just happened (don't worry, you are only required to post on Monday October 29th for the bloghop) and we have some great monsters here at the Other Side and elsewhere!

• Wine Nymphs, http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/10/wine-nymphs.html
• Pincushion, http://www.savageafterworld.com/2012/10/mutated-monday-savage-menagerie.html
• Silver Tongued Devil, http://towerofthearchmage.blogspot.com/2012/10/new-monster-silver-tongued-devil.html
• Impundulu, http://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2012/10/witch-monster-impundulu.html
• Corpse Chariot, http://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/
• Night Nurse, http://sorcerersskull.blogspot.com/ (not sure if this is a participating monster, but I like it!)
• Wermilok, http://hereticwerks.blogspot.com/2012/10/wermilok.html
• Crocoduck, http://freedomofnonbelief.blogspot.com/2012/10/monstrous-mondays-crocoduck.html
• Tabonga!, http://afieldguidetodoomsday.blogspot.com/2012/10/spawn-of-devastation-drive-in-from-hell.html (stuff of my nightmares as a child)
• Mastermind Monday - Whisper, http://punverse.blogspot.com/2012/10/mastermind-monday-whisper.html (Mutants and Masterminds!!)

Did I miss any?  I thought about trying to pick my favorite, but these are all so good.

I am so pleased with this turn out.   While these are mostly RPG-focused I do want to remind everyone that your post doesn't have to be RPG related to be in the bloghop.

Looking forward to more!

 

Wine Nymphs

This monster comes from the "Play with This" series from Shon Richards, aka Erotiterroist.
 http://erotiterrorist.blogspot.com/2012/09/play-with-this-wine-nymphs.html

Given that this is the time of harvest and the wine should pour, this little fey would be fun for my first October Monday Monster.

Wine Nymph

Armor Class:  9 [10]
Hit Dice: 1d8+1* (5 hp)
No. of Attacks: Special
Damage: nil
Special: intoxication, charm
Movement: 30’
No. Appearing: 2-4
Saves As: Elf 1
Morale: 8
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral
XP: NA

Wine Nymphs are a special sort of fae that only live in the bottles of very fine wine.  Not all wines have these nymphs, but the one that do are especially coveted.
The nymph spends her time swimming and frolicking in the bottle of wine.  They appear to be tiny pixie like creatures; exceptionally beautiful but no wings.
As the bottle is drained the nymphs inside shrink.  One the bottle is empty the nymphs are gone as well.
They have no attacks and cause no damage. Their dancing and semi-disrobed flocking though act as a weaker Charm Person spell (victims gain a +2 bonus to their rolls).  Once charmed the victims have only one desire, to drink the bottle of wine.
While the antics and stories of the wine nymphs feature in many tales from bards and skalds, some occult scholars believe that wine nymphs are actually a form of imp or demon, compelling us to drink and partake in wanton revelries.
One thing the scholar and the poet agree on is more, much more, research needs to be done.

Auction time

Going through all my games for the upcoming Games Plus auction.

Made some deep cuts this year.  I am enjoying playing all sorts of D&D and still love my horror games, but I have so many games that I could never, ever play them all.

So gone are my Cortex books (kept a few) and True20 ones.  Unloaded a few modules and a few older D&D books that I had duplicates of. A few other games.

I might end up regretting it all, but right now I feel it was all the right choices.

Zatannurday: MachSabre Superwomen

One of my favorite artists is MachSabre, aka David Reynolds.

Long time readers here might recognize the name or at least his art.  David was one of the two Davids of the ShadowGirls fame and I have featured his art here many times.  I am doing that again today. Mostly because I like his art and Dave loves Supergirls.

So to celebrate the announcement that David is part of a new comic, Shadow of the Black Banshee, here are some of my favorite pieces, featuring of course Zatanna.


Zatanna by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Raven by ~MachSabre on deviantART


The Scarlet Witch by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Ms. Marvel vs. Power Girl by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Hawkgirl by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Kim Possible 02 by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Last Daughter of Atlantis by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Starfire by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Wonder Woman by ~MachSabre on deviantART


Wonder Spin by ~MachSabre on deviantART

This one of all the Batgirls was my desktop bitmap forever.

Chiropteras by ~MachSabre on deviantART

And of course you have all seen this one,


Commission - Tara and Willow by ~MachSabre on deviantART

But imagine my surprise when I found this one!


Willow and Tara Cuddling by =AstronSoul on deviantART

AstronSoul is just another fan like me that had D Rey make this.  I think it is cool.

October is coming...

Ok everyone.  October and Halloween is coming.
This like Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Fourth of July all rolled into one here at the Other Side.
There is a lot going on here this next month so here is what is on tap.

First and foremost I am anticipating the release of The Witch and Eldritich Witchery.

Keep an eye open here for more details!

To celebrate the release, I am joining this bloghop.

http://closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com/2012/07/wicked-after-dark-halloween-giveaway.html

I am joining a bunch of other Halloween themed giveaways (mostly paranormal erotica, but hey) and I am going to give away a PDF copy of "The Witch"  to one lucky winner.

I am also participating in a few other bloghops/blogfests you may have heard. ;)
There is Monstrous Monday, which you can post something about your favorite/least favorite monster on October 29th.  I am going to be participating every Monday!

This is being cross promoted with the Savage Afterworld's Mutated Mondays.

There are a wide variety of sites that have joined, so please consider it.  It should be a blast!

And again this year I am joining Krell Labs in participation in the October Horror Movie Challenge.

The central site for this year seems to be the Facebook site.

Hope I am not biting off more than I can chew.

Busy...

Wow. What a week.

I may or may not be ready for October yet.  I need more Mt. Dew I think.

More updates soon.

White Dwarf Wednesday #33

Our next monthly White Dwarf is issue #33 which brings us to September 1982, so 30 years ago.

We have another great looking cover that is evocative of some alien landscape. Works for Sci-fi and Fantasy.

The editorial is interesting. First on the perspective of 1982 it is a portent of change of things to come.  And it is. Reading it today it is reads almost like an obituary of the Golden Age of Roleplaying games.  !982 is the transition year between the Golden Age and the Silver Age.  The 70's era of RPGs was over with 1982.  1983 was going to be very different.  A tip of the hat then to Ian Livingstone for pointing this out.

The rest of the issue feels this out.  You see it in the art and layout, White Dwarf is changing again.  The Silver Age is nigh.

Bob McWilliams gives us some more weapons for Traveller. Actually the weapons are a from a number of people.

Open Box reviews Striker from GDW. It's another Traveller tie-in table-top minis game.  By this point I had thrown my hands into the air and gave up on Traveller.  I would not come back to it for another 25 years almost.  This is no fault of the game or GDW mind you.  I just felt overwhelmed.  I had purchased the The Traveler Book that year but I never got very far with that. Oh, and Andy Slack gave it 6/10.
We also get the A-Series modules from TSR.  Jim Bambra gave the lot a 7/10.  There is also a review for the Elric boardgame and the first Gimetooth traps, which my then DM bought because of this review.  To make things worse he added the traps to the A-series modules and turned it into a death machine.  Elric and Traps both get 7/10.

Paul Vernon is back with Part III of the medieval town. This time it is running a town and city.  He covers government  customs, laws and order.  Something a band of "murder hobos" will likely run afoul of.  I have seen a lot of people talking about this series now.  Most times it is in older blog or board posts, but now I am seeing them.  The consensus seems mutual, these are quite good and still work today.  Perfect for the time when we all were striving for more realism in a game dominated by elves, magic and dragons.

Steve Cook and Starbase pick up (almost) where McWilliams left off and covers guns for Traveller.  Again there is a lot of guns here are that "futuristic" versions of modern day weapons and some SciFi staples.

Rumble at the Tin Inn is a mini scenario/bar-room brawl for Runequest.  I remember pulling this one for a brief OD&D session we played back in 87 or so.  It was fun then, and it still looks fun now. It's the map that  sold me on it.

We have more combined AD&D weapon charts.  Something only useful for this version of AD&D. And only if you did the weapon type vs. specific armor class.

RuneRites has a collection of Invisibility and Magic points of view from Jim Sizer and Greg Stafford.

Lew Pulsipher is up next with a article that rocked my world back in the day.  Brevet Rank for Low Level Characters.  This days I only rarely run into someone with more gaming experience than my self, and when I do it is a case of wonderment and the exchange of stories.  But in 82 a year or two difference was HUGE and it meant my characters (typically) were much lower levels than everyone else's.  So this idea of Brevet Rank was a watershed moment for me. Now my characters could play with the big boys.  I never understood what "brevet rank" meant till I worked for the Navy years later though.   I notice that in some online games, Pokemon in particular, my sons' Pokemon would gain or loose levels in much of the same fashion when they battled others online.

Fiend Factory has a group of psionic monsters. All with old-school AD&D1 Psionic Ability attack and defense modes.  We loved that stuff back in the day.  The Monsters themselves though are somewhat forgettable.  The Psitan, the Psi-mule, the Giant Mole and the Grimp.  There is also Zytra, lord of the Mind Flayers who is described as being like a demon prince.  Interestingly enough this creature was created by Charles Stross.  There is enough here to make something of this creature; Demon Prince or not.
Also forgotten are the Monstermark ratings.

Treasure Chest is a mixed bag called "Witch's Brew".  It includes a magical Rubik's cube like item, a spell, armor vs. disintegrate and a word search.

We wrap with a few pages of ads.

Again a good issue of a magazine in the middle of change.

Super Sale at DriveThruRPG

DriveThru RPG is featuring it's best Super Hero RPGS.  They also are highlighting bits from the reviewers for your enlightenment and yours truly is featured!

No surprise really, I have reviewed all these games at one point.
Here they are.

Marvel Heroic Roleplaying
What I said: "MHR is more of a game where the players are providing the framework. You need to create your character with the other characters and players in mind. Maybe not as much as Smallville or Leverage, but still. It is also a game where the main drama is about heroes, not really supers. It really is a "comic book" RPG, not a cartoon, supers or even super hero movie RPG. This game is about building characters, the relationships between them and the drama. Which, if you think about it, is kinda what Marvel Comics is about."

Read more here, here, here (Justice), here (Zatanna), here (Willow & Tara), and here (Batwoman).

Icons
What I said: "Icons comes with a pretty good pedigree. First it is written by Steven Kenson, who gave us Mutants and Masterminds and also worked on Silver Age Sentinels. Steve obviously knows his supers. It has Gareth-Michael Skarka of Adamant Entertainment and one of the minds behind "Hong Kong Action Theater". Walt Ciechanowski has a ton of game systems under his belt too including M&M, True20 and Victoriana (1st ed). And Morgan Davie, whom I'll admit I am not as familiar with. But he is one of the guys that wrote Icons, so that makes him good in my book. 
...if I needed to run a supers game on a rainy afternoon or a convention or just something to have some fun with, then Icons is a great choice."

Read more here, here and here.

DC Adventures (oddly, not on sale)
What I said: "When you take the world'ss best superhero game and combine the world's super heroes you get a combination of pure awesome that looks exactly like DC Adventures from Green Ronin. Based on the next version of Mutants & Masterminds DCA is not only a great game for Supers play, it is also a great introduction to Supers RPGs for the DC comic fan. All the iconic characters are included, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and more. Plenty of powers, traits, feats and skills to make any character you would want. It improves on the Mutants & Masterminds 2.0 design with some elements of True 20 and some nods to some designs of supers RPGs of the past. Plus the art is fantastic."

Read more here, here, here, here, here and here.

Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul
What I said: "Capes, Cowls and Villains Foul (CCaVF) is the eagerly anticipated supers/comic book emulation game from Spectrum Games. The same folks that gave Cartoon Action Hour. I want to start off by saying that this is an attractive book. At 164 pages of full of color it feels like a comic. Since that is what the author aims to emulate I would say it so far is a success.
All in all I am quite pleased with this game. I agree with the author in that I love Supers games, but it is hard to find that perfect game for your group. There have been some great choices that have come out in the last few years, but none are 100% perfect. CCaVF may not 100% perfect either, but it is really damn nice and has a lot of great things going for it."

Read more here and here.

Mutants & Masterminds Hero's Handbook
What I said: "M&M 3rd Edition first off looks a lot like the DC Adventures RPG also from Green Ronin out earlier this year. What are the big changes from 2nd Edition? Well GR is moving more and more away from the d20 3.0 standards and more into True20 land. That is the Abilities (and there are now 8 of them) are the pluses. So instead of Strength 18 (+4) like you see in other d20 games, M&M3 just uses Strength 4. Easy enough and a logical extension of their line of thought with True20."
Read more here, here, here and here.

BASH (Original and Ultimate)
What I said: "BASH! is a fantastic little game of Super Heroes. Instead of a huge book of powers or effects, BASH instead focuses on "What do you want to do?" and "What kind of hero are you?", Simple, but powerful questions. The game achieves the near miraculous feat of being simple to use and learn and yet powerful enough to keep you interested and coming back to the game."
Read more here and here.

BESM d20
What I said: "Is BESM d20 Anime?  Well I guess I have to ask, what is Anime?  BESM d20 is a good d20 version of BESM.  I am not convinced though it taps into that collective known as "Anime" as well as BESM 2 or 3 does.  I have played more BESM d20 than BESM 3 so to me it came off more like "Cartoon Cinematic d20".  Which is in itself not so bad.  I have mixed BESM d20 and D&D3 and gotten something a bit more cinematic. I have also mixed BESM d20 with d20 Star Wars for some really weird stuff, but all of it fun."

Read more here.

BESM 3rd Edition
What I said: "The book is very attractive and one of the most colorful RPGs I have seen in a long time. It reminds me of Mutants and Masterminds in terms of color. It is a thick tome, and now sized to fit well on my shelf. The Niko Geyer artwork is great and really captures the feel of the game well. On the other hand I have seen all this artwork before, maybe not in color, but certainly in other editions of this book. Now I understand that money was very tight at GoO and the art is great, so I am willing to cut them some slack here."
Read more here and here.

BESM Revised 2nd Edition
What I said: "All in all. BESM 2r is still the standard in which all other Anime games must be measured against.  Despite (or maybe even because of) it's flaws the game has style and character that no other game (even BESM d20 and BESM 3) have been able to duplicate."
Read more here.

Enjoy!

I Don't Like Mondays

But this October I'll make an exception!

While I will be doing a Monster every Monday in October culminating in MONSTROUS MONDAY on Oct 29th.  The Savage Afterworld will be doing MUTATED MONDAYS!

http://www.savageafterworld.com/2012/09/monstrous-andor-mutated-mondays.html

This is a good thing too.  I am going to be posting a lot of monsters that either are in The Witch or are compatible.  So lots of "Basic Era" game goodness.

You still have time to participate and since I am getting a few people now outside the RPG community this is a great chance to show of your game, game supplement, or what ever makes you happy about RPGs.  As long as it has a monster in it!

So sign up today!
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/p/bloghop.html

Fear Not the Monsters...

“Fear not the monsters, but that which the monsters fear.”

Monstrous Monday is coming soon.

The Witch: Art and Layout

Art and layout is nearly done and I can't wait to show you all this book.
So here is a sneak peak at my latest version of Page 1.

Once I have all the pieces in that page will be updated with the artists' names.

I am going to use some Public Domain art from the witch trails too.  I just love the way it looks and it takes me back to the imagery of reading books about witches at the Jacksonville Public Library.   I hope you all enjoy it as much as I am.

Zatannurday: When Zee met John

Justice League Dark #0 will be out next week.

In it we get a new perspective on when John Constantine met Zatanna.

I don't recall if this has ever been covered before.  In the Books of Magic it was understood that they were once a thing and not anymore.

Looking forward to seeing this one. I have not been keeping up on JLD, though I do have them in my queue at Comixology.

We also get a new (old) outfit for the younger Zatanna.  I have to admit I like it, though I do miss the fishnets.

Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice are my oldest son's favorites superheroes.  So today for him here are some Fire and Ice pics!
Plus tomorrow is the first day of Fall, equal parts Summer and Winter as it were.  Since I used Fire for the first day of Summer and Ice for the first day of winter, here they are in equal measure.


Fire Ice Showcase by *petercotton on deviantART


Fire and Ice by *CrimsonArtz on deviantART


Fire and Ice by *TiuanaRui on deviantART


Fire and Ice by *HanieMohd on deviantART


Fire and Ice by ~Ziggyman on deviantART


Fire's Ice Cream by ~Lame-o-Inc on deviantART


Fire and Ice by ~Lame-o-Inc on deviantART


National Pride by ~blubeetle3 on deviantART


MAXIMUM Cover by ~blubeetle3 on deviantART

We are talking about this again

Another article basically asking the current status-quo in fandom to stop being a bunch of jerks.

http://comicimpact.com/2012/09/cosplay-lay-off-the-babes/

We only get this on the periphery in the RPG community, but it is there.  Maybe only because old-fashioned table-top RPGs are not quite as popular in the same way comics and comic book movies are.

I talked about this back in June, and again, I hope that we as gamers are doing better.

http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/06/dear-gamers-we-had-better-be-doing.html