Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Déjà Vu Blogfest

I am going to participate in another Blogfest.  But this one is different.

On December 16th I am going to repost an older post of my own that I felt didn't get the benefit of a wider audience.

You can read all the details here: Cruising Altitude 2.0: The Deja Vu Blogfest


It is a gaming post, and one I think you will all like.

So join me on the 16 and I'll do something I have already done.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Awards

Back when the Other Side was just a website and not a blog, I used to get a lot of awards.

Sure they were really just means of getting someone to link back to your site, but I still treated them all like they  were special.  After-all, someone took the time to read through my site and thought it was good enough for an award or a least a link back.  I also had an award of my own I gave out (no, you can't sign up for it anymore).

Today's blog awards are not much different really, and that is fine.
But I did get this one and in a twist I am supposed to also give it to 15 other bloggers.  So in a way it is like an award chain letter.  I opted to go ahead and give it out, but with a twist of my own.  I wanted sites that were appealing to me either for their content, their design or some combination of the two.  I also was going to focus on blogs outside of the OSR/Gamin sphere since, well to be blunt, we all link to each other anyway.

I chose a lot of sites from writers of Paranormal Fiction or Young Adult Fiction.  I feel that these authors have the most to offer me in my own game-related writing.  I don't pretend to be, nor do I aspire to be, a novelist.  I write games.  I am a game designer.  But these sites help me think about how my games can be viewed from the character's perspective, and thus the player's.

So here is the One Lovely Blog Award.  Given to me by S. L. Hennessy at Pensuasion (BTW she got it from here, who got it from here, who got it from here...you get the idea.)


Here are the rules.  I'll give it 15 more people who in turn will link back to me and give to 15 others. Please post a comment in the person's blog to let them know they got the award, just as I am doing with you.

I am not sure why I got a "Lovely" award; the aesthetics of my site tend more towards pragmatic rather than attractive.  But hey. I am not complaining.  These sites do look nice, or at lease they appeal to me.
  1. Bobert the Hoosier expatriate - Bob is a long time friend and YA author. 
  2. Space 1970 - one of the most awesome sites on the net.  Love the late 70s and SciFi? Then go here, now.
  3. Propnomicon - Lovecraft inspired props. Creepycool!
  4. Stargazer's World - A great looking RPG site.  The author has spent a lot of time to make it look good.
  5. Rather Gamey - quirky game site with some great art and commentary. 
  6. Unedited by Jennifer Daiker - Author and Blogger with a lot to say.  Love how her site looks.
  7. Creepy Query Girl - Mother, Author and creepy stalker?  Maybe not yet, but a cool blog about getting your books published.
  8. A Writer's Journey - Melissa Cunningham is an author and book reviewer.  
  9. Ciara Knight - is another author with a great looking site. Plenty of guest posters keep the blog fresh.
  10. Susan Fields - Great writer, but don't touch her coffee.
  11. Nicki Elson - Interviews, review and author commentary.
  12. Bang out the Prose - Suz Korb is newer to the writing scene but she is working getting her rough draft done.
  13. Who can Turn the World off With Her Smile - one of my favorite names for a blog. Great movie love here. 
  14. That's All She Wrote! - Julie is a new writer working on her first book.  She is also a high school classmate of mine so I want to give her encouragement to keep on writing!
  15. The Last Witch series - Elizabeth Kolodziej's blog dedicated to her books in the Last Witch series. 
There they are!  Please visit them and have a look at what they have to say.


Strippers make the best informants

So if you have been following Sarah Michelle Gellar's new show "Ringer" you know she has ties to the mob (or her sister did, not sure)  well tonight we get a treat in the form of Amber Benson, playing a mob informant/stripper named...Tara Mary.

http://www.tvline.com/2011/10/ringer-buffy-amber-benson-sarah-michelle-gellar/
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Ringer-Amber-Benson-1040084.aspx



Now where have I seen that before?  Oh yeah.


http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2010/09/dragon-and-phoenix-episode-4.html

So in the Ringer-world Willow's spell went really wonky and "Kara" became real, but was implanted with "Candy's" personality.  Sure.  Why not.

ETA: I guess the sources got it wrong.  Her name was "Mary" on the show.

Runequest II License ending

The Runequest license is ending over at Mongoose.  Actually it is up tomorrow.
I had been planning to mention this before now, but my October and November got way from me.
So here is you last chance to get these books from Mongoose.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?cPath=161_5353&affiliate_id=22713&src=MMMFB&affiliate_id=10748

I am sure RQ will be poping up somewhere else.  It is a good old school game and in today's market it should find a home pretty easy.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Cyber Monday

Today is Cyber Monday, the day when most of of us go back to work after the long Thanksgiving bender and do our Holiday shopping online.  I like to shop online, even if I know I really should be shopping local.

That all being said, DriveThruRPG is offering some great deals deals today.

Get something for the gamer in your life.  Even if that happens to be yourself!


Baba Yaga

WotC has put up the 4e stats of Baba Yaga, the Hungry Witch, up.  You will need DDi access.

http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/dun/201111courtofstars#77691

Baba Yaga has been part of the D&D universe since the beginning.  Eldritch Wizardry and the DMG featured stats for her Dancing Hut and there have been adventures to feature her over the years as well.  The great D&D witch Iggwilv is said to have been one of her students.

It's a good article.  Reading it I do notice that WotC falls into the trap we all do, making any mythical NPC just really, really powerful; she is a 27th level opponent here.

I think I should stat her up for "The Witch" and see if I can get by with less level, but still give her the power she needs.

ETA: The oddest thing just occurred. I was reading my post in Google Reader with auto translate on, and it changed "Baba Yaga" to "Father Nyaga".  I think I need to come up with a male witch that is Baba Yaga's counterpart, or enemy or something.  Maybe he is a wizard and thousands of years ago, so long that even he and Baba Yaga were young, they were lovers.  I like that idea.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Zatannurday: More Deviant Art

I like Deviant Art. While there is a bunch of junk on the site, there is still a ton of great art to enjoy and sometimes even buy a print of.

Here are some more of my favorite Zatanna pieces.


do you believe in magic? by ~KillerStella on deviantART


_Zatanna by ~JardelCruz on deviantART


Zatanna goes to Heroes con by ~doonboy on deviantART


Zatanna-Ink by *leonartgondim on deviantART


Zatanna - Elegance And Magic by ~Canjoke on deviantART


Zatanna by =Candra on deviantART

And more from Chrissie Zullo


Zatanna Commish by *chrissie-zullo on deviantART


Zatanna Commission by *chrissie-zullo on deviantART

And one special non-deviantART one that was posted earlier in the week.
http://artofdesignosaurus.tumblr.com/post/12071958763/zatanna-i-experimented-a-bit-more-on-this