October Horror Movie Challenge: May (2002)

Here is an interesting bit of trivia. One of the first movies I EVER saw on Netflix was May.  It was back in 2003 or so, back when Netflix was still only shipping out DVDs.  I saw this under Horror and thought it sounded really cool.

May is a horror movie, but not like others.  May, played wonderfully creepy by Angela Bettis, is not your typical horror villain/monster.  Yes, she does have a body count, but in some ways, she is also the victim.

It also features an early role for horror movie regular Anna Farris and a younger Jeremy Sisto.

I watched again to see if held up to my memories of it. It did, but the film seems more like something from the 90s than the 2000s.  Maybe it is indie-vibe of the movie or the soundtrack. Or maybe I am getting old.

People describe this as a take on the Frankenstein tale. It's not. It's really more of a slasher flick.  A sympathetic slasher.


2016 Movie tally
Watched: 14
New: 10

Review: Victoriana 3rd Edition

While Victoriana 1st edition first caught my attention and 2nd edition became a favorite, it is 3rd edition that might be the best version of the Victoriana game.  My deepest apologies to all the people that worked on the first two editions, some who I now consider friends.

Full Disclosure: I bought my own hardcover and pdf copies of these books. While I consider many of the fine folks at C7 to be friends, they did not solicit or expect a review.

Victoriana 3rd Edition uses the same system that powered Victoriana 2nd edition, but cleans up the game and gives it some new life.  Led by Walt Ciechanowski, Victoriana 3 became something a little different than before, but uniquely more "itself".  You can use all the supplements, adventures and characters in 3rd edition that you did with 2nd edition with now issues.  Vic 2nd edition has a conversion guide to 1st in case you need that.  There are sidebars to let you know where the major differences are between 3rd and 2nd edition.  There are even a couple of places where specific 2nd Edition books are mentioned.

Now set in 1856 (ten years earlier) we get a different feel for the age.  The world of Victoriana 3 is a little darker, a little more dangerous and a lot bigger.  So if you are using any of the supplements, such as the India one, you will need to adjust some events and tone, but not mechanics.  There are also sidebars that mention the differences between Victoriana world and the real world.  For example the Bolshivik revolution is getting started earlier here and Charales Darwin is now a "Dr." (he "only" had a Master's degree in real life).

This version of Victoriana puts more emphasis on technology. It is fantasy tech and steampunk tech, but there is more of it.  Not to say magic has taken a backseat here, but it is not as prevalent in the writing as it was before.  Also, the gothic horror elements have been turned up a bit in this as well.  Magic, when it is there, is scary.

Victoriana (any version, but especially this one) is the game where you can take anything from any other Victorian-era game, use it here and it works. Eldritch horrors from Cthulhu by Gaslight? yup.  Investigations from Baker Street? of course. Superhumanity from Victorious? Sure, why not!
In fact, this kitchen sink mentality works really well in Victoriana.

The system is the same. You get a dice pool of s6s. Roll them, explode the "6"s, count the successes.  If you have enough great.  The rules in this version read better.   I mentioned in my review of 2nd edition that the only way to truly review a game is not just to read it but to play it.  I have played Victoriana now for almost 10 years. Despite that, and even more years of World of Darkness and ShadowRun, I am not a fan of dice-pool games. I have tried play Victoriana using the Ghosts of Albion system. It worked, and it was fun. But it wasn't Victoriana anymore.  The Heresy game system is very much a part of what makes this game what it is. Much like the Basic Roleplaying System works for Call of Cthulhu and d20 for D&D, this system imparts a feel to Victoriana.  The black dice, the exploding 6s, all of it is part and parcel of the game experience.

Character creation is a bit easier, or at least a bit more guided in this version.  Emphasis is not placed more on social class than whether or not you are an orc, Eldren or human.  By the way, the Eldren (Elves) in this version get really strange.  You can be an elf, but be prepared to have some weird quirks or even some mental illness.  Personally, I loved this idea and would like to try it in other games where I have elves/Eldren.  Really, it is that cool.  There are some changes to gnomes and Huldufolk (halflings) that make them more different than each other and more interesting. Nocturnal academics vs. rustics with a keen interest in one area.
Note: This would be a great template on how to bring Castles & Crusades elves, gnomes, and halflings into a Victorious game.

The book is huge at 320 pages.  Again the cover is color and interior is black and white. And again this is how it should be.  The hardcover is sturdy and looks great. The PDF is bookmarked.  While I loved the mix of art in 2nd edition, the art in 3rd edition is more consistent.
The character sheet from 3rd edition is one of my favorites. It just looks so cool. A color option though would have also been nice for those special characters.

The rules include a great collection of items from the age and various forms of entertainment. There are also clarified rules on various chases (coach, boat, airships) and the effects of drinking and drugs.

Victoriana is one of the games with a quiet, but steady and dedicated following.  The fact that the games are always sold out in minutes at Gen Con is a testament.
For me, I will say this.  If there is anything you have ever wanted to do in a Victorian-era game then Victoriana has a way for you to do it.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Haunter (2013)

Saw this one on Netflix and thought I would give it a try.  It reminded me of The Others in a lot of ways.   Abigail Breslin is really good in this.  We kept thinking she looked like Amy Pond. Well my wife and son did. I did think she kind of a Doctor Who Companion vibe about her.

I don't want to reveal too much about the movie (it's worth watching) but it does give me an idea.

One day I'd love to run a game where the characters are dead, but don't know it yet.  The players will have to work it out as part of the adventure.
Could be fun with the right group.

The movie had a good if a little predictable, ending.





2016 Movie tally
Watched: 13
New: 10

Review: Victoriana 2nd Ed Supplements

Victoriana has some of the best-looking supplements I have seen for a game line.  This is largely in part due to Cubicle 7 and the general feel of the game.   What I love about these books is the fact that I can use them with a wide variety of Victorian-era games.  They are all heavy on style and light on the "Crunch" for the most part.

The Marylebone Mummy
56 pages. An update to an earlier adventure. This adventure is really designed not just for starting players (5 to 6) but also starting GMs.  All the materials you need to play are at your fingertips. There is not enough of the rules to make it a "Quick Play" but if you bought the core rules then this should be your next purchase.  The adventure deals with, appropriately enough, a mummy. It FEELS very Victorian too. Ancient curses conflicting with scientific discovery. Superstition vs Science. All within Victoriana's own hedy brew of magic-is-real and so-is-science world.  It makes for a lot of fun.
The adventure also follows the now familiar 3-act format of all Victoriana adventures. So if you have any desires to plan your own then this is a good model to follow.  It is, in a very real sense the Keep on the Borderlands for Victoriana.

Marvels of Science and Steampunk
152 pages. This is the book that makes Victoriana more Steam-punk, or at least more steam- and magic-tech.  The biggest, and coolest, new feature of this game are new rules for Airships.  Now I have to say that for me, Airships are a quintessential element for not only Steampunk games but of Victoriana in particular. You also get Victorian age computers (Babbage machines) and robots (metal men).  This is the fantastic future of science that the Victorian era promised with a chapter on magic and technology. Grabbing this book really sets your Victoriana game apart from the rest of the crowd.
The author, Walt Ciechanowski, would later go on to author the 3rd Edition of Victoriana and shape where that version of the game went. Like books from the Victoriana line there is a great collection of inspirational reading and viewing.

The Havering Adventures
This is a collection of three adventures that have appeared in one form or another in various conventions; notably Gen Con.  All deal with the wonderfully eccentric Havering family. I played "Lost Luggage" at one Gen Con and really enjoyed myself.   I got to play "Patterson".
These are adventures, so I am not going to spoil what is going on here.  I will say that these are perfect adventures to really give someone the feel of Victoriana. They highlight what makes the system work and what makes this time and world so much fun.  As players, you will be playing members of this family; ie. Pre-Gens, but it works.  A good GM can also get players to create their own characters, all members of a family and use them instead.
In particular I enjoyed the horse racing rules since we did something similar for Ghosts of Albion.
If you are looking to run Victoriana games OR need a ready to go adventure-idea for other Vicotrian games then this is where I would start. Keep in mind that various details of the "real world" have been changed to reflect the Victoriana world.

Faulkner's Millinery and Miscellanea
192 Pages.  Every Victorian-era game needs to have a book like Faulkner's Millinery and Miscellanea. If they don't then buy this one instead. Actually buy this one if they do.  At 192 pages it is full of items, clothing, gadgets, vehicles and even magical supplies for every need.  The currency is British Pound and the economy is set in 1867, so if you do use it for other games you will need to adjust.   There is more here than just price lists. The items may (or may not) be very familar to readers today so descriptions are given.
There is a great section on the economy and one worth reading. Here in the 21st century we are used to easy access to everything. We are also (in general) wealthier than any other time before ours.  This was not the case int he Victorian age, even in Victoriana's fantastical magical Victorian age. So this frame of reference helps.
In addition to equipment, there are common prices of travel and their various means. Prices for various entertainments.  Alos you will need to know how much to pay your household staff and where to find them in the first place. Some notable NPCs are also detailed.
This really is a must have book for any fan of Victorian RPGS and Victoriana in particular.

Faces in the Smoke Volume One
140 pages. What a cool supplement. This details all the secret societies in the Victorana game. The societies are grouped largely by role. Are they benign watchers? Are they conspirators of a dark cult?  Each group is given a role, a detailed history, and information on how they can interact with the characters and other organizations. Of course, multiple NPCs are detailed as well.  An index of NPC, sorted by Rank, is also given.

Faces in the Smoke Volume Two
140 pages. Like Vol.1, this covers all sort of societies and organizations the characters can interact with or join.  This volume focuses more on the adventuring activities and thus represent a number of clubs based on real-world Victorian societies.
Lots of great and colorful NPCs are included here.

Darwin's Catalogue: Beastmen of Britain
16 Pages. One of the smaller Victoriana books. This book details a number of additional Beastmen and their traits. Both as a "monster" and as a Player Race.
Following the guidelines in this book you could create more, but the list is pretty exhaustive.

Darwin's Catalogue: The Outsiders
14 Pages. One of the smaller Victoriana books.  This details five races for PCs; Giant, Karakon, Oni, Orc and Steppegoblin.  Also covered are Corporeal Mediums.

Jewel of the Empire
228 Pages.  This is a hefty tome.  It covers India and it's place not just in the British Empire, but in the Victorian world.
We get the requiste lands, geography, people and relgion of India in 1867, but also some discussion on the various religions.  Like all religions in Victoriana this is through the lens of the world. So license was taken with some of these. Obviously this was not meant to offend Hindus any more than the Core book was meant to offend Catholics or Anglicans. So keep in mind these are the religions of a game world, not the real world.
Some new races are included including some new and changed Beastmen.
There are new magics, spells, monsters and plenty of NPCs to populate this huge country.
Enough detail here to make you want to run nothing but India-based Victoriana games for a long time. I know I want to do exactly that!
Great for Victoriana and at least 2/5ths of it is also great for any other Victorian game as well.

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Frozen BrainS that Wouldn't Die (1962 & 1967)

Every year I like pulling out an MST3k version of a movie.  This year it was 1962's "The Brain that Wouldn't Die".  I saw this years ago of course and I had forgotten parts of it.  For example, I remember the ending being different.  Turns out the movie I was remembering was "The Frozen Dead" from 1967.  Both feature the head of a woman in pan.  The Frozen Dead head gains the psychic powers that apparently all heads or brains get when removed from a body.

Neither movie is particularly scary, but the image of Jan asking to be killed or Elsa begging to be buried is quite a haunting image.  One that stuck with me for years.

Frozen Dead

2016 Movie tally
Watched: 12
New: 9

Review: Victoriana, 2nd Edition

Victoriana and I have a long and complicated relationship.  I find it interesting that to date I have not done a review for this game.  So let me fix that now.  I discovered Victoriana, 1st Edition around the time I was writing Ghosts of Albion.  I picked up the game, but since I was deep into working on and playing Ghosts at the time I didn't look at it much.  Finally, I did and then learned a 2nd Ed was going to come out.

I spent some time reading the 1st Edition rules and thought it was interesting, if odd.  For starters, I am not sure why there was no U.S. Civil War. I was also not a fan of the Fuzion system.  I liked all the odd races for the game (even if it did lead to the infamous Orc from Africa debate) and felt like it was, as it has been later described as Victorian Age Steampunk.

The thing that struck me though is how similar that cover is to the Ghosts of Albion BBC logo.  In particular the silhouettes of  William and Tamara.   I am sure it is nothing but coincidence,  but I could not help but notice it all the same.  Save for the pointy ears on the Victoriana cover that *could* be Tamara and William from Ghosts.

I went into the 2nd edition with a lot of preconceived notions of what the game was.  That is until Gen Con 2007.  Friday night I ran a Ghosts of Albion game and a lot of the authors and playtesters for Victoria 2nd Ed came.  I later joined them on a 8:00am Saturday morning game.  I was hung over, battling the oncoming con crud.  I played an Ogre butler with a Wits (intelligence) score of two whose saving grace was a giant shotgun that he wielded like a pistol.  I had a GREAT time.

Victoriana is a perfect example of why you need to play a game instead of just reading it to do a full and proper review.  Reading through the rules the first few times gave me a bit of headache, but playing it was a snap.

Victoriana, 2nd Edition is a 286 page book. Color covers, black and white interior.  A couple of words about that.  The art for this book moves between D&D-esque fantasy races and vintage photographs.  Many of the photos are of author Andrew Peregrine's own family.  I think this gives the game a unique touch.  Personally, I do not want color art in my Victorian-era games. This is a world in black and white.

Vic is best described as a Victorian "cyberpunk" game; not just in terms of ethos, game design and play but also mechanics.  The game is based on d6 dice pool with the extra advantage of a "black dice" to add more random flavor.  Roll your pool of Characteristics, Skill, and Specialties and see how many successes you have.

The system that powers Victoriana is known as the Heresy system. Maybe an allusion to the game company that published Victoriana 1st ed.

The real feature of this game is the ability to play a number of fantasy races in a magic-is-real and in-the-open Victorian London 1867.   The similarities to ShadowRun continue here.  You can play dwarves, ogres, elves (Eldren) and other fantasy races.  It could also be described as Steampunk ShadowRun or even Steampunk D&D. To call it that would really be selling the game a little short to be honest.  I often described it as most Victorian games turned up to 11.

The game won a Silver Ennie for Best Writing and there is a ton of great material in this game, if viewed from Victoriana's own lens.

Appendix 3 Source Material is a great read for any fan of the Victorian era.  Six pages of great and pretty exhaustive material.

The supplements for Victorana are all top notch with the same artistic style and flare of the core book.

Victoriana is one of those games I always seek out to play at conventions when I can.  I have always had a great time.

If this sounds fun to you there is a free preview of the game here.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Honeymoon (2014)

I will admit it, I am huge fan of Rose Leslie.  Honeymoon is a creepy little flick about what happens if something replaces someone you know.  It starts out and builds tension with each moment.

Rose is great as Bea, the new bride that may or may not be what she says she is.

The movie supremely creepy and the ending, while not a surprise, was still satisfying in a horror way.

The only thing that would have made this scarier is if it had been a couple celebrating their 10 year wedding anniversary.  Made the "otherness" of one of them seem even more out of whack.

There are moments in the film where Rose's Scottish accent comes out a bit.  But you could almost excuse it since she is supposed to be Canadian (I think) in this.


2016 Movie tally
Watched: 10
New: 9