Sunday, October 16, 2016

October Horror Movie Challenge: Under the Skin (2013)

Under the Skin is a 2013 art film with sci-fi and horror overtones.  The film is notable for starring Scarlett Johansson. She spends the first few scenes completely nude and most of the movie with little to no lines.

The movie deals with an alien (ScarJo) who seduces men and lures them to her home in Scotland. Here she strips while walking, having them do same where they slowing disappear into the floor.  Later we see what happens to them.  Their organs are sucked out of their skin leaving only their still living skin.

As the movie (slowly) progresses ScarJo (none of the characters have names) begins to act more and more human.

The movie is very arty and there are some very obvious nods to 2001: A Space Oddeysey.  Of course, there is another movie people have been comparing it too; Lifeforce.  Like Lifeforce this movie features an alien woman walking around, mostly nude, and killing men.  Though the aliens of Lifeforce are mostly vampires (based on Colin Wilson's "The Space Vampires") this alien, as far as I can tell is something different.

There are some genuinely scary moments but not as many as I thought there should be.  


2016 Movie tally
Watched: 17
New: 12


Saturday, October 15, 2016

October Horror Movie Challenge: Victor Frankenstein (2015)

Every year it seems I get to watch a new Daniel Radcliffe horror movie.  This year it was Victor Frankenstein.  It's not a bad flick either.
It's a retelling of the Frankenstein story.  Well, not the book really, but the movies.

It has lots of call outs and Easter-eggs to other Frankenstein movies.
Daniel Radcliffe's makeup at the beginning of this reminded me a lot of the very first Frankenstein movie ever made.
"People will never remember the man, only the monster."
Loved the little Frankenstine-Frankenstein nod.
"It's alive?" "It's alive!"
Flat head. Bolts in the neck.
Victor shouting "You are not alive" instead of the expected "It's alive!" when the monster is walking.

Much better than I thought it would be.


2016 Movie tally
Watched: 16
New: 11


Friday, October 14, 2016

October Horror Movie Challenge: The Black Hole (1979)

The Black Hole is a movie that scared the crap out of me when I first saw it.  Granted I was 10 and it was at a drive-in theater.

I saw it again on VHS about 20 years ago and then again this past weekend with my wife and son.

Connor: "This is boring and not scary at all. I knew the 'robots' were people from the start. He didn't have an materials to make robots."

I have to concur. There are some frightening elements and the story really is a mad scientist in an old, maybe haunted castle.  Even the images of hell make this more horror in space than sci-fi.

The version I watched looked fantastic, but that doesn't make up for some glaring errors in this movie.  I remember back when I was 9 thinking the robots should not have psychic powers and I still think that.


2016 Movie tally
Watched: 15
New: 10


Review: Special Edition - Paternoster Investigations

I imagine that one day in the not too distant past, like 2015 or some exotic time like that Andrew Peregrine (Victoriana 2nd ed) and Walt Ciechanowski (Victoriana 3rd ed) were sitting on tops of the mounds of money that Cubicle 7 makes and discussing how they could get in on some of the Doctor Who fun.  They spoke to Dave Chapman (who was sitting on top of an equally obscene pile of cash) and convinced him to let them do a Victorian era book for the Doctor Who game.
The result is Doctor Who - Paternoster Investigations.

This book is a source guide to the Doctor Who universe's Victorian England.  The Doctor has been here many times and he is seriously running the risk of running into himself more often here than in 21st Century England.

The book is 128 pages, full color and done in the new "12th Doctor" trade dress.  The main conceit of the book revolves around the Paternoster Gang which includes Silurian warrior, Madame Vastra, her maid turned lover turned wife Jenny Flint, and Sontaran Commander turned nurse turned man-servant Strax.  I have featured Vastra and Jenny many times on my blog and worked out my own stats for them for the Doctor Who RPG and for Ghosts of Albion.  I have not bothered to see if my stats and the official stats are similar though.

This is a GREAT book, not just for the Doctor Who game but for Victorian games in general.
You will not see the depth of talking about Victorian times here as you would with the author's Victoriana books, but there is still plenty here.

The book breaks down into expected sections.
First, we have a chapter on the Victorian world and how it works.  This includes a bit of history, culture and important happenings.  There is also a section on how this all exist in the Doctor Who universe.

The second chapter/section is devoted to the specifics of the Doctor Who version of this time. This features a "driving" geography of London (useful for anygame) and some personalities that can be interacted with.  A pause while I point out how pleased I am to see "Alice Shield" AKA Ashildr AKA "Me" from the ninth season of Doctor Who.  No,  we never saw her in Victorian times, but we know from her accounts that she was there.  We even get a first generation version of Torchwood.
A++ to both Gentlemen Authors for putting together such a fun chapter for the game.

Third, we get to Victorian Adventures which is exactly what is says on the tin.  So many great ideas here.  I could not help but feel a little Victoriana entering here.  The jewels in this chapter are of course the descriptions of the PPaternoster Investigations Gang, the "Further Adventures of Jackson Lake" (the Man Who Would Be Lord) and my absolute favorite, Jago and Litefoot Investigations.  Right there is worth the price of the book alone.

The fourth section moves into what they call the Paternoster Campaign.
Ok let's push pause for a sec.  One of the big issues of Doctor Who, any Doctor Who RPG, is playing without the Doctor or Other Timelords.  UNIT helps this a little, Torchwood does it a little better, but the Paternoster Gang does it the best.  With this structure you may never need, or even may never want, to use a Time Lord in your game again. This details setting up and running your investigative teams or using one of the ones from the book.

The final chapter, "A Study in Flax" is an adventure for your Victorian investigative team.

The final pages are various characters from different Victorian episodes of Doctor Who.  Included are Vastra, Jenny, Strax, Jackson Lake, Rosita "Rose" Farisi, Henry Gordon Jago (!), Prof. Litefoot (!), another version of Clara, and Victoria Waterfield.

Who should get this? Everyone!
Seriously though, if you enjoyed the Vastra/Jenny episodes of the 11th and 12th Doctors, the 4th Doctor classic "Talons of Weng-Chiang" or it's spin off "Jago and Litefoot", then this is for you.
If you love Victorian games, then this is for you.
If you love the Doctor Who game, then this is for you.

Just buy it. You'll love it.

Reviews: Victoriana 3rd Edition Supplements

To wrap up my week of Victoriana I want to focus a little now on the supplements for the 3rd edition. Now per the 3rd Edition Core Rules supplements for the 2nd Edition game can be used with the newer 3rd edition game. One would also suppose and visa-versa. That really ups the utility of any of these supplements in my mind.

I am reviewing the PDF versions of these books. No idea if there are print versions or not. I bought these on my own so no expectation of review from Cubicle 7.

Liber Magica
144 Pages. Color cover, B&W interior
Liber Magica is the supplement I ALWAYS want for my games. A book on more magic? Yes please!
This book features a lot of familiar names from both 2nd and 3rd edition.   This is good given the changes to magic between the editions.  There is a section (half-a-page) about bringing over 2nd ed style magics to 3rd ed.  It is really easy stuff and most GMs will do it on the fly really.
This book contains a lot more magical options than the core book had.  The first five cover the types of magic detailed in the core book (Thaumaturgy,  Sigil Magic, Conjuration, Psychodumany/Magentism, and Maleficium).  The last two chapters cover magical items and curiosities and magical societies.  There are a lot of new spells.
I have the PDF of this book, but I really want a print copy next time I hit Gen Con.  It is one of the single most useful Victoriana PDFs I own.  I adapt ideas from this for a variety of game including converting all these to Magical Philosophies in Ghosts of Albion or Traditions for the Witch.  This morning, in fact, I was rereading this for use in Leagues of Gothic Horror.
A supremely useful book.

Streets of Shadow
144 Pages. Color cover, B&W interior
Streets of Shadow is an adventure path (to borrow a term) for Victoriana that has a lot of history.  Three of the adventures, Dragon in the Smoke (Chapter 1), The Hound of Hate (Chapter 3) and Rise of the Red God (Chapter 5) have been published previously for 1st edition Victoriana. Here they have been updated and tied together in a longer story. A "shilling shocker" according to the book.
This adventure also ties in to other Victoriana adventures, The Devil in the Dark (3rd ed) and The Marylebone Mummy (2nd ed).
This is a great example of both an adventure campaign and of a game honoring (and using) it's past.
Sure these are useful for other games too, but really there is something very "Victoriana" about these. If you are planning on running any Victoriana games at all I say get these.

NOTE:  Rise of the Red God for Victoriana 1st ed is still available.  I am thinking of grabbing it and my copy of Amazing Adventures Rise of the Red God and do a mega-adventure of two times, two games and one threat.

The Devil in the Dark
23 Pages. B&W cover and interior.
A beginning adventure for characters that have been through at least one or two other adventures but are still low rank. This is an expanded and updated version of a 1st Ed adventure. This adventure in 3 acts feels a lot like a mix of gothic horror and Sherlock Holmes. Great for the price.

The Spring Heeled Menace
14 Pages. B&W cover and interior. FREE
Can't complain about this price.  I fun little introductory adventure with some pre-gen PCs/NPCs.
One Spring-Heeled Jack is bad enough, what about an entire gang of them?  Great adventure to introduce 3rd Ed Victoriana to new players.

The Concert in Flames
160 pages. Color cover, B&W interior
Part gazetteer of Europe of 1865, part adventure campaign.  What is great about this book is that covers a number of lands that are often ignored in most Victorian-era games.  There are not a lot of details, it's not Wikipedia after all, but plenty for your game.  The adventure (or Penny-Dreadful in Victoriana-speak) is a continent hoping adventure in the pure adventure vein as "Around the World in 80 Days" or the last part of "Dracula". It is done in a way that only can be done in the Victorian-era.  The world is still big enough that other lands can be mysterious, but small enough that travel (thanks steam!) is quicker, easier and an adventure all it's own.  Again, this makes this book not just essential for Victoriana but also a good buy for anyone running any Victorian-era game.
There are also four new races near the end.

I don't know about all of you, but I want to do some Victorian-era gaming!

Thursday, October 13, 2016

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.