Miscellanea

Beowulf: Interesting movie. Excellent CGI - the faces are getting particularly good, though liquid and sometimes movement still come across as very artificial. The story is changed some from the source material, but I think I have a preference for this particular twist as it makes the monsters less "just there." I'm surprised, however, that it is PG-13. There's a lot of sexual references, a fair amount of nudity (though without actually revealing "bits"), and gobs of violence. I can't help but think they couldn't have gotten away with that rating using live actors for the same things.

Why is everyone surprised (or outright disbelieving) when I mention that Arizona Green Tea (and green tea in general) contains caffeine? It's not loaded like some drinks, but shouldn't the "decaffeinated" version for sale usually right next to the regular would be a tip off?

I had a chance to look at the second edition Exalted rules recently. Argh. Now I want to make a character. Nevermind that I don't have ready access to a game, and probably won't anytime soon. Scattered inspirations like this are frustrating.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow? Argh! Gotta bake pies. Gotta start thinking about Christmas presents. Double-argh! 'tis the season for holiday stress. ;)

Comments

  1. kyn_elwynnNovember 21, 2007 at 9:24 AM

    What type of exalt, though? Solars are awesome and rock face, but others (I found) seem to be gimped. Especially Lunars.

    ReplyDelete
  2. marinredwolfNovember 21, 2007 at 9:46 AM

    Lunars gimped? I always assumed they were the uber-battle-monkeys that werewolves were in World of Darkness. And that Sidereals are broken in obnoxious ways. ;) *shrugs* I've only ever had the main book, so that limits options and shades my opinions. I've also felt, since being introduced to the game, that it really is (and should be) about the Solars and their rebirth/redemption (or struggle for such). Thusly, I've only ever conceptualized a Solar character.

    ReplyDelete
  3. tashiroNovember 21, 2007 at 1:55 PM

    Speaking from Experience: 2E Lunars rock. I've made one. 2E Dragon Blooded are quite nifty, actually. I've made one of those, too. Actually, when 1E first came out, they were going to have the Dragon Blooded as the heroes, and the Solars as the (misunderstood) threat to Creation. Then they decided to go with the 'biggest' group first, and thus you have the game we know. One concept I made and enjoyed was an Eclipse gunman/necromancer. That came out pretty rocking. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. tashiroNovember 21, 2007 at 1:56 PM

    In 2E? Lunars are made of awesome. They know more martial arts than any Solar could imagine, including a bunch of 'lost arts', and their new methods of transformation and Charms are pretty incredible. Add to that they can use Raksha Artifacts and Sorcery, and you're getting even further ahead. They're damn good. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. slydyrNovember 21, 2007 at 2:48 PM

    The movement of the horses reminded me of shrek, but otherwise, I really enjoyed the flick. There was a moment of sheer terror when I thought I would be face to face with Anthony Hopkins manhood... but... Have a great thanksgiving down there :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. kyn_elwynnNovember 21, 2007 at 2:50 PM

    But that's just it. All they do is fight. Lunar socialite? Possible, but difficult. Sorcerer? Not out of the main book. Theif? Not even possible.

    ReplyDelete
  7. kyn_elwynnNovember 21, 2007 at 2:51 PM

    See below. I'd like some diversity with my shifting breed, thanks. Not just "KILL"

    ReplyDelete
  8. marinredwolfNovember 21, 2007 at 3:34 PM

    *laughs* Indeed, I understand the fright. Of course, with the technology, they can augment/modify all they want. ... Which, in some ways, only makes me more scared. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. marinredwolfNovember 21, 2007 at 3:39 PM

    Naturally, I can't really speak to what they can and can't do as I've never owned a Lunar book. Of course, out of the main-main book, you can't really play a Lunar at all. No in-depth rules or charm listings. A Lunar socialite seems like it probably should be difficult (though possible) in that it's playing against type. Roguishness... that's a little more surprising to me if they can't pull that off. Animals can be plenty sneaky, after all.

    ReplyDelete
  10. tashiroNovember 21, 2007 at 3:43 PM

    Not anymore. They're also social scientists, building civilizations to test which could survive longer, and tearing down the ones which don't work. :) The fact is though... Lunar Socialite? Considering their disdain for current civilization? Lunar Sorcerers are possible now. :) And I've actually made a Lunar Thief. Not so hard.

    ReplyDelete
  11. slydyrNovember 21, 2007 at 4:06 PM

    There is, I believe, a law of the universe which states: Old fat actor + full frontal = bad. Of course, the gold paint draining away from Ms. Jolie made up for it some.

    ReplyDelete
  12. kyn_elwynnNovember 21, 2007 at 5:15 PM

    Mind telling me what charms you took? Because, y'know, there's nothing that's a stealth or larceny charm at ALL for Lunars

    ReplyDelete
  13. tashiroNovember 21, 2007 at 6:55 PM

    Of course, you'd want Dexterity and Wits excellencies. Next: Charms False Burrow Pursuit -- Guard: 'hey, you know, something over there is important, I'm going to go check it out!' Life of the Hummingbird -- taste an animal or anyone's blood, take their form. Don't even have to kill the person to do it. Temporary, but really useful for infiltration. Clay-Wetting Practice -- shape small items into other items. Want a specific shape of key? Need a lock pick? Need trap-making materials? All there. Cobra Hypnotic Method -- stop someone in their tracks, knock them out, then take their form. Forgetful Victim Prana -- you were never there, nobody saw anything. The Spider's Trap Door -- hiding objects or setting up ambushes. You can also make yourself disappear. Thieving Magpie Prana -- making objects disappear on your person. There's your list. Most of these are low-Essence charms and can work quite nicely for the break-and-enter sort. :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Adventures in Rokugan (ongoing)

 So, yeah, I'm terrible at keeping up with between-session conversations and all the piles of possible channels/servers in Discord - especially when work gives me some time to think, but not Discord access. I believe a question was posed about thoughts on the state and future of the Adventures in Rokugan game, though, so here goes... In general, I'm enjoying the time and look forward to it more than feel burdened by it. The start time is a little earlier than ideal, but I don't mind making it work on Saturdays. So, net positive overall. I'm a touch "meh" on the mechanics of AiR. I like the familiarity of D&D, but the Rokugan-specific stuff doesn't feel very rewarding. Granted, this may just be my pick of a shadow acolyte, but I feel like I'm getting more functional mileage out of the sharpshooter feat than all of the special class abilities and level-ups haven't been particularly exciting. I've been tempted to multi-class into something els
Read more

Harbinger of Chaos (Godbound)

 Last night seemed to be the climactic finale of the ongoing Godbound game. I have some thoughts. The previous session ended with a couple PCs and a shadowy person in the special chamber with access to divine realms and their vacated thrones (in the campaign, the gods were sorta kicked out of their positions, making things up for grabs). Once PC had already claimed a throne. All the others were waiting outside. At the moment the session ended, no one seemed aware that the shadowy figure was Beryn, big-bad threat of the campaign. This is where I feel weird about things, because that little detail came up OOC and it changed everything. If the PCs had been aware at the time, they probably would have started a fight outside the chamber when they saw him. That didn't happen. But suddenly because the players were aware, they wanted to be able to plan before the conflict (with downtime glossed over previous) so they could go into the next session guns-blazing and as prepared as possible.
Read more

RPG Desires?

 So I was asked last night what I actually want in an RPG game/campaign. I came up with a few points, but that's a question I find hard to answer on the spot. It's easy to point at things in an ongoing game that I don't like, and a little harder to point at things I do (darn negative-focused psychology), but making generalizations is more difficult still. It does, however, give me something to focus a little on and ramble about for a time... Story I like a narrative through line - not usually to the point of "railroading," but I want more connective tissue than just returning to a job board after each mission. Sometimes that develops as things go, with character goals shaping things. Setting an end goal at the outset ("defeat the demon lord!") can have ups and downs. However it comes about, I really like to feel there is some forward momentum toward something, though. Consistency This one gets sub-points!  As far as setting, I sort of stopped using the t
Read more