12ish Days of Blogging: Lessons from 2016 and 2017 New Year's Resolution

On the 6th day of my 12ish Days of Blogging I give to thee some lessons I learned from 2016 and my 2017 New Year's Resolution. I'm tempted to mimic the classic carol and start counting down, or should I say up, listing each subject. Since my 2016 resolution worked so well and I posted it on the same day, I figured I'd do the same with 2017. As for the lessons, they are more like soundbytes tied to fit in with the blog's usual theme. Nothing too deep.


2016 garnered the reputation as a grim reaper. While my blog's history includes RIP posts, I shied from doing so this year. One, there were some I missed. Two, some who don't quite fit the nature of the blog. Three, there were many and many I considered important. There was one general theme, but, to borrow a Dungeons & Dragons class name, 2016 was the year the bards died and people cared. And cared very much they did. Many entertainers and contributors to the arts and culture passed away. To the chagrin of many. Not because the deceased were famous but because of that individual's contribution to people's cultural and entertainment lives. Something to keep in mind while playing games like D&D and the impact that the Bard class has among the NPCs around them.


Another lesson to borrow a fantasy cliché, people need that new, plucky individual to rise above obscurity and become that twenty-something 20th level character to inspire them. While pop culture grinds out new stars continuously, its also grinding those stars to make new stars. I suspect that's one reason people took the loss of creative famous people so dearly. The lack of the next new entertainer. I'm using entertainer as more of placeholder as I don't want to fall into the trap of referencing politics cause danger lies there. Although that's a realm one could say we need new heroes.


Okay enough with the depressing lessons. More positive ones.


I learned not to anniversary posts in installments as I rarely ever do sequels. Although brief aside, I learned Kimball in yesterday's post about Wonder Woman was played by the same actor as Odo in DS9! On yeah, as a big Aquaman fan, he celebrated his 75 years too. I just never picked up the book. Still haven't finished the 75 years comic of Wonder Woman yet but will. It'll just be next year. Have a 75 years of Lois Lane book and that's more than 75 years...


I learned that I blog more when I have theme to blog and the theme includes frequent blogging. Granted that comes with a period of rest afterwards.


Most importantly, I've learned that I just don't make time to read and I miss it terribly.


So my 2017 New Year's Resolution is to read more. Not just comics. Short stories, novels, and nonfiction as well. If I am not taking time to read a novel, I'm certainly not taking time to read a comic. Reading after all is a habit. A habit I plan on making into a habit once more. Plus, more comic reviews will follow. Duh...


Till 7th installment and may your New Year's celebrations be joyous!

12ish Days of Blogging: Wonder Woman's Brief Brush with Star Wars Fandom

On the fifth day of the 12ish Days of Blogging I give to thee a retroview of a classic episode of Wonder Woman 70's show while celebrating the characters 75th anniversary. Tomorrow may also include a review of a one-shot commemorating said 75th anniversary but seeing how tomorrow's New Year's Eve we'll see how well that goes, right?


2016 is many things to many people. I'm not discussing any of the negatives here. In the world of comics, several characters reached their 75th anniversary this year. Alas, it's too late for me to commemorate such a milestone for every character. As luck would have it, Wonder Woman will receive such an honor. Largely because due to synergy with the debut of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story an episode of Wonder Woman aired in which Wonder Woman attends a sci fi convention.


Yeah, you read that right. I'm partially celebrating Wonder Woman's 75th anniversary because on 1/26/1979 an episode of Wonder Woman called Spaced Out aired involved a science fiction convention which included Star Wars cosplay. Considering my 12ish Days of Blogging has slight undercurrent of Star Wars you could say its more about Wonder Woman meets Star Wars fans.


Yep, the episode rode on the heels of Star Wars fame. Brief spoilers - the Star Wars cosplay was of an X-wing pilot and a tusken raider; and Wonder Woman may not have actually bumped into them. It was just a quick appearance of Star Wars cosplay. Still it was pretty cool. Plus, the robot from Lost In Space, okay the costume, was there so kind of counts... maybe... sort of...


Some highlights:

• Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman, isn't a fan of the science fiction convention nor the costumes but by episodes end she certainly seems to have warmed up to it!
• Having watched maybe a handful of episodes, apparently there were three characters that appeared previously  but I am not sure...
• Rather surreal watching Wonder Woman get spoofed by cat burglar...
• The Moon rock/Space room of Nausea!
• Kimble the cat burglar's physical comedy reaction upon hearing host of the Moon Rock/Space room of nausea exhibit apparently having a date with Diana.
• The Tusken Raider and X-Wing Pilot.
• Robbie the Robot from Lost in Space... 'Robbie the Robot is a lush!'
• Grappling hook shenanigans.
• 'I thought the crystals were cheap pieces of plastic!'
• When bedlam ensues when a fight occurs because the convention goers believe its an unscripted event is a hoot.
• With the focus on Wonder Woman using a sword and shield in modern media its nice to use her lasso of truth and just subdue people.

Wouldn't be surprised if Mark Hamill wishes he could have appeared in this episode considering he's really into conventions of this sort.


Overall, while its not serious by modern standards as it had its share of good cheeky fun, I wouldn't quite say Spaced Out was out-and-out camp. The science fiction convention stuff had me geeking out. Back in 1979, this is probably the closest Wonder Woman could come to a crossover with Lost In Space and Star Wars. Heck, the same could probably be the same for nowadays... I give it 3 Out of 5 Stars. If you're a fan, the episode is worth it for a hoot.


Till My 6th 12ish Days of Blogging.

12ish Days of Blogging: How I Performed on my 2016 New Year's Resolution

On the fourth day of my 12ish Days of Blogging I give to thee: my summation on how well I followed my New Year's resolution from the beginning of the year. What's that you say? The end of the year isn't for a couple more days? First, most people quit their New Year's resolutions after a month or two. So the mere fact I kept in mind is impressive. Okay, that is impressive.  Guess, I can follow a New Year's resolution for a long period of time. So early spoilers - modesty may elude me. Fair warning. Second, two more days isn't changing the outcome. Suppose that'll happen when only two days remain in a year.


What you never read my 2016 New Year's Resolution? Well, here's the POST.


So how'd I do?


For starters, technically, I certainly blogged more. Only one year did I update my blog more and during that year I'd update occasionally more than once or twice a day. Not blogging twice or more a day was unspoken cardinal rule of mine this year. Admittedly, I skirted the rule a handful of times if you count blogging near midnight and not waiting 24 hours before the next I blogged.


Heck, if you double the number of posts from 2015 (as I resumed blogging in June), 62-and-counting (okay, counting for maybe another two days) is more than 50. So my frequency did increase.


Yeah, here's where the 'but' comes in... all year I planned to blog more. There's much, much more didn't write. Yet. Most of those subjects haven't been lost to the aether. I'll get to them eventually. Just didn't so this year.


So as a perfectionist, I am not 100% happy but as a whole I did blog more.


As I blog more, I did give my two cents a heckuva lot. Other than some episode highlights that were more of recap than a review and the occasional time I hyped something, I gave my opinion. So I'd say it's fair to say that I stated my two cents often enough that met my resolution here.


Reading comics... not so much. Granted, I did read some comics and write some reviews. Nowhere near what I envisioned when I made my resolution.


Gaming on the other hand, I gamed not only far more than I expected but gamed more than I wrote about here! I suffered writer's block figuring which game session report to write when! Know the subject matter that I hadn't written about yet? Most of it is about gaming sessions. While one or two gaming-related posts probably won't occur before 2016 is done, there probably will be one or two as part of my 12ish Days of Blogging.


So overall, despite disappointment with comics reading, I'd have to say I met New Year's Resolution of 2016. I didn't give up on my blog. I gamed. Watched TV shows that fit the blog's parameters. I did read more than one comic book. Heck, I discovered I could blog for five or more days straight. If not for technical difficulties, a fourth 12ish Day would have came yesterday. Although, it would have been about a different subject matter, but I digress.

In fact, I am pleased enough with my success that I'll try my hand at a 2017 New Year's Resolution. I'll let you know if, what, that is on New Year's.


Till my 5th 12ish Days.

12ish Days of Blogging, Dark Horse Digital, Nook Comics, and Earth 2 #1 Review

On the third day of my 12ish Days of Blogging I give to thee my thoughts on Dark Horse Digital (and the delayed 2nd part of my 30 years of Dark Horse Comics) as well as my thoughts on Nook Comics and my first Nook Comic Earth 2 #1. Coincidentally, my Nook commentary has also been delayed as I started blogging about it back in June.


I've used Dark Horse Digital sparingly for a long time now. At first I used it to check out whichever free comics were available. Dark Horse Digital was kind of cool; but I really didn't take the plunge until I bought all the Star Wars comics (hey, another Star Wars reference!) when that license expired and shifted to Marvel. I feared those comics would join the long out-of-print bin. Silly me. Marvel has since aggressively reprinted much of the content, although much hasn't been reprinted, and digital comics of the Dark Horse material is available via Marvel's site. Another fear was the purchase would be all for naught...


Well, so far, all those Star Wars comics are still available on my Dark Horse Digital account so that fear has been... averted... for now. I admit I've only read one comic - the first issue of Marvel's (ironic, isn't it?) mini-series that adapted Star Wars: A New Hope. Very curious issue in light of future movie developments but that's a review for another time. Future plans involve reading those Star Wars digital comics via Dark Horse Digital. It's good to grandfathered in! And if it's gone, well, Marvel has been digitizing those same Star Wars comics; and I have that also woefully used Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited account. Hmm, sensing a trend...


I've purchased other comics too corresponding to any sale that catches my eye so I don't just have languishing Star Wars comics on the account. Okay, Okay, I'll get to the review.


Dark Horse Digital was an On the Cloud service before I knew, and probably before it was defined as, the Cloud existed. The consumer browses the site, which is first-day digital, ie when print hits the stands, and selects a comic. Said consumer "owns" the comic except their copy is stored on Dark Horse Digital's site. The one exception is that I believe copies can be downloaded via its mobile app. As I haven't downloaded the app, I don't know if those comics can be downloaded onto an SD card. I admit I've been leery of embracing the app cause of running out of storage concerns due to my Nook experience. More on that later.


How does the Dark Horse Digital reader work? Pretty well. I admit its probably clunky using it on my desktop compared to a tablet or phone but the reader has the option of viewing it by page or panel. I've found I prefer reading by panel on desktop as I find the reading experience easier.


That brings me to my (quick) Earth 2 #1 and Nook Comics review:


Earth 2 #1 (the one that 'The New 52!' is scrawled across the cover not Earth 2: Society) is a milestone comic for me. One, it hooked me onto the New 52 Earth 2 in the sort that it became an interest although it hadn't officially made my pull list. Two, it was my very first Nook Comic. Earth 2 #1 is what sold in me on Nook Comics. To my mind it is quite fitting to review both at the same time.




Nook Comics


Earth 2 #1 by James Robinson, Nicola Scott, and Trevor Scott.


One advantage of bringing multiple earths back is that DC can now kill its major characters and unlike an Elseworlds such a drastic action matters. Well, Earth 2 #1 is the fall of the DC Trinity (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman) to the forces of Darkseid or more precisely Steppenwolf (the supposed Big Bad of the upcoming Justice League movie too...). The handling of the "Roman Gods" differed from mainstream DC and was a nice touch. Honestly, if one desires a tragic DC epic where the Big 3 fall while saving the Earth you don't get any better than this comic.


Alas, I read the issue back in June so regular readers should know I'm kind of sparring on the details.


Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars


Yeah, I felt Earth 2 #1 was so good that I bought the first trade, would then later pick of bundle of twenty issues which I found in a back issue bin, and have sporadically bought Earth 2 Society. All on the strength of one issue.


As for Nook Comics reader itself, the reader has a Page View and a Panel View. Alright, not the exact definition but its more descriptive than what they give you. I've discovered that if I want to take a gander at greater art detail the Panel View is the best. Honestly, I really like the reader. What I don't like is that while the comics are downloaded, they are best treated as if they are on the cloud. The file size is simply too large where one can't carry them all on one's device. However, a recent upgrade allows Nook Comics to be downloaded to an SD card. Since not all books, and magazines are out of the question, can downloaded to an SD card, as of this moment I don't know if all Nook Comics can be downloaded onto an SD card. So that may be a remedy to my aforementioned storage concerns.


So while I greatly like the Nook for reading comics, it hasn't replaced the pamphlet nor trades. At this point in time its more like a backup for when I can't acquire an issue as well as means of sampling series. Expect some comic reviews that are also Nook reviews in the future as well.


Till Next Time.

12ish Days of Blogging: Several Rogue One-related Links

On the second day of my 12ish Days of Blogging, I give to thee several Rogue One: A Star Wars Story related links. Before I continue further I want to give credit where credit is due. Without writers Paul Cornell (whom I've reviewed his first issue of Stormwatch) and Bill Willingham (don't recall if I've reviewed any of his stuff here...), doing a 12 Days of Blogging and 12 Stories, respectively, I never would have thought to do this. My X-mas related posts would have seemed out of nowhere. Also, I want to think Disney for joining Star Wars with the holiday season for the forseeable future. Now, Star Wars is synonymous with the holidays!


So ergo, it wouldn't be the holidays without some Star Wars related links, right? So here's some links related to Rogue One that I found of interest.


Whitaker reprises role for Rebels - In an awesome bit of synergy, Forest Whitaker reprises his role from Rogue One in the Star Wars animated series Rebels.  Really cool indeed.


Vader Pun Controversy - If you haven't seen Rogue One yet, hereby SPOILERS. Otherwise, there's a bit of controversy about Darth Vader cracking a pun. I admit it caught me off guard and jolted me out of the scene. However, I didn't consider it a scandalous treatment of the character. Certainly, no worse than Vader's comment at the end of Episode 3. Heck, it bothered me less than any of the things Anakin does during the prequels. As the article above points out it is well within character. Which after reading said article I can see the author's point about Vader cracking puns being within character. Guess it all depends on a certain point of view.


Rogue One's Massive Opening Weekend - The Wall Street Journal ran a piece on how well Rogue One performed at the box office during its opening weekend. It performed well. Very well. A high box office speaks favorably towards future Star Wars Anthology movies and Star Wars movies using mostly original characters. Very good news indeed.


Rogue One Cameos - One of the things that I greatly enjoyed about Rogue One was the cameos. As part of the enjoyment was the surprise of those cameos I'll say this link contains massive SPOILERS!


Bold Ending is what the Franchise Needed - Yep, SPOILERS. In hindsight I shouldn't have been surprised by the ending but, yeah, the ending is a huge reason I enjoyed the film.


How Rogue One Changes Perceptions of the Original Trilogy - Once again, another link that one should really see the movie first if you don't any SPOILERS. This piece is a much, much more eloquent piece than when I blogged about how Rogue One greatly improves Rebel Alliance campaigns in Star Wars TRPGs - except applied toward the original trilogy.


A marketing rant - Over at ComicMix, here's what's really a rant over using Rogue One to cater to different markets such as using Chinese actors to appeal to audiences in China. Since I wasn't aware the actors were Chinese I thought they were cast as homages to Lucas receiving inspiration from Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress. The more you know I guess...


Mark Hamill is a Fan - Yep, Luke Skywalker likes it. I concur too.


A New Martial Art Style Created for Rogue One - The actor who played the blind monk apparently created his own style. Now, that's cool.


Till Next Time.

12ish Days of Blogging: Some Yuletide Links I Found of Interest

Since today marks day one of the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas and the march toward year's end, I've decided to do a series of twelve-ish blog posts. Alright, I mean blog twelve days in a row but give or take a couple days. Originally, I planned on Christmas/Holiday content appearing before and including on Christmas itself but the holiday happened. So expect plenty of Christmas-oriented stuff during twelve days of blogging. On the other hand, there may be several entries that aren't Christmas-oriented at all. My review of the Halloween Disney comic and commentary on New Year's Resolutions are among what I want to squeeze in before we're well into 2017.


So to start the 12ish Days of Blogging, I begin light by sharing several seasonal links that I found of interest. Some additional Christmas/Holiday/Yule like content that you may find of interest.


Ostrander on the Doctor Who Christmas Specials - Comics writer John Ostrander, Suicide Squad creator, provides a pretty nice overview of the Doctor Who Christmas Specials on ComicMix. My mileage on his opinions on each of the specials varies although there's some I haven't seen. Didn't realize until Ostrander pointed it out but, yeah, the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant, began and ended his time as the Doctor on Christmas. Rather neat coincidence.


CBR Superman Advent Calender - Leading up to Christmas, as part of Advent, Comic Book Resources had a daily countdown of Superman Christmas Stories and stories that contained elements no matter how minor of Christmas-theme. The screenshots are quite readable so much of each individual story can be read. Well, the nuts and bolts anyway. Some excellent Superman Christmas material here. Heck, I'm only two-thirds through!


Six Christmas Graphic Novels - Want to read some Christmas graphic novels that you can be certain you order from your local comics shop? Well, Diamond Comics Distributors have you covered with this list of six. I'm pretty confident if Diamond is listing these titles they have them in their warehouse. One of the six, Klaus, I hope to include during my 12ish Days of Blogging.


A History of Jingle Bells, Batman Smells - Here's an excellent essay on the origins and evolution of classic children's folksong Jingle Bells, Batman Smells. Seems to date back to the classic Adam West Batman sixties television show. Did you know there once was a line referencing Commissioner Gordon? I certainly wasn't aware of just how many variants there were of the classic children's folksong. Very interesting read.


Till Next Time!

Rogue One: Finally a Star Wars Movie that Lends Legitimacy to Rebel PCs

First things first. I felt Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was fantastic film. If the other anthology films equal Rogue One in quality, Disney's mini-holiday tradition (until 2020 at least) of an annual Star Wars film right around the holiday season will be a good one. However, I'm not going to review the film at this time. One, much of the film's strengths hinge on not being spoiled the first time through. Second, I have only seen the movie once. My mantra of multiple viewings required before a review stands for this film as well. What tonight's blogging spiel is about how excited I am for the ramifications for those that play Star Wars PCs in table-top RPGs particularly Rebellion-era.


There's two things I've always hated about playing Star Wars during the Rebellion-era. The Rebellion, while the underdogs, seemed to put together. Second, the group of Han, Luke, Leia, and Co are the heroes of the Rebellion. No matter how you slice it you can't escape that fact. Your characters are second fiddle; and there's no other examples to prove otherwise.


Rogue One changes all that. Without going into spoilers, the Rebellion-era being the Han, Luke, and Leia show because they're the only  heroes is no longer the case. Now, Star Wars fans have other examples. Furthermore, they know what those characters can be like. They're no longer just outsider types playing a role in a rebellion but actual rebels. The Expanded Universe was great in that it fleshed out the more obscure areas but we never got a full on look what run-of-the-mill rebels were like. Star Wars fans do know. Plus, the obligatory lightsaber-wielding PC is no longer required! You really have to watch the television shows and cartoons to have examples of that gap.


Examples aside. Rogue One demonstrates that the Rebellion needs heroes and such heroics do occur when no Skywalker is mentioned. I'd gloss on more but that breaks my no spoiler rule. But yeah, for the first time, in a long, long time, maybe ever, I feel Rebel PCs that aren't the movie group can play a pivotal role in the Rebellion. Yep, no amount of West End Games source material made me thought otherwise.


So with that, pick up whichever iteration of the Star Wars RPG you have on hand and have your PCs join the Rebellion.


Quick aside: think I got my first hand look at what either a heavy or light repeating blaster rifle looks like cinematically...


Happy Gaming.

We All Shadowrun in a Yellow Submarine

For months I hinted at Shadowrun (5E) Missions play. Finally, I have put fingers to keyboard to blog my very first Shadowrun Missions game session report/review. So which session receives such an honorific to be the very first? Why, the... most recent?! Yep, while I have played all of season 5 (SRM is split into season with Season 5 being the first of the Chicago storyline) except SRM 05-01, my first review will concern the very last module of season 5, SRM 05-06 Take a Chance. The reason is very simple: its the session freshest in my mind and I could reference the Beatles song!


SRM 05-06 Take A Chance


The cast:


Nox - Human Combat Mage - played by yours truly
Umi Love - Elf Face/Adept
"James" - Human Weapons expert/Adept
Night Eyes - Human Decker/Rigger - Security Spider
Snuffleupagus (yes, the character is named after the Sesame Street character - more in a future blog post) - dwarf decker






There are some Spoilers but I'll do my best to avoid plot specifics. While players can replay modules  Shadowrun Missions, I feel its best if some surprises exist. As such as I'll focus more on how our group approached the module and how our group of fledgling Shadowrun 5E gamers are slowly learning the rules. Of note, this was the module that was postponed on Halloween to a month later...




As per the boiler plate of the module, our group of runners went to a meet where other groups of runners were - and our characters learn we're auditioning for a job. Everyone in the group decides not to bring weapons in. We meet a new associate named Night Eyes whose referenced to us by a storyline contact. James buys our table a sample of all the appetizers. Umi buys pork for the table as well. Snuffleupagus also peruses the menu. Nox who spent plenty of downtime Working for the People... uh... mooches... I guess? We notice other groups are watching us but we pay them no mind. Then some dragon-looking dude approaches us whom everyone but Nox (and maybe Night Eyes?) recognizes as Simon from the first module SRM 05-01. Offers a money making opportunity. When we enter into our interview with Sarah Silverleaf (there's frequent Sarah Silverman's interjected into the out-of-game chatter), Night Eyes mentions Simon's job offer...


While waiting on whether or not we're hired, James orders wine for all the other tables. Snuffy and Umi also partake in trash talking the other groups. At some point, one group tries to mess with James, he becomes extra confrontational with them as a result. Believe it or not, combat does not break out.


Long story short. We're hired. Turns out the run is underwater and we'll have to rent a submarine and some underwater gear. Our contact for this winds up being Goober whom we met during a prior module. He sells us some gear, modifies some of our weapons, and pilots our submarine. I joke so is it yellow? Why yes it is! Thus as title states, we embark on a shadowrun within a yellow submarine.


While underwater, we discover that the background count is less than Chicago normal but Noise is so bad that Matrix and Wireless-connected activities are unreliable. Huge, huge change from prior modules. Nox discovers while astrally projecting that two building were enclosed within astral barriers as is one room within a third building.


When we dock with the third building, Night Eyes uses a skill that hasn't really come up to hook up power to some oxygen tanks. He would later use the same skill to recharge some electrical devices...


At this point, I am going to forgo the traditional session write-up as it spoils too much. Instead I'll supply some highlights:

• Nox - honestly doesn't play too much of role other than Stunbolt-ing a character and achieving maximum Force 6 result. His inability to speak a language kind of limited him, kind of didn't. When we entered our final combat, he used a service for his fire elemental. Unfortunately the combat was too hectic that when the fire elemental could have been used, there was too much confusion and we ran out of time for the session. Which kind of sucks...
• There was an underwater shaft filled with perilous obstacles to swim past. The GM skipped this section to save time.
• We also skipped a combat encounter due to lack of time as well.
• Our characters encountered a group of metavariants/metasapients!
• The final combat is complicated by lack of familiarity with the grenade rules and botching the movement rules to catastrophic results! We forgot movement was for the entire Combat Turn and not individual pass and didn't realize grenades explode much, much sooner during a combat turn.
• Yep, the chunky salsa grenade rule applied!
• Before this session, I was lukewarm to full-auto. Afterwards, I am a believer.

Despite the hiccups, the final combat does have some neat moments, so here's how it broke down:
James exercises his small group tactics skill to initiate a group dynamic entrance. Unfortunately, our enemies were lying in wait. Before he sucks up three bursts of full-auto, James fires a gas grenade at two men armed with AKs. He suffers some Stun. Umi grabs a frag grenade off James belt and runs toward moon pool bay door and tosses the grenade. By sheer luck, as she missed, the grenade scatters into the room with the moon pool! She (yeah Umi is a she) runs into a nearby room. Unfortunately, a fourth gunman runs into the room. However, before he can fire Umi performs a melee interrupt as he passes by and incapacitates him with a Nerve Strike! A fifth enters and is Nerve Striked as he passes. Alas, he isn't incapacitated and opens fire. Fortunately, Umi has an ability where she is too pretty to be hit and evades the full auto-fire. Night Eyes covers a side that no enemy approaches from - it was because of the gas grenade? Snuffy full-autos a sixth who enters the room with Umi. Fleeing the moon pool room another enters Umi's room and unleashed full auto-fire upon her. With four assailants within the same room firing full-auto, Umi is stunned a bunch. James runs to her room, fires a flash bang (which scatters to Umi's feet) and runs back. Umi tries to flee the room and the flash bang but is melee intercepted by one of her four assailants (granted one is incapacitated) with a shock glove and is stunned unconscious. Two of her assailants exit and fire at James dropping him. Flash bang goes off. Yeah... All three remaining in the room are declared out for simplicity's sake. Our remaining opponents flee.


Overall: SRM 05- 06 Take a Chance is an excellent module with some off-the-beaten-path situations for the average runner. I'd love to play the mod again when we're more knowledgeable with the rules and less rusty. Still it was quite a memorable session. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars with a chance at 4 stars.


Till next time,


Happy Gaming

Thoughts on the First Spider-Man: Homecoming Trailer

Tonight, the very first trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming was released. And it... was... awesome! If you haven't seen it, the trailer should be widely available on the Internet. As such I am not going to include the video or a link to the video. Just going to provide my more than 140 character response that would be far too lengthy for social media.


We didn't get too much of Michael Keaton out of costume in this trailer; but what is there has appropriate amount of menace for a teenage super-hero whose stepping into an adult playground.


Speaking of that adult playground, that appears to be the theme of the trailer. Super-hero work is adult work and not suited for teenagers. While the classic Lee/Ditko stories would have characters admitting their surprise and astonishment that Spider-Man was teenager, it was never front and center. Suppose a pivotal player such as Tony Stark knowing Spider-Man is a teenaged Peter Parker leads to such a change from the comics origin. Should be interesting how much the trailer's theme is a theme of the movie.


Now, I am incredibly glad Tony, Robert Downey Jr, will be serving much more than a cameo role. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the movie franchise with the individual character(s) movies serving as facets of the franchise. So I like the level of cohesion that Tony Stark brings. Furthermore, I love seeing more of mentor type relationship with the teenaged Peter Parker. In many ways, the ground for a future passing of the torch could be set with this movie. Absolutely love the notion of Iron Man working alongside Spidey! However, the marque is Spider-Man: Homecoming. Not Spider-Man: Marvel Team-up. I'd prefer if Tony's role is much less than it was in Captain America: Civil War.


Loved the crooks wearing classic comic book depictions of Avengers masks.


Would have liked it if the Vulture was closer to his comic book roots but can accept that he's tech'd up because the movie-going audience wouldn't accept him as a major menace in a movie.


The high school scenes remind me of how much the character of Peter Parker benefited from being a high school student. So that will be neat to see. Not a fan of someone knowing his secret identity but in the MCU every hero, except Cap it seems, needs a non-powered, non-skilled person whose a confidante.


Tom Holland may very be the best Peter Parker/Spider-Man actor yet!


Action shots are pretty good. Can't wait to see them on the big screen.


So yeah, I stand by my earlier comment that the first trailer is amazing and spectacular. Look forward to the next!


Till Next Time.

Links about Krampus Night, First Tier 4 Adventurer's League mods, and Update AL Faction Guide

As usual, I'm off to a slow start as far as blogging is concerned. Have quite a number of things I want to blog about during the month of December and before year's end. Been awhile since I had 'link-oriented' post, so here's three links pertaining to Krampus Night, the rest of season 5 mods for Adventurer's League including the very first set of Tier 4 (levels 17 - 20), and an updated faction guide.


Guide to Factions - An updated faction guide for Adventurer's League. A free pdf available on DM's Guild. The Mentor-Apprentice rules are fleshed out more. Honestly, I think this would receive more play at conventions where Epics are played or home games where people play chapters from the adventure books. I do find the massive downtime requirements for some of the options rather curious. Then again, I am not a fan of requiring hundreds of downtime days to train although I suppose that's realistic. Maybe it's because downtime days are chained to playing modules and don't exist separately. As much as Time Units in LG could be frustrating as one's PC could be rendered unplayable for the rest of year, one's PC didn't have to earn that off-time. Some of the tool proficiencies that faction members can learn could be neat although I think the Zhentarim win as far as adventuring related tool proficiencies are considered. I suppose if you have Downtime to burn up... Now, the Item Acquisition is rather cool. I'd have to read it some more as some things aren't as clear. That being said, I've played a number of Adventurer's League modules for quite some time now. Haven't played any chapters from the book adventures yet. Magical armor and weapons are super rare as far rewards go. Thus, I absolutely love that if I want a character to acquire some, there's a means to do so. Plus, faction promotion becomes far more attractive as a consequence. Otherwise, faction promotion is more ho-hum than downtime. Still have no idea what distinguishes a secret mission from a faction assignment...


Rest of Season 5 mods - Here's a list for all the mods of Season 5 Adventurer's mods including the final nine modules that wrap up the tiers 1 - 3 arcs as well as providing the very first tier 4 (levels 17 - 20) mods. Season 4 (Barovia) led me to thinking to story terms such that my Season 5 character was created to fit the theme of Season 5 more. Since I was playing the character in non-Season 5 mods, I was worried that the character would level out of tier 1 (levels 1 - 4) and miss out on story. Perusing the module list, it appears the major arc of tier 1 centers around the village of Parnast. Fortunately, there's only one module that I would really love to play with said PC from tier 1 so if I play the rest of the Parnast arc with a different PC so be it. My first play through of any tier 2 mods will probably be with a different character anyway...


Krampus Night - My goal for this year is to include more holiday (ie, Christmas, Yule, etc.)-related content during December. Here's the first of such. As tonight is December 5th, ie Krampus Night, rather fitting I include a link about how Krampus Night has gained popularity within the United States. Rather cool the phenomena owes a debt to postcards of all things. Heck, I could see Krampus Night being folded within a RPG context. Modern settings could reflect one night only shenanigans on December 5th, while older and more supernatural-inclined settings could actually have an encounter with a Krampus-like figure! Perhaps an exercise for the later this month... or next year...


Well, Till next time. Happy Gaming.