MET Werewolf: Silver and Gold

Disclaimer: MET Werewolf is a role-playing game whose setting is fictional. Any references to any real people, places, and things serves to heighten immersion and does NOT reflect reality. None of this actually happened.

Tom stands before the Sept trying to hold back his nervous energy. His expression becomes a smile. Fake it until you make it. After all, his first tale went alright, didn't it.

'Greetings. Tonight, I understand I have not told the tale of November's mission. However, since the insert your denominational holiday is nigh, some around these parts call Christmas, this tale is a little more seasonal. It's also warning. It's also the tale of a new face. as Jimmy worked hospital duty to address a medical emergency in Stevens Point.

 A new Glasswalker joined the motley pack.

Two galliards, an ahroun, a ragabash, and two philodixes gathered at the bawn. While discussing Jimmy's absence,we learned of body parts replacing belongings at a children's play, Elf, in Stevens Point. Example finger for a watch, toe for a wallet. People swear there belongings were fine when they left but changed upon arriving home.

Beta of Sept acquired help to replace Jimmy. Rocko the Glass Walker Galliard. We introduce ourselves. Molly, Sean, Gracie, Jenny, and Tom.

We arrive at Ben Franklin. Rocko activates his gift Wolf Senses, while Jenny uses her gift Sight of Hidden Places within the school. 200 humans packed into the auditorium to watch the play. Molly uses Wolf Senses smelling human scents. Puberty, Perfume, etc. Males produce pheromones with urge to mate with everything. Women the need. Nothing has occurred today. Too much cologne and perfume. Many are sick with illness. Or so she relays to us anyway...

Play begins. We sit scattered amongst the crowd. Molly sat near me I am not a pack member. Obviously neither is Rocko...

Gracie notices a fast shadowy figure darting amongst the humans then departs. Informs her packmates Sean, Jenny, and Molly. Jenny uses Sight of Hidden Places. She notices a small child - a bogart is the shadow - had already gone downstairs! Informs packmates. Molly tells Tom (I will refer to myself in the third person from now on...). Rocko learns courtesy of the Mindlink gift that Rocko enacted with Jenny. Sean asks 'only one?' Jenny 'yes, do you doubt my gift?'

Tom, Molly, and Sean head downstairs following signs posted. Jenny and Rocko joins us as well. Gracie remains with crowd. Molly upset cause she is in homid form.

Upon reaching downstairs, Jenny activates Sight of Hidden Places. A cave exists underneath near the boiler room. Boiler room has a hole in the wall leading to cave. We discover it is locked. Jenny attempts to pick the chain and deadbolt. Sees no cameras. Fails to pick it. Sean shifts to Crinos yanks on chain. Chain won't yield. Rocko tries and fails. Molly yanks and fails. Tom weakly pulls. Jenny fails too. Molly angrily claws the chain shattering it. Jenny scoops chain links into her bag. All of them. Door is still deadbolted.

Jenny asks us to look away and uses her Bastet gift to release the deadbolt and opens the door. Smells musty of black mold. Those of us with Awareness wonder how the boggart entered and exited thru the locked door. Smells of death and decay.

 Tom 'So Jenny what should we do?'

 Jenny 'there is something in there that needs to be stopped.'

Drain is clogged with water covering floor. Dark but faint illumination from red light on machinery pierces the darkness. Those with wolf senses smell from far side a pungent, earthy smell. On far side of boiler is an opening large enough for child to pass through. We all shift into lupus forms.

 Tunnel leads to a cavern. Tom's fox form can walk normally while Jenny's lynx form can walk duckingly. The wolves crawl.

After an hour traversing back and forth we reach a wider cavern after 3rd 'link'.

Don't smell death and decay here!

The chamber is high enough that the Wolves can move normally. Homid formwould bump heads on stalactites. Lupus form it is!

Underground river about thirty feet wide with rapid current bisects the path, splitting it into a ten foot path upon each side. Tom uses a point of spiritual energy, i.e. Gnosis, and activates Blur of the Milky Eye as does Rocko. The floor under our paws is slick from moisture. Those of us without wolf senses can see visually because the cavern glows from a green fluorescence. Tom impatiently chooses to remain on the right side. Jenny decides everyone stays on right side to stick with Tom. My choice allowed us to avoid crossing the river. We gaze up to the 20' high ceiling 20' and move around stalactites and stalagmites scattered about. Tom followed by Rocko by Jenny by Sean then Molly bringing up rear single file. Tom cautiously moves forward failing to notice  what Rocko does. Tom springs a trap unbeknownst to him. Tom stops once...

 Rocko goes 'shh'. 

Too late. Tom is hit by a bag covering him and Rocko in silver and gold glitter. Our Blur of the Milky Eye is foiled! Henceforth, this tale is call 'Silver and Gold'. *Tom winks and his smile curls mischievously.*

Meanwhile, Gracie spots the same creature dart about a different crowd. Sends her packmates the message.

Tom's Awareness notices a set of glowing eyes toward end of cavern.

Tom 'there is a pair of glowing eyes looking at me toward the end of cavern.'

 Jenny 'Rocko cannot hear you'.

Tom 'okay.... uh there are five more pairs of eyes... ' as Tom stops and sound booms in chamber.

Jemny shifts to bipedal form pulling out maglite out of bag switching it on. When the light shines on the eyes, we see nothing. When the light moves past, the eyes re-open. Eyes narrow with anger. Jenny angles her light downward. One set of eyes moves slowly until hiding behind stalagmites. We hear raspy breaths and Tom bumps back  into Rocko

Rocko 'hey, don't do that until you know me more'.

 We see the creature is armed with a sword slung on its back. Jenny and Molly activate Luna's Blessing spending a point of Gnosis. They notice the sword is silver.

Via pack speak Molly 'can I kill it now'

 Jenny 'if it wields, it is on'.

 They notice the others are armed with silver swords too. The creature in front mumbles words. Molly and Sean use Sense Balance spending a a gnosis. Sean and Molly redouble their efforts sensing the balance to notice the target is more Wyld and can use magic.

Sean in Spanish and English 'who are you?'.

Jenny and Molly decipher that the creatures are fae, e.g. changelings. Jenny recognizes one of this race from inside a container over in Just Like Spotted Cow.

In broken English 'know... little'.

Sean 'you know ours better than we yours'

him 'why here?'

 Sean 'they noticed things above'

fae 'we give gift'

 Sean 'not exactly the kind of gift humans appreciate'

 Fae 'no gift...we give token'

Rocko 'what are tokens for'

fae 'provide protection'

jenny 'from what'

fae 'future problem'

Rocko 'what kind of problem'

fae 'dead not dead'

 Sean 'winter is coming'

 fae 'no winter ended'

jenny with fae lore realizes slumber, e.g. winter ended and going back to old ways i.e. tokens, informing us of her knowledge.

 Rocko 'tokens are scaring humans and don't understand value'.

 Fae 'change tokens?'

Tom 'that would be a good idea'

Sean 'they have forgotten old ways'.

 Fae 'token disguises humans'

Jenny 'they smell the tokens and think the humans are like them'.

Tom 'so tokens make the humans smells like the dead. What else can smell like the dead?'

 Fae 'dead liquid? You die they put inside you'

 Rocko 'embalming fluid'

 jenny 'formaldehyde?'

 Fae 'not strong enough. They are not here yet but they are coming soon.'

Sean 'where are they coming from?'

Fae 'where you keep the dead. Powerful necromancer  is coming he bring dead with him. Maybe rotting food items. Compost. Save  home.'

Rocko 'good idea. Composting can save people. Hipsters be safe. Don't worry about what they are'.

 Tom 'city of Stevens Point has a composting program so that's a start.

 Discussing amongst ourselves we realize Elite and Underworld influences would aid us in spreading the message and enforcing the changes to ward off the Winter Dead. Hey, can't infringe on anyone's intellectual property by calling them the Winter Dead. *Another sly smile and a wink spreads across Tom's face. He resumes speaking*

Tom 'we will talk with the humans about them composting more without mentioning that it is for their projection.'

 Sean 'how will we achieve this?'

Tom 'city mandates composting'

jenny 'homes will smell of death due to compost'

When we start to leave we hear growling coming from passage from which we came. Torchlights flicker and shadows loom from the tunnel into the cavern.

Sean 'they might be more of these guys'

Tom 'no, they seemed to bothered by light'.

 Jenny 'friend or foe'

 fae 'enemy. To arms!' The others emerge and charge over stalactites toward an army of skeletons and quadriped skeletons armed with torches and weapons.

Jenny 'we should help them!'

Everyone shifts to their respective Hispo forms.

Jenny to Rocko 'be careful with your boomstick or else ceiling may fall on us'

Our rage heightens to the third stage once we join the fray against 7 humanoid skeletons and 5 animal skeletons.

Jenny using a Burst of Speed maneuver closes with a humanoid skeleton  biting. Sean bounds at the same skeleton using the same burst of speed maneuver and bites. Molly steps toward a different humanoid skeleton and bites. Tom with burst of speed runs up to that skeleton and his bite misses. Rocko activate Razor Claws spending gnosis, choosing to be more Accurate. Moves halfway.

Animal and human skeletons close with Rocko. Human swings baseball bat hitting as does the Animal's bite. Jenny's skeleton swings and misses her. As does another. Two humanoid skeletons attack Sean with baseball bats. They batter into his flesh. Molly is hit by a bat and a bite misses. Tom is beset by human skeleton and an animal skeleton whose attacks miss.

 Gracie watches play.

The remaining animal skeletons engage the fae.

Rage actions.

Jenny willfully bites a humanoid skeleton as her rage increases due to frustrations over her friends being beaten and bit. The skeleton is crushed by her jaws. Sean experiences the exact same thing. Molly bites the baseball bat wielding skeleton. Tom bites human skeleton on him. Rocko willfully bites animal skeleton to dust. His rage grows as well.

Jenny engages baseball bat skeleton on Rocko. Acquires a Seethe trait. Willfully dispatches it. Sean willfully misses a human skeleton on him acquiring two Seethe traits. Molly bites one of her skeleton's head off. Tom willfully misses the humanoid skeleton engaged with him. Rocko attacks animal skeleton on Tom and wills its destruction! Human skeleton swings its bat at Sean and misses. Jenny is missed by a baseball bat. Tom is bashed by a bat . Animal skeleton misses Molly.

Rage actions

Jenny runs toward Tom's skeleton, while the skeleton engaged with her pursues her. Acquires a second Seethe trait but wills herself to strike a fatal blow to the skeleton on Tom. Sean bites skeleton to pieces. Molly acquires a Seethe trait while willing the fatal blow to an animal skeleton.

 Only Jenny's skeleton remains. Its heels brought it to Tom. Tom despite his willpower misses it, acquiring to Seethe traits himself. Rocko slays it!

The boggarts kills the two remaining.

Rocko identifies three wolves and two dogs as the animal skeletons. Molly acquired 2nd Seethe trait upon learning. Every one else acquires a Seethe trait pushing Tom and Sean to 3.

Revert to breed form to lose Rage. Molly stuck in Crinos until she finally calms down. Rocko searches thru bones for floppy disks. Molly growls 'you are weird'.

As we return to top after Sean uses Circle of Cleansing on bones and Rocko seeks out floppies inside school. The play had finished and people began clearing out. Rocko greets Gracie and discovers the computer lab locked. Thru windows sees nothing. Goes to nearby storage closet. Unlocks door and finds a box of dusty floppy disks.

Gracie loved the play and boggart doing his thing. Return to Caern.

Thus ends the Saga of Silver and Gold.

Next time.

Final Comics Haul of 2019

After a month or two, I ended my New Comics Wednesday drought I purchased my weekly comics haul at my favorite local comics shop. When I left, I was struck by the realization I would not set foot in there again until the New Year. Short of any orders arriving from prior online purchases, I won't be buying anymore physical comic books or trades until the New Year. These are my final purchases and Comics Haul of 2019.

Rather sublime in a way...

Here they are:

Conan Serpent War #2 (Robert E Howard characters team up with Moon Knight!), Doctor Who 13th Doctor Holiday Special #2 (I had given up on Doctor Who comics and trades for the most part but am making an exception for this two-part Holiday Special. Closest I will get to a Doctor Who Christmas Special I will get this year, I suppose), Watchmen Companion HC (Normally, I would pass on this book; but it collects the Watchmen material for the old Mayfair DC Heroes RPG! If only DC Heroes or Blood of Heroes were easily acquired. Perhaps DC should release more of the RPG material sitting stagnant in a vault somewhere?)

Guardians of the Galaxy #12 (The final issue of Donny Cates run on GotG and my final GotG issue for awhile. I will NOT be collecting the next volume.), Shazam! #9 (Out finally!), New Mutants #4 (Only two more issues left on my pull. Dropping with issue #7.)

John Constantine Hellblazer #2 (Ultimately, I decided to keep collecting Sandman Universe titles because of Constantine's return to the imprint/universe.), Doomsday Clock #12 (The End has arrived! In hindsight, I should have waited for the super duper trade.), Excalibur #4 (Same situation as with New Mutants.)

He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse #2, Invaders #12 (Final Issue), Marauders #4 (Only collecting two more.)

Aquaman #55, Lucifer #15 (Still collecting for the time being. Constantine's guest appearance helped the title's cause.), Wonder Woman Giant vol 2 #2 (I collect the Giant 100 pagers from my FLCS and not at Wal-Mart now. Thus, reducing the chances of my purchasing any more comics and trades during the remainder of 2019 substantially.)

X-Force #4 (Only two more to go., The Last God #3, Justice League #38 (I decided I would buy until the conclusion of Snyder's run. It's also a twice-a-month title, which as I stated during my first December 2019 blog entry I was abstaining from.)

My final Comics Haul of 2019./

Three blog posts during December done. Will see how close to twelve total (as in the Twelve Days of Christmas) I get this month.

Next time.

12 Blog Posts of December Day 12: Nuno and the Crypt of the Dark Kiss Part One

During my 12 Blog Posts of December I gave to thee: an End-Of-Year Appraisal /Goals for the New Year / a Star Wars Unboxing / a tribute to Stan Lee / a Tribute to Steve Ditko / Converting the Elf class to 5E / A Christmas Day post / A Christmas Eve post / Outside of the Season X-Mas posts and Star Wars radio dramas / Final 5 Takeaways of 2018 / 5 Takeaways from playing a Tier 2 Monk / 5 Takeaways from Final Tier 1 Mod of 2018


As of today, I blogged consecutively for nine days straight! Whew! As I promised yesterday, I am writing the session write-up from Adventures League session that took place during the events hinted at in the Final 5 Takeaways of 2018 post. While this isn't the first time I've blogged the adventures of my PCs, it is the first time I've inserted pictures from the session itself!


However, the process is quite time-intensive. With 2019 minutes away, I've decided to split into serial format. Three parts in fact.


Crypt of the Dark Kiss Part One


Cast of characters
Vladis 10th
 Grog 6th
 Dancer firbolg nature cleric  5th
Striker dwarf 7th
Nuno 5th





Our intrepid band of adventurers were tasked to destroy all undead found within an underground complex while learning everything we can about the silver earing found during the events of the previous mod (hinted at during the 5 take-ways when I played Nuno the Ninja tortle monk at Tier 2 for the first time). All we knew was that earing was composed of shiny blue beads representing the symbol of  the diety of Savras. The dwarf Striker opted to carry the earing.


Sidenote:

DM awarded candy to foster the holiday/Midwinter spirit along with the Midwinter Elk Figurine of Wondrous Power cert Out of Game.



Standing at a doorway inscribed with Dwarven runes, the dwarf Striker reads them aloud while explaining what they mean. He made a 16 Religion Proficiency check and declares it represents the Dwarven God of Celebration. Nuno nods his head. He will recall none of it most likely. As a precautionary measure, Striker ritually casts Detect Magic. To his now enhanced senses, the door glows faintly. Pulling out his flask, he dribbles ale near the door and is greeted by the sound of the door clicking open. With a grin, he sips from his flask.


The door reveals a hallway with walls covered with graffiti praising mistress of the night.

 Grog strides boldly down hallway taking massive steps trying to over entire thing. Ten feet down the hallway...

A sizzle and flash erupts out of the ground when Grog triggers a lightning trap. Fortunately Grog evades some of the blast. Steps forward to the left and triggers another lightning trap. Not quite so lucky this time! Examines the floor.


Grog " I don't see anything."




Steps forward and is hit by another.


Dancer then examines the floor.


Meanwhile,  Striker glancing at the floor can see where each glyph upon the floor radiates with magical auras due to his concentration of Detect Magic ritual.


Proclaims "Hold it! I can see where there is a trap and where there isn't! I will go first. Step where I step.


 Grog second winds, while Striker proceeds down the hallway gesturing where to step to avoid the glyphs.

We follow his steps and enter a room that reduces the effectiveness of our light sources such as bright light becomes dim light. Dim light becomes totally dark! Nuno performs his hand symbols he was taught by his old ninja master to gain the abilities of the spell Darkvision.


Grog looking at the symbols along the walls and readies to smash them. Striker doesn't want such symbols important to his people, stops him.


Striker approaches a statue and removes gunk covering it. Glancing at three doors, he proclaims they have  symbols of Moradin, Flaggedon, and Thermikal placed individually upon them. Casting minor illusion to mimic laser pointer, Striker proceeds to give a boring lecture for each diety. Nuno nods his head. He will remember none of this.


Vladis then moves about the room using  prestigidaton to clean the gunk from each of the four statues when...

Stepping on a pressure plate,  Vladis is struck by a 15' necrotic flame emitted by a  nearby statue! Vladis and his owl investigate and find four pressure plates.


Vladis 'Anyone have Thieves Tools?'


Nuno 'I know how to use them.'


Vladis 'You have Thieves Tools on you?'


Nuno '... uh no...'


Vladis 'Sighs.'


 Vladis opens the door bearing Moradin's sigil to see room of forges operated by skeletons.

  x's are pressure plates and the figures around forges are dwarf skeletons. Fire snakes hiding out in corners.


Vladis sends owl into room. Hovering over forge through his owl's eyes, Vladis sees within forges hammers being manufactured. His familiar flies back. After discussion, we decide someone should enter the room. Dancer elects to do so. Striker casts Protection from evil on Dancer. Dancer, in turn, hands Striker her pet squirrel for safe-keeping. Grog stand behind her in case the skeletons attack, while the owl hovers over her head.

Entering the room, Dancer casts Thornwhip. Hitting a skeleton, she brings it toward her. Then Dancer steps aside so others may enter. Grog gleefully enters the room and readies to attack whichever skeleton attacks them. Striker fire bolts the thorn-whipped skeleton, crumpling it to dust. Two skeletons converge on both Dancer and Grog. They miss with their attacks. The readied Grog crits and destroys one!

Vladis enters room, hexes, and Eldritch Blasts a fire snake. Owl aids Grog. Snakes converge on Dancer & Grog. Dancer is crit! Grog is hit by tail. Nuno enters room between Grog and Dancer only to miss the fire snake with every strike except a kick
.

Dancer smacks with staff, casts Spiritual weapon, and hits the fire snake with it. Grog aided by the owl hits the snake with his magical great ax. Striker using his  wand of war mage destroys skeleton with a Fire Bolt.


Remaining skeletons continue working their respective tasks at their respective forges. We remember we are to destroy all undead.


Vladis kills his hexed snake with Eldritch Blast, then Elritch blasts another. Steps back into the romm from which we came. Fire snakes miss Grog. Nuno engages fire snake hitting with his ninjato twice and missing with a kick. Grog kills it then swings into another. Striker reacues doorway. Snake fails Wis Save and dies from his Toll the Dead spell.  Dancer  pops out! (The player had to bow out)


 The other skeletons continue working their forges. Vladis examines forge but is clueless. The dull Nuno does so with a 19 Int roll and deduces they are hammers for hitting chimes. Striker declares the dwarf skeletons should die again. Grog  'Are you sure?'






Grog approaches a forge attracting attention from two. They only land one blow upon him. Striker tolls the dead one of the skeletons destroying it. Remaining skeleton engages Grog and misses. Vladis hexed a far skeleton while his owl aids him. Then hits it with an Eldritch Blast destroying it. Nuno engages the skeleton on Grog, stabbing and then critting with a kick inflirting 14 damage! Gone. Grog moves down toward a far skeleton and destroys it. Moves back to Nuno and hurls a hand ax hitting a skeleton on opposite end.

Striker toll till the dead the hand axed skeleton. It saves. Vladis hexes nearest skeleton then destroys it with an Eldritch Blast. Nuno engages the left skeleton and glances it with ninjato. Grog kills it with great ax then hurls hand ax at the remaining skeleton. Hitting it. Striker fire bolts the skeleton destroying it.


Afterwards, Striker discerns corruption caused the muck.


To Be Continued...


That's it for my 12 Blog Posts of December!


Next time.

12 Blog Posts of December Day 11 - Status of 2018 Goals and Goals for 2019

Tomorrow, Will be the obligatory rundown of all 12 Blog Posts of December. Unlike last year's December 31st post, I won't be doing a Year In Review/New Year's Resolutions entry. More than later. Instead, I am doing that today.


So how'd I do my goals for 2018:


Read more: This one was more of a traditional New Year's Resolution as I started out strong, but finished weak. Unless you don't count topics I wouldn't cover on my blog, then I actually did read more.


GoComics & Comics Kingdom/ read more comics strips: I did indeed buy a Royal subscription to Comics Kingdom. Regarding GoComics/Comics Kingdom, this is another example where I started out strong; but eventually I wouldn't say read hordes of comic strips from both sources daily. Granted, during December I did start reading the Amazing Spider-Man newspaper strip regularly again. Kind of hard not to if you're checking for Stan Lee's credit. However, I did read more comic strips. A LOT more comic strips. Joined a comic strips Facebook strip; and read all sorts of comics strips especially holiday/seasonal such as July 4th and Christmas. Discovered old gems like Captain Easy too.


Watch Royal Rumble & WrestleMania: While I didn't watch the former, I did watch the latter. Next year, I will probably view the Royal Rumble.


Britbox account - Nope. As much as I desire to scratch my Classic Dr, Who itch, I never did sign up for a Britbox account. Frankly, I've discovered I have a limit regarding streaming services and Britbox simply might be one too many. If it happens during 2019, it happens.


Learn how to include pictures of covers within my blog posts - Yep, I did teach myself how to insert photos into my blog posts. Heck, some of my blog posts are basically, 'hey, look at my photos!'


Goals for 2019


I've actually already started on some of these:


Reduce the number of comic titles I purchase:


 Between all the new Marvel publishing initiatives and DC Rebirth, I added WAY more comic titles than I could ever keep up. Because comics are ordered two months out, I've already cut some titles. My plan is to cut even more comic titles from pull list once I...


Read and Review more comics


 I say this every year it seems. However, 2018 demonstrated I need to actually do it to...


Reduce my collection


I've acquired quite the collection. Unfortunately, I've reached the age where I realize I can't keep everything anymore. Plus, much of it bulk..


Watch more wrestling - Do have a WWE Network account...


Actually write my game session reports and insert whatever pictures I took with them


Been taking notes for quite some time. It's about time I start blogging them. In fact, my goal is to start now. Plus, due to the miracle of technology, I have started taking pictures when applicable!


One more day...


Next time.

12 Blog Posts of December Day 10 WEG Star Wars 30th Unboxing

Not writing a clunky version of the 12 gifts of Christmas this time. Suffice it to say, today is the tenth day and after blogging seven days consecutively, I am not doing a '12 Blog Posts of December' next year if I need to blog nine days straight in order to blog 12 times!


2018 marks a milestone in the table-top role-playing games. It's a milestone in Star Wars circles too. Why? This is year is the 30th Anniversary of West End Games Star Wars the Role-Playing Game. In the process, much of what would become known as the Star Wars Expanded Universe had its genesis with this project. In many ways, the WEG SWRPG was the Star Wars bible as it compiled and defined aspects of Star Wars lore that hadn't been defined before. If I recall correctly, Timothy Zahn was given Star Wars RPG books while researching his now famous Thrawn Trilogy.


I have fond memories sitting in a now-defunct book store flipping through the pages of the orginal, i.e. 1st edition, Star Wars RPG Main Book and Source Book. Since the Star Wars Expanded Universe was in its infancy, Dark Force Rising hadn't yet hit stands, the Star Wars fan was excited to hold these tomes of Star Wars lore. More importantly, I had just started playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition regularly. As new gamer, I was excited at the prospect of playing the Star Wars equivalent of Dungeons & Dragons! Just didn't have the money to buy them...


However, as fate would have it, the Second Edition came out as my birthday neared. I was struck by the newness  and glossiness of the book as well as the screenshot of Darth Vader upon the cover. Remember, how I said I was playing AD&D 2E? Well, clearly a second edition is better than a first edition, right? Unlike the defunct book store, this particularly copy I found at my local comic book store. You can kind of guess how this story ends, right?


Still, some part of me always wondered what if I had acquired copies of those two first edition WEG books. Eventually, time eroded my edition snobbery. Playing a revised 2nd ed WEG Star Wars and two or three different versions of Star Wars RPG published by WotC helped too.


Then, I discovered Fantasy Flight Games was releasing a slipcase replica of those two original books. I was excited. A must buy! While browsing through my FLGCS and seeing they had a couple copies, the 30th anniversary edition was on my radar. When only one copy remained, I pounced!


It, uh, sat shrink-wrapped until day... The thought struck me, why not do an 'unboxing via pictures' on my blog as part of my 12 Blog Posts of December! After all, this is the season for unwrapping! Today just so happened to be the day







Here it is shrink-wrapped:

Oh look, the outer layer was just packaging or a dust cover!

Front side of slipcase:

Back side of slipcase:

Really like how they reproduced the cover here!



Front covers from both replicas of the core book and the sourcebook.

Back covers. Pretty confident the '40' wasn't located in the upper-right corner...

Okay, the 40 years is a shout out to forty years of Star Wars: A New Hope.

Hmm, Fantasy Flight Games didn't exist back then!

Yep, a cheap plug for the newest iteration of Star Wars Table-Top Role-Playing Games produced by Fantasy Flight Games.

FFG's insert with the main book:

A Dedication along with all the usual business info on the left and a Foreword explain the project on the right.

I will admit I bought this for nostalgia's sake; and the aesthetics of a slipcase sitting in a bookcase. So maybe someday, I will review the first two books of WEGs SWRPG. A review, what, 30 years after the books were published? I mean why not. Even if it is another 30 years...

Got two more days of blogging to go!

Next time.

12 Blog Posts of December Day 9 - Stan Lee and the Amazing Spider-Man Newspaper Strip

During my 12 Blog Posts of December I gave to thee: Loki as model in D&D 5E, Haste can be a bummer, a Midwinter mood, Star Wars radio dramas, stats for Awgwas, reminiscing about Mickey's Christmas Carol, an Elf class adaptation, and a tribute to Steve Ditko.


Yeah, doesn't flow right without numbers...


Yesterday, I paid tribute to one of Spider-Man's creators who passed away during 2018. Tonight, I am paying tribute to other creator who passed away during 2018.


Really, don't think Stan 'The Man' Lee requires much of an introduction. Stan Lee is pretty much responsible for the Marvel Universe we know today. He not only make comics larger-than-life; but we all became a little more familiar with the Marvel Bullpen each week. His Stan's Soapbox connected Marvel fans to the Marvel community beyond the comics in a day before the Internet.


Today is his birthday.


Many are excited there remains unseen cameos in upcoming Marvel movies. Maybe a small handful?


What many don't realize is Stan Lee still has unpublished work that awaits publication.


One unpublished work I am familiar with is his work on the Amazing Spider-Man Newspaper Strip distributed in newspapers via King Features and published online on Comics Kingdom.


That's right. For a limited time, there remains future Spider-Man comic strips written by Stan Lee published seven days a week. Current storyline involves Luke Cage and Purple Man.


How can that be? Well, Stan wrote in the Marvel style where the writer would submit a plot to the artist, who in turn would draw what the artist envisioned, and then Stan would write the script based on the story within the art. Lee was notorious for simple plots such as: Purple Man takes over Luke Cage and then mind controls Spider-Man.


In that fashion, who knows how many strips authored by Stan Lee await? Sure, there's the question of dialogue. However, the dialogue is much, much simpler than what it was back in 1998. (The archives go back to late 98. You do need to be member to access them.) For all, I know Saviuk, his brother Larry Lieber, or an editor could be scripting the comic strip. Either that, or Stan did provide scripts well in advance. They certainly have his corny approach to dialogue!


So want to read some new Stan Lee? Well, the Amazing Spider-Man newspaper strip is place! Psst... Purple Man just told Luke Cage he switched control to the now hapless (and paralyzed) Spidey!


Only question remains is how long will Stan Lee be credited; and if not, will there be an Amazing Spider-Man newspaper strip.


Only three more days to go!


Next time.

12 Blog Posts of December Day 8: My Tribute to Steve Ditko

On the first day of my 12 Blog Posts of December I gave to thee my excitement over being City Watch. On the second day of my 12 Blog Posts of December I gave to thee, the joy of the mending cantrip. On the third day, I gave to thee my satisfaction being able to cast Darkvision! On the fourth day I gave to thee, a non-seasonal X-mas compilation. On the fifth day, I gave to thee a Christmas Eve full of Baum! On the sixth day, I gave to thee a shoutout to Mickey Mouse's 90th Anniversary! On the Seventh Day of my 12 Blog Posts of December, I gave to thee my adaptation of Elf class in D&D 5E!


That little opening is about as seasonal as I'm getting tonight.


When I declared I would do my 12 Blog Posts of December, I announced it wouldn't all Christmas posts. Among them would be end-of-the-year type posts. The type of posts that lose meaning if posted next year.


For instance, 2018 is year both of Spider-Man's creators passed away.


Sorry, Jack Kirby advocates I don't consider the 'King' a full on creator of Spider-Man. What can I say old habits die hard. I will allow the Kirby may very well have created the initial design for Spider-Man, which is very, very close to Ditko's. However, the soul of Spider-Man. What made him a pop cultural phenomenon was designed by Steve Ditko.


Disclaimer: no pictures will be included so sorry no examples of Steve Ditko art,


Yes, both Stan Lee and Steve Ditko passed away during the year 2018. The creators who were the genesis of the pop cultural juggernaut that was Spider-Man departed mortal coils this year. They also created a little known Master of the Mystic Arts, Doctor Strange, Perhaps you heard of them.


However, tonight is my tribute to Steve Ditko.


I can blog about Lee in a number of ways.


Really can't with Ditko. A shame really.


I've read the thirty-eight issues of Amazing Spider-Man he co-created. Only read a couple issues of Doctor Strange with Ditko as a creator although I got the impression the Master of the Mystic Arts was more of a product of Ditko than Lee. Read a couple of Speedball stories by him. Did you know Steve Ditko created Speedball?


Steve Ditko also had a hand creating Squirrel Girl, Ted Kord Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, the Creeper, and the Question. Read comics featuring those characters post-Ditko. While I own collection of his Charlton Comics work (Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and the Question), I have yet to peruse them.


Heck, there's a number of Steve Ditko's creation I only heard about after his passing. How many knew he was creating until his passing? Not this guy.


Only knew Steve Ditko was pushed out of the limelight.


Was it his Objectionist politics? Possibly.


Was it his intense desire for privacy? Possibly.


Was it his desire to let his work speak for itself? Probably.


Was it because his art style was too quirky for its time? A little more than probably.


When I was first exposed to Steve Ditko, I... didn't care for it. The art didn't match the John Romita-influenced art I was accustomed too. Just wasn't glamorous enough. Then I funny thing happened. Over the course of reading 38 issues of Amazing Spider-Man, I realized I had grown to love his art. What really drove the realization home? When I recognized his art in a Speedball story within the pages of an Amazing Spider-Man (we're talking early 90's here) Annual. Then I put two-and-two together and spotted his work on a Solo short within another Spider-Man annual. I didn't go 'hey this art sucks!' Ditko's art had become an art style I embraced.


By the time, I read Amazing Spider-Man 39 within a Marvel Masterwork, I wondered What if Ditko had stayed? A far cry from when I saw his art earlier.


Then there were the stories. Towards the end of his time on Amazing Spider-Man, Steve Ditko was credited as co-plotter. Meaning what you saw visually was created by Steve Ditko. The scene with Spider-Man trapped by debris? Steve Ditko imagined that. One of my favorite scenes in Spider-Man history was created by Steve Ditko.


I could go on; but a better way to appreciate Steve Ditko is by reading his comic book work. After all, he wanted to judged by his work alone.


Hope everyone is having a great season.


Only 4 more days to go!


Next time.

12 Blog Posts of December Day 7 - Adapting the Elf Class to 5E Is Simple

On the first day of my 12 Blog Posts of December... Egad's it's almost midnight by me! I've got to crank out my Day 7 post if I want to achieve twelve blog posts in December! No time for such a holiday related opening.


So what's my topic for Day 7?


Yesterday, I received a copy of D&D Rules Cyclopedia for Christmas.


Of late, the desire to play an Elf, as in the Elf class from BECMI, has been strong. While I do own a digital version, there's nothing quite like holding a physical book in one's hand. Weirdly enough conversion work is easier the physical work as opposed to reading it from a monitor or tablet. Believe there's been studies highlighting the phenomenon too. I'm not the only one!


By conversion, my intention is to emulate the BECMI Elf class in D&D 5E. Flipping through the pages of the Rules Cyclopedia I finally understand how to do it. Like a light bulb being lit!


First, forget everything you've gleaned from the AD&D 1E > AD&D 2E > D&D 3E > D&D 5E tree. Oh, both elf trees fit.


It's just that the BECMI Elf ISN'T a master of stealth. The Elf class isn't a junior ranger. Not by stats anyway. What the DM allowed the Elf PC to do was simply arbitrary. Note: I haven't read the skills section within the Rules Cyclopedia; however, I am sure the Stealth isn't a skill.


Second, select Fighter as class. The Elf class was primarily a fighting type with spell-casting. Ergo, Eldritch Knight will be the Martial Archetype.


Third, or maybe this should be second, select High Elf as the subrace. None of the other options fit the BECMI Elf more. However, the extra language does emulate three extra languages (other than elf) the Elf class knew. Select either orc, gnoll, or goblin.


Fourth, customize a background to acquire a couple more languages if you really want the three.


Fifth: The find secret doors ability can be reflected by having the Investigation skill. So select or customize a background to have said proficiency.


Voila!


A BECMI Elf emulated in D&D 5E.


Really was much, much simpler than I thought!


Happy Holidays!


Only 5 more blog posts to go.


Next time.

12 Blog Posts of December Day 6: Christmas Day

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Yule! Etc...


I'm going to keep this short and sweet, relatively. No on the first day of my 12 Blog Posts of December spiel today. It's Day 6 of my 12 Blog Posts of December AND it's Christmas Day. However, I am not blogging to proclaim Merry Christmas. That would be too easy...


First, recall yesterday's post on adapting the Life & Adventures of Santa Claus to D&D 5E stats? Yesterday, there was a link to suggestions on how to adapt Santa's foes the Angwas to D&D 5E stats. Well, today on En World (an http not an https site), the same author has posted suggestions for his allies. Here are the Immortals. I am not quite satisfied with recommendations on how to convert the Immortals to PC races. It's basically: take this PC race and perform a minor tweak. Really hope the Patreon goes into more detail than what's provided here for free. As NPCs, they're pretty much top-notch conversions. Suppose the Immortals may be too powerful to be PCs... Well, if the conversion is free anyway... However, the suggestions work in a pinch.


Second, I discovered the old D&D Rules Cyclopedia was available Print on Demand from DriveThru RPG. For those new to the hobby, the Rules Cyclopedia compiled the majority of the rules from the Basic, Expert, Companion, and Masters sets of Dungeons & Dragons. With rules for players and DMs along with maps and brief setting information, it is pretty much the closest to a complete game all-in-one book for Dungeons & Dragons that has ever come out.


I remember checking out this book from the library several times and marveling at the completeness of the book. Until I purchased the ebooks for Original Dungeons & Dragons (0E), it's the closest I had come to the EARLY days. When elf and dwarf were a class. Plus, it was my first exposure to Mystara outside of the Red Steel expansion for AD&D 2E. In addition, there were all sort of nifty rules that were new to me. Alas, there were pages torn out. Eventually, the library's copy disappeared. The book was Out of Print. When I purchased a digital copy, the hardcopy fetched collector prices so it would have to do.


Until now.


I was quite excited while unwrapping gifts to discover I now held in my hands my very own copy of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia! Holding the book in my hands, flipping through the pages, and skimming portions the book is as an exact match to my recollections. Plus, no missing pages! For instance, there's the charts from the Weapon Mastery table for each given weapon. Had no memory of those pages. Maps all intact. Book is quite readable too.


The PoD copy does seem larger than I remembered. Hardcover trim ends roughly a quarter of an inch over the trim of the interior pages. Cover looks lovely. Book feels nice to the touch. Know how some books you just want to hold in your hands? This printing of the Rules Cyclopedia matches the feeling. My only complaint is the binding may be fragile to heavy use. If I played BECMI regularly and it was traveling book, I would worry about pages falling out. Fortunately, I don't play BECMI regularly if at all. So the book's durability isn't a pressing concern. The binding does seem durable enough for pleasure reading. Besides, I do own a digital copy, which I could use as my traveling copy if need be.


Not quite sure if I'll provide a full review or review the book in stages.


Third, I read some classic newspaper strips of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates posted on a social media group. Must've missed some strips as I used Facebook's Save feature as I encountered gaps. Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates matched my recollection of when I read the colored strips compiled in page form within the pages of a magazine years ago. Only one strip seemed to come out of nowhere. The Joe Kubert art was lovely. As for the Rudolph strip, it seemed like the strip either tried to find new uses for his nose or ways Rudolph could contribute without the use of his nose. There even was a helicopter?! Overall, a pleasant way to spend time on Christmas Day.


Lastly, 2018 marks Mickey Mouse's 90th Anniversary. While I picked up both a DVD celebrating Mickey Mouse and a book from Fantagraphics collecting his early comic strips colorized, I don't know if I'll blog about either them during the remainder of the year. Not to say, I won't spend any homage to Mickey during his 90th on this blog. Why? For the first time in over a decade, I watched Mickey Mouse's Christmas Carol! Fondly recall the rollout to the "movie's" debut all those years ago. There were plushes of the various Disney characters adapted to Dickens's characters available for a limited time. I got the Donald Duck, but I digress. Anyway, when I watched Mickey's Christmas Carol as a kid I absolutely loved it! In fact, it's how I primarily know the Christmas Carol story, which I haven't actually *ahem* read. Like many classic Disney shows featuring their IP, every time Mickey's Christmas Carol aired it was an event. Then I stopped seeing it.


So what better time than during Mickey's 90th then to pick up a copy on Blu ray? Furthermore, what better time than to watch it on Christmas Day? Mickey's Christmas Carol was about as good as when I saw it back as a wee little lad. Plus, after all these years, it felt like watching it for almost the first time! Didn't watch the extras nor the intermission though. Perhaps next Christmas season?


Once again, I hope everyone has a Happy Season!


Only 6 more days of my 12 Blog Posts of December!


Next time.

12 Blog Posts of December: Day 5: Baum's Santa Stories Are Perfect Fodder For RPGs

On the first day of my 12 Blog Posts of December I gave to thee, my take-aways from my very first halberd-wielding D&D PC. On the second day of my 12 Blog Posts of December I gave to thee, my five take-aways from the first Tier 2 Season 8 module. On the third day of my 12 Blog Posts of December I gave to thee, a polymorphed PC fighter smashing things as a triceratops.


Told you, I would begin with a more festive opening!


Tonight's Christmas Eve.  It's also Day 5 of my 12 Blog Posts of December.


Through social media, I've learned a gamer on Patreon is adapting the characters from L. Frank Baum (the creator of the Wizard of Oz and other Oz stories) Santa Claus stories to fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons stats.


Admittedly I've never Baum's Santa stories. I do have fond memories of watching the 1985 Christmas special adaptation of The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus as a kid. Compared to other Christmas specials for kids it was dark and sophisticated. Santa along with his supernatural and mundane (if you count a lioness as mundane) companions contended with goblin-ish and demonic-like creatures in order to spread cheer to the children of the Laughing Valley. They had to use their cunning and their wits against a more formidable foe culminating in an epic battle. Perfect inspiration for Table-top role-playing games!


Found out after years of playing Dungeons & Dragons that the creator of Oz wrote the story that inspired the special that enthralled me as a kid.


It's been a long time since I lost saw it. The copy I enthusiastically watched was on VHS; and I never picked up a DVD replacement. Alas, I've only found a couple clips on YouTube. Here they are:


Opening credits:



Another clip featuring dialogue:

Pretty epic stuff!


There's also a clip featuring the song 'A Child'; but I never cared for the segment and the one lone weakness of the special in my eyes.




Despite not being able to watch the 1985 special, the story is available in the Public Domain. If you're not picky about formatting, you read the story and a sequel short story on Gutenberg for free. Here are links for The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus and A Kidnapped Santa Claus. File choice is left open to you.


Now that I've referenced the source material, time for the links to D&D 5E stats.


I have never sponsored anyone on Patreon before. However, reading an example of Armies of the Christmas War, which adapts the Immortals (Santa's allies) and Awgwas (the bad guys) to 5E stats both as monsters and PC races attracts my interest. For instance here is the Nymph. Baum's nymph differs from the Greek mythology and D&D nymph as you can see. Based on my memory, the adaptation seems to fit the material. The stat block appears complete enough. The PC race looks cool although based on what's been provided for free more fleshing out is needed. For nostalgia's sake, I am definitely interested in this. Cause as an Adventurers League player, I am unlikely to ever use the PDF collecting everything...


If on the other hand, you only want to use the Awgwas as traditional D&D foes and you're not quite willing to shell out the money for the Patreon material, there is another way. The very same author has provided re-skins (adapting existing D&D 5E monster stats) simulating them. Just hop on over to EN World. As aside, I am an old, old, old member of the forum dating back to Eric Noah's D&D 3E spoiler page! I haven't frequented the page in a very, very long time partially because I forgot my password and stubbornly refused to re-set it. The site went through a complete overhaul. Note: it's not an https site if you're concerned about security...


Here is the Santa War: Army of the Awgwas.


Overall, I am quite pleased with the re-skins. Never read the story? Never watched the special? No worries. Each foe is described. Following the recommendations, the PCs can match sword and spells against the Awgwas!


Should I become a Patreon supporter and thus download the PDF, I will provide a review.


Therein ends Day 5. Only seven consecutive days more of blogging to go.


Merry Christmas Eve!

12 Blogs of December Day 4: Non-seasonal X-Mas Entries and Star Wars Radio Dramas Redux

On Tuesday, I declared I would do a '12 Blogs of December' in homage to the '12 Days of Christmas'. Looked at the calendar and realized I would need to blog every day from now until the 31st to meet my goal! Better get to blogging, I guess.


My original intention way back earlier in the year was to do a compilation post including every 'X-Mas'-related blog post I made AFTER the Christmas season. Back then, I was envisioning many reviews from Marvel Digital Unlimited. Maybe reading some Christmas comics. Watch some movies and television shows containing Christmas elements. Kind of like Halloween, didn't quite happen. Unlike Halloween, I did post some out-of-season X-Mas content. Furthermore, my Marvel Digital Unlimited gift subscription was activated a couple months AFTER the holiday season. So... next year may be a completely different story.


Also, while I had stated I wasn't necessarily going to go heavy on Star Wars blogging, i.e. no Star Wars movie debuted this month, I did discover a curious thing scrolling through my 'X-Mas' label in preparation of today's compilation post. All the YouTube videos containing the Star Wars Radio Dramas were kaput...


The YouTube account had been cancelled...? Doesn't exist anymore? Regardless, the videos I had inserted no longer do what I inserted them for. Playback the three Star Wars Radio Dramas. Just another example that Internet and permanence are murky...


Fret not! I quick search on YouTube revealed another YouTuber has re-uploaded their own edit of the Star Wars Radio Audio Dramas!


For posterity's sake, here they are:


Star Wars: A New Hope

Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi


Blogger won't let me insert the video directly from YouTube, i.e. won't pop up on the search, so I'll provide a link instead. Here it is.


With that out of the way, here are the out of season X-Mas posts:


Palladium Books did a Christmas in July special when they offered their Christmas Surprise Package. I hadn't ordered one in years so finally I did so. Took pics of the goodies and autographs. Take a peek if you so choose.


The other non-seasonal X-Mas blogging I did during 2018 was the Marvel Digital Unlimited Upgrade Saga, which ran from the Unboxing all the way to the resolution of upgrading from an annual membership to a gift membership. I would love to say it was only a mere two-step saga; but it wasn't. There were three posts between them as I discovered upgrading wouldn't be simple, then I realized I couldn't upgrade by myself, and lastly the call to Customer Service I made to remedy the situation. In retrospect, the experience was incredibly humbling and if others can learn from experience, the better.


Therein, ends Day 4. Maybe tomorrow, I'll try to emulate the song.


Next time!

My 2018 Christmas in July Palladium Surprise Package Arrived!

Last Christmas I hyped the Palladium X-Mas Surprise Package heavily. If you recall, I lamented how I hadn't ordered one in years. I also, ahem, missed out and didn't order a Surprise Package for another Christmas once again...

Every now and then, Palladium will do a Christmas in July Surprise Package. Sporadically. Not an annual event by any means. When I ordered Surprise Packages regularly, they didn't offer autographs for the July special. Autographs are the primary reason I order them.

Well, this year, they offered the Christmas in July Surprise Package - and there were autographs. Honestly, I wasn't going to order. Took advantage of the Drive Thru RPG deal (topic of a later blog - maybe?); but it wasn't until literally the midnight hour I made my decision.

Ordered my first Surprise Package in YEARS.

A handful of days later, I arrive home and there it is. Waiting for me.

Took pictures of course. Including the autographed page. They're a little blurry
...

Palladium Fantasy is my favorite setting. Wouldn't normally order the mouse pad. Hey, look at that! The Old Ones cover mouse pad. Will have to try my new mouse pad out some time!

 The latest book for the setting. Love the 'Ice and Fury' sig!

Plus, I received the longest-held contender for newest Palladium Fantasy title. Didn't get it the last time I ordered. Years ago.

Second most recent issue of the Rifter. Been years since my last Rifter. Don't recall the issue.

A grab bag wouldn't be complete without a couple Rifts books. One detailing the Coaltion States defending Rifts Earth against hordes of the Minion War (Think demons and devils) and a book containing a script for a Rifts movie (and stats).

Not bad for roughly $100 worth of product plus autographs for half the price!

This was blogged via smartphone.

Happy Gaming!

Next time.

Marvel Digital Unlimited Upgrade Saga: The Saga Has Ended

Well, folks. I said I would blog about when the saga of upgrading my annual Marvel Digital Unlimited subscription to a Marvel Digital Unlimited Plus gift subscription was completed. Thus, the saga being over.


Today, I can say my gift subscription has begun!


Okay, technically, it began yesterday but I noticed it today. While in my mind my gift subscription began on Valentine's Day 2018, it began on the 13th. Haven't quite read anything yet as I was more exuberant that I didn't have to keep check if the Plus status started or not. Speaking of which, there's a shiny digital card too! Also, in my defense, today is also new comics day at FLGCS everywhere. Ergo, I went on my comics buying pilgrimage.


A couple observations about the gift subscriptions:


One, it's truly denoted as a gift subscription. An end date is clearly visible; and there is not auto-renewal.


Two, as I stated before, the gift subscription isn't cumulative with an existing annual subscription. Or at least upgrading from a standard to a plus isn't...


Third, delaying activation of the gift subscription by about a month and a half didn't reduce the amount of time the subscription lasts. A full year of Plus membership remains. Okay, minus a day given I didn't notice yesterday...


So, the drama of upgrading my membership has ended. I endeavor to read more of the comics available on Marvel Digital Unlimited than I have in the past. Really haven't read as much as I should which is why losing my old annual membership roughly two months early doesn't sting as much as it should.


Happy Reading!


Next time.

Marvel Digital Upgrade Saga: The Call

Been a month since I last blogged about the saga of upgrading my Marvel Digital Unlimited subscription with gift subscription I received for Christmas.. A month? Sigh... So, I procrastinated over the next installment: calling the Customer Care Center about the upgrade.

Today. I placed that call.

Overall, the call went pleasantly well. Sure, I was placed on hold a couple times. However, the music was decent enough and the hold didn't last too long while the rep was resolving the issue.

The biggest hiccup was the representative didn't know how to upgrade an existing subscription to a Marvel Digital Unlimited Plus subscription with a gift subscription. Basically, my biggest concern and why I procrastinated as long as I did...

In order to make the switch, they had to cancel my subscription then key in the gift code. Reading the gift code out loud wasn't as bad as I imagined.

And bam. My subscription was cancelled and told the gift subscription was pending. Kind of surreal that. Even more surreal is my access was originally supposed to renew in April. Despite the cancellation, I can read comics via digital unlimited still. Once one cancels a Marvel Digital Unlimited subscription, access lasts until the subscription would have ended anyway.

Was told the gift subscription would require a couple days to take effect. So it feels like my account is in a post-cancellation limbo. Hence, why I titled this entry "The Call" and not the resolution due to the pending nature of the gift subscription Plus account.

Anyway, my Marvel Digital Upgrade Saga is effectively ended. Rather pleased with how smooth the transition was. Kind of laughing at myself over how much of a mountain of an ant hill I made of the situation.

However, as the gift subscription is still pending, I consider this the penultimate installment in the saga. Perhaps, I will celebrate the finale with a reading?

As an aside, I wonder what I will do once the gift subscription ends. A thought for another day.

Happy Reading!

Next time.



Marvel Digital Unlimited Upgrade Saga: Didn't Read All the Directions

If you recall, I spent a couple blogging entries discussing updating my Marvel Digital Unlimited subscription via a gift subscription I received for Christmas. The first installment was the unboxing of the box of goodies. Second installment was my rant of frustration. I ended by mentioning that I may pursue cancelling the subscription and then proceed with the gift subscription. Here is my story of that short adventure.


After logging into my account, I go to account status. In my mind, the upgrade section has information on cancelling an account. In hindsight, a rather bizarre notion but bear with me. Once the upgrade screen loads, I read the phrase "if you want to upgrade immediate, please call..."


Then I noticed the line about the upgrade occurring once my current annual membership ends. Huh. Didn't notice that before. Weird.


If I am reading everything correctly, my account will upgrade once my current time span ends and the auto-renewal would occur.


Which I didn't notice before.


Because I didn't read all the instructions. Like they teach in school. Sigh.


In my stubbornness to admit my rant was partially inspired by a snap judgment from not reading everything, I reload the screen a couple times. Yep. I read that wrong.


However, I really want to implement the gift subscription without calling. There's funky symbols in the code. Mathematical symbols. Heck, they're symbols old comic book writers would use in place of cuss words. The customer service rep might think I am swearing at them. Okay, maybe on the inside...


So I click on cancel my membership. Once prompted with a screen asking for a reason along with an 'are you sure' prompt, written in bold is "subscription will end on (insert date) when annual subscription ends". Okay, I am paraphrasing but my current subscription won't expire with a cancellation until it would normally end.


Meaning I can't just cancel my current subscription and switch right away to the gift subscription. Plus, I have a feeling the upgrade programmed in will occur automatically before I have a chance to do the switch. Otherwise, delaying until my current subscription terminates is too long of a wait for a Christmas gift subscription.


Calling Customer Service it is then. Which I was putting off because I didn't read all the directions. Sigh...


Till my next installment.