I’ve got three days left in Singapore, but thankfully I’ve accomplished most of what I’ve set out to do.

I got here last Friday and already my money is running low—-but I’ve purchased the following:

Magic Item Compendium and Monster Manual 3 Cost Sg$66.10, while Red Hand of Doom cost about Sg$45.

All of these books were impossible to find in the Philippines,  and it seemed like no hobby store was interested in restocking their 3.5 material–which is probably why Neutral Grounds has all its 3.5 books at 60% off. This is of course due to Wotsie being a tad too overconfident about 4E’s sales. I’m sticking to v. 3.5 for a while. Probably 10 more years. Then we’ll see what 5th Ed looks like.

I also got these three collectible figurines. Rossiu and Yomako-sensei figumates from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (left and right, respectively), and Kusuha Mizuha (center) from Super Robot Wars Alpha 3. I wanted to get the Yoko Nendoroid, but its $60 price tag made me remember that my money was intended for purchasing D&D books. These figures were of the random sort that you get inside sealed boxes.

One other particularly interesting thing I saw was this replica of the evil Warcraft III sword Frostmourne by Caesar’s. The outlet was closed, but they had their sword on display in the window, so I decided to snap a shot with my phone camera.

Purchases aside, it’s pretty awesome to have almost my entire dad’s side family here. It isn’t often that we get to spend much time with each other, and having them all here makes things pretty cool.

Dave Arneson

Just last year, Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, passed away. Now, it seems that his partner, Dave Arneson, won’t last much longer. His cancer has taken a turn for the worse, and the doctors aren’t giving him much time. It will be a shame to see this man go, but I think the Lord has better things in mind for him. It’s known that both of these men have become Christians, so I know their lives are in the good Lord’s hands.

Still, I offer my prayers for Mr. Arneson’s health. Maybe a miracle might happen.

]]> http://aslancross.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/singapore-swag/feed/ 1 J. R. R. Flores dsc03891 dsc03909 dsc03906 04072009095 http://aslancross.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/summer-checklist/ http://aslancross.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/summer-checklist/#comments Sun, 29 Mar 2009 05:49:32 +0000 J. R. R. Flores http://aslancross.wordpress.com/?p=528 ]]>

I’m still two days from finishing work for this school year, but I sure am glad it’s that close. Too much drama has been happening at school lately. My opinions on the matter have been aired (I don’t think those people should be graduating, but I do feel sorry for them and regret that this had to happen; honestly the BOT should’ve just stuck to policy instead of trying to be compromising—err, “compassionate.”) and now I just want to get away from all the scandals and get my well-deserved relaxation.

So here’s my summer checklist:

Places to Go:

-Singapore. I’m visiting my father in Singapore this Friday, and although we won’t be there for long, I do miss my family there and also look forward to bonding with that side.
-The Beach. Honestly, I can’t stand an entire summer spent at home. Arghs is planning a trip, but we don’t know where yet.

Books to Buy and Read:

-Inkdeath. The final book in Cornelia Funke’s Ink trilogy is out, and it sure took a while (probably due to translation). Inkheart was dark and heavy, Inkspell even moreso. I don’t know what to expect from Inkdeath, but I want to finish what I started.

-Eberron Campaign Setting. I’m not just about to go into 4E D&D and want to own actual copies of these books. As of last Christmas I heard the ECS is still available in Singapore, so I want to go check it out.

-D&D 3.5 Monster Manual III. See above.

-D&D 3.5 Magic Item Compendium. See above. Some books are just much better references in hard copy.

Anime to Watch

-Gundam 00 Season 2. While I heard it got weird toward the end in the same way that Code Geass R2 became weird, I think it’s still worth watching.

-Koutetsushin Jeeg. I started this a long time ago but failed to finish it.

-Pumpkin Scissors. See above. I ran out of disk space.

Things to Do

-Play D&D. Yes! I am finally going to play D&D during the summer! I’m starting my campaign, which mostly follows the Red Hand of Doom adventure in Mid-April. The campaign journal is already up!

-Take working out seriously again. Although I haven’t been musing weeks of working out, I have missed days of working out and I’ve felt quite a bit weaker. I’m glad I still haven’t gained any weight back, however. Stupid odd schedules.

Of course, things can change and I might always add things to this list. I do think that this is going to be a rather enjoyable summer.

Due to the untimely death of The Black and the Purple and the desire of some of my former players to get back into D&D, I’ve begun planning my own run of WOTC’s published adventure, The Red Hand of Doom. While the adventure is in its own right, rather epic in its scope (what seems to be random bands of goblinoid raiders harassing some backwater towns turns out to be the beginning of a colossal war led by a messianic leader of the cult of Tiamat, goddess of evil dragons), I decided to take some liberties with the adventure to adapt it into the Eberron campaign setting.

Players are advised to avoid the next section, but this is open to other DMs who wish to implement the same changes.

The primary considerations to these adaptations are:

1. Tiamat in Eberron is quite different from her incarnations in other campaign settings. Instead of being the goddess of evil dragons, she’s actually the offspring of Khyber, the progenitor Dragon Below who spawned the demons in Eberron (This does not only include the demons and devils; rakshasa are also considered demons in Eberron). As such, Tiamat’s heralds are not only devils, but rakshasa as well.

What makes Tiamat a lot more frightening in Eberron is that she can exert her influence over metallic dragons. While chromatics are especially prone to her corruption, she has the ability to enthrall even metallic dragons, widening her power base dramatically.

2. At least two of the characters will be associated with the Church of the Silver Flame, one of the predominant good-aligned religions in Eberron. The Silver Flame was the entity that bound the demons in the depths of Khyber, and its church is dedicated to the eradication of the influence of fiends. Instead of using the original “there is treasure in Vraath keep” hook, I’ve decided to have the leader of the Church, Jaela Daran, send the characters personally into Elsir Vale to deal with the threat of Tiamat. Now this needs some calibration, as the threat of the Red Hand, as the adventure goes, is not readily apparent until after a certain point. Therefore I still have to find out how I’m going to point the PCs toward Vraath Keep, where the first boss of the adventure (and the revelations regarding the movement of the Red Hand) are found.

3. Eberron has the lightning rail, a magical train system that connects most of the major countries on the primary continent, Khorvaire. While the train is one of the most convenient (and quick) forms of transportation in the setting, it definitely won’t reach all the way to the backwater towns of Elsir Vale.

4. Locations are of course, different. It was very clear from the adventure that it takes place in the middle of nowhere. One of the suggested locations for the Eberron setting was eastern Breland, which I took. First of all, it’s close to the goblinoid nation, Darguun. Second, it carries the “middle of nowhere” feeling, since the borderlands of Breland in the east touch the Mournland, which is dead and mostly uninhabited. Third, it’s the part of Breland that is closest to Thrane, the seat of the Church of the Silver Flame and the starting point for the PCs.

As such, the following changes have been made:

1. Due to the involvement of the Rakshasa agents of Tiamat, the PCs are expected. The cell of the Talons of Tiamat that works with the Red Hand knows that the Silver Flame will definitely send its agents—Jaela Daran’s prophetic vision is enough to lead her to suspect something major is going to happen, so they have infiltrated Thrane and have been shadowing the PCs for some time. However, due to their undercover nature and their pride, the Rakshasa prefer to operate individually.

2. The PCs begin their journey from Flamekeep via a chartered express lightning rail, provided by the Church for this fairly covert mission. The Church couldn’t just have the PCs go by the usual train.

3. A Rakshasa agent has already infiltrated the train and is going to try to assassinate the PCs in their sleep. This will be the first encounter, instead of the ambush in the woods. The point of this encounter is to show the PCs that they’re not just dealing with something mundane here; powerful forces are aware of their movement, and if the PCs want to keep their presence and objective discreet, they have to kill this agent before it kills them or reports to its superiors.

This Rakshasa will not be the typical CR 10 Monster Manual variety; a spellcaster would be too strong, and it also doesn’t make sense for one to just go on its own. This will be a Naityan Rakshasa instead (Tome of Battle, CR 7). Since the PCs will get opportunities to rest before they even get to Drellin’s Ferry, this encounter will be especially difficult.

The inclusion of Martial Adept monsters helps a lot in balance the encounters, since at least one PC is going to be a crusader. Non-martial adept humanoid enemies are little more than speedbumps for Martial Adept PCs.

4. Dennovar was changed to Vathirond, Breland’s easternmost city. It’s very close to the border with the Mournland, and the lightning railway runs from Thrane to Vathirond. The PCs will get off the rail here and will then take a House Orien charactered carriage to Drellin’s Ferry. This kind of makes the ambush more terrifying, since they have NPCs to protect. On the other hand, one or two watchmen might make the battle with the initial marauder attack a little less terrifying.

5. The cabal of Rakshasa agents is rather impressive. I plan to include five agents, though the PCs don’t necessarily need to encounter them:

-Indravan-Yagna (Male Half-Bronze Dragon Naityan Rakshasa Swordsage 4); ringleader and part of the final boss encounter.

-Afrasiyab (Male Naztharune Rakshasa); assassin and Indravan’s right hand. Yes, the name was taken from the Shahnameh character. Likely just an optional encounter.

-Ilvala (Female Rakshasa Sorcerer 1); Caster and general operations overseer. Thinks Akviradh is a moron. Likely just an optional encounter, her lack of loyalty to Indravan and Azarr Kul makes her a candidate for escaping at the first sign of trouble.

-Miha Serani (Female Zakya Rakshasa); Replaces the Aranea Miha Serani from the original adventure. I’m not so sure on this change yet, since the Aranea was primarily a controlling caster. Zakya Rakshasa are warriors, so I’m not sure how this will turn out. As with the Miha Serani in the adventure, the PCs may or may not encounter her disguise and role as a spy.

-Akviradh (Male Naityan Rakshasa); The very first encounter. He’s the n00b in the cell, and has to prove himself to Indravan by surveying the PCs. He’s a little too overzealous and eager to please the boss, so he goes ahead and attacks the PCs.

Thoughts: Rakshasa seem pretty challenging to run. Their detect thoughts ability makes them always in the know, but actually RPing their arrogance and their mind games will be a bit of a challenge, especially when the majority of the opponents in this adventure will be hobgoblins of average intelligence.

Since the Rakshasa cell doesn’t necessarily follow the Red Hand’s operations, they seem to be a bit difficult to manage. What could they be doing when they’re not around? Are they just relaxing? Off on some other mission? Or are they actually there, surveying the PCs? After all, they have free disguises and the ability to read surface thoughts. The main issue is keeping Indravan and his cat’s paws from outshining Azarr Kul and the wyrmlords.

I think the Rakshasa at most will serve as “control rods” to prevent the PCs from utterly overpowering some of the climactic encounters later. If they aren’t needed, they don’t even need to be mentioned. As such, the only Rakshasa that the PCs are sure to encounter are Akviradh and Indravan.

Alternatively, the Rakshasa might be good hooks to help move the action along for the plothole between Chapters 1 and 2 (the PCs really don’t seem to have a good reason to go to the ruins of Rhest apart from Norro Wiston telling them to). Perhaps this could be a case of FF7’s “chasing the black-caped man.”

It’s going to be a challenging adventure to run, especially since I’m taking a lot of liberties with the story. Improvization really seems to be a required skill when DMing.

Unfortunately, due to academic reasons, my main D&D campaign, The Black and the Purple, has ended with a whimper and not the bang I had hoped it to end with.
I’d fast-forwarded the action to the final arc already, which consisted of 3-6 battles, depending on how wisely the players acted.

Unfortunately, someone is failing Math, and had to be excused. Another player no longer responds to my messages, so I assume he’s lost interest.

Pretty sad for people to drop out now, after almost two years. Oh well. There’s still the Eberron run of Eyes of the Lich Queen, and the possible run of Red Hand of Doom this summer. Here’s to hoping the RHoD run actually pushes through.

A Merry Christmas to you all!

After a semi-productive  run at the gym yesterday (I borrowed my brother’s Nike+ sensor, messed up the recalibration, and ended up with a really high pace on my last run), I came home to see my brother had discovered something that filled me with a mixture of horror and amusement.

Apparently, ABS-CBN has purchased the rights for a localization of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight.

Beyond the obvious “why?” and “why Twilight?” questions, I don’t really know what to think of this. A student of mine said it probably wouldn’t get much worse, and would at least be funnier with Shaina Magdayao.

I do, however, know what I think of the original Twilight. If only for its completely retarded portrayal of vampires, I don’t even want to touch it. I never cared much for vampires (especially with their inflated powers), but Twilight portrayed them in such a manner that I felt I’d be insulted if I were a vampire.

What would the tragic Strahd von Zarovich of Ravenloft say, imprisoned as he is? Or Baron Sengir, evil overlord of Ulgrotha? Or my favorite vampire of all, the tyrannical genius King Kaius ir’Wynarn of Karrnath in Eberron? Even my own creation, the insane, swashbuckling perverted-mockery-of-her-human-self Ardragon Millia the Lance (who was supposed to be a boss in my D&D campaign and is actually a former party member) would find Edward Cullen laughable.

Zarovich, despite being an incredibly powerful necromancer and fighter, as well as being the absolute ruler of his domain, is cursed to meet a woman whom he believes is Tatyana, his brother’s fiancee whom he loved, and see her die. Over and over again. That is tragedy. (Zarovich art by William O’Connor) Zarovich is my vampire of choice when it comes to tragedy.

Baron Sengir of Ulgrotha, from M:tG.

Sengir: the epitome of vampire attitude. Just look at Baron Sengir’s flavor text. Beast. Defiler. He has attitude, and people attest to that. He corrupted Ihsan, the most powerful paladin of the local order, and turned him into an undead specter. His personal bodyguard was a good guy who had to turn bad (Veldrane), his “grandmother” is a wizard who caused the last apocalypse on that plane (Grandmother Sengir), his “daughter” is a dwarf sorceress he stole from the local clan, and nobody on the entire plane dares to mess with him.

Edward Cullen, meanwhile, sneaks into his love interest’s bedroom and watches her sleep. Seriously, girls, would you want that?

(Art by Lucio Parillo)

Kaius: The epitome of Vampire Power. I think the motivator says enough, but let me add some more:

Strength 23, Dexterity 22, Constitution —, Intelligence 20, Wisdom 18, Charisma 23.

For those not-well versed in D&D, a Str of 23 means he can bench-press 600 pounds, but it’s not like he needs to. A Dexterity of 22 means he can run circles around almost anyone, except maybe air elementals. Constitution — means he’s [un]dead. Intelligence 20 means he has genius IQ, and Wisdom 18 means he has the common sense to back that up. And 23 Charisma means he has an entire nation willingly serving him, or at least serve his country. Instead of drinking animal blood, he has a harem of fanatics who willingly let him feed off them. (Btw, the average human commoner is supposed to have a 10 in all stats.)

Oh, and yes. He’s actually pursuing world peace and willingly embraced the evil cult of Vol (who afflicted him with vampirism) to save his nation in its darkest hour.

As for immunity to sunlight, he’s got that covered. Whenever he means someone outside, he simply asks his clerics to cast protective spells on him. He’s good with that sword too, being an 11th-level Fighter.

He’s basically Dracula, Hitler, Lelouch vi Britannia, and Suzaku Kururugi combined.  (And yes, D&D vampires have the ability to dominate people with their gaze.)

Eat your heart out, Edward Cullen.

I should not fail to mention this one, which I find immensely hilarious.

In any case, if you really like Twilight, then you’re free to your opinions. Just saying that it’s really not a vampire story. It’s Sweet Valley High with haemovores.

All trademarks are owned by their respective owners, not me.

Nike+ IS ALIVE

For some reason, my Nike+ is now working again. I can offer no explanations as to why this happened. I just hope it lasts longer and works properly for my runs tomorrow and over the weekend.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Finally, in the spirit of the season and as a response to all the cloying political correctness of this age:

(You never expect Stephen Colbert to be politically-correct anyway.)

I hate it when I get into long non-blogging spells. I’ve been meaning to write a lot lately but I’ve occupied myself with so much that I’ve not really been able to achieve the focus it takes to sit down and blog. I’ve a few things to write about today, so thankfully this entry will make up for my long silence.

Ravi Zacharias and Tough Questions of Faith

I’ve been struggling with my faith this year. It’s not because of suffering or angst, though that certainly helped. I don’t need to give the reason here, but I do wish to give the resource that helped me get over the hump, by the grace of God.

Dr. Ravi Zacharias is a Christian author and apologist whose ministry aims to reconcile reason and faith in the Christian context. A lot of times, the world seems to draw a sharp dichotomy between the two, thinking them incompatible and irreconcilable. In the same way, even we Christians have bought into this flawed world view.

Since I started using my iPod, I’ve been downloading Dr. Zacharias’s podcasts from his ministry’s website. He has a daily podcast show entitled Just Thinking, as well as a weekly program entitled Let My People Think. Both of these typically engage tough questions about the Christian faith–how can one prove that God exists, what is the meaning of life, why does God let bad things happen, etc. While presenting his arguments, I find that Dr. Zacharias maintains a clear, level-headed demeanor. He speaks with authority without demagoguery and bluster, which I find very respectable. By the grace of God, I’ve been able to reconcile my place in the academe without compromising my core beliefs.

Whether you’re a Christian whose faith is rocked by worldly philosophy or a skeptic who would like to learn more about the subject, I highly recommend Dr. Zacharias’s programs.

Eyes of the Lich Queen

I purchased this Eberron campaign setting D&D adventure earlier this year, but due to my current ongoing campaign I haven’t been able to make time for it. However, thanks to a few interested students, I finally got a chance to actually play D&D instead of DMing it.

Originally the other guys wanted to play a homemade adventure set in Eberron, but due to time constraints, our DM (Kelsy, who plays as Lesa in my Forgotten Realms campaign The Black and the Purple), said she’d just get a premade adventure. Remembering that I had the module sitting around inside my backpack, I offered it to Kelsy, and everyone agreed it would be a good one to play.

Initially, the 4-man party had a problem: it had no casters whatsoever.

The original roster was:
-Finn, a human ranger who liked throwing boomerangs
-Drei d’Deneith, a human swordsage from the Dragonmarked house Deneith
-Fox, a changeling rogue who nobody likes
-Flamberge-Two, a warforged Fighter 2/Warblade 3 who is basically Drei’s property, and my character.

Two was formerly a trooper in the Karrnathi army, but after the Last War he was purchased by House Deneith and indentured as a bodyguard. Two still has the Karrnathi red wolf emblem on his chest, but has since had the chimera crest of House Deneith painted onto his shoulder armor.

Two’s massive, bulky adamantine body is the type used in the most recent Karrnathi shock trooper designs that House Cannith built towards the end of the Last War. His headpiece has a broad, flaring plate around the neck, and his legs and feet are built for stability. The adamantine plating gives him a deep, slate-gray tint. As a later model, Two has not had much of an opportunity to fully develop his personality and still speaks in third person.

Instead of choosing a greatsword like most of his contemporaries, Two prefers to use the executioner’s mace—a combination between a greataxe and a giant morning star.

Since the start of the campaign, Two has been performing well. He has killed five blackscale lizardfolk so far, including one priest, plus a dire wolverine. The only part where he had any severe difficulty was the very first encounter, where the thick undergrowth and camouflaged enemies made it very difficult for him to land any blows. (Not to mention that I was rolling really low.)

However, the party has recognized the need for a support character. With Finn and Drei severely weakened by poison from the initial ambush, we found that hurting monsters was difficult when your own strength was low. I thus brought in another character: Elzikki Caalvaran d’Cannith, human Artificer 5.

A 17-year old Morgrave University-educated prodigy, Elzikki is significantly more prone to wanderlust than her bookish cousins. Cannith South appreciates this, and has sent her on several archaeological expeditions.

Elzikki is whiny at times, but she justifies her behavior by saying that she does what is asked of her anyway and that whining is her way of seeing both sides of the issue.  Whatever the case, Elzikki and her homunculus dog Clash are going to be a very powerful addition to the party.

The adventure itself has gone fine so far, apart from the painful smiting Finn and Drei got in the first encounter. Cornering the little Poison Dusk lizardfolk in that battle was really difficult, but after we were able to raid their camp for poison vials, we were able to take down several Blackscales guarding the temple we’re raiding.

The current encounter we’re facing puts us up against two very young Black Dragons. Although they’re weak because of their small size, they are going to be incredibly maneuverable and hard to hit. I hope the others use their ranged weapons, because I’m sure Two isn’t going to do much against them.

Last Saturday I was listening to the monthly D&D podcast, and I learned a few details on a rather important game issue.

Wizards of the Coast has announced that their D&D miniatures line is getting a major revamp.

Due to the rising costs of materials and prototype sculpting, WOTC switched to the use of computer-aided design in the sculpting of their figures, since this would entail less costs in the long run and would allow more flexibility in the planning of each miniature.

However, this switch to CAD from clay was not enough to cover the material cost, and so they have decided to scrap their support for the skirmish game (which the miniatures were originally packaged for) to begin with, as well as a change in the packaging scheme of the figures.

The skirmish game involved randomly-packaged figures and stat cards, and used a ruleset that was separate from the actual D&D roleplaying game. The problem here was that not only was the skirmish game declining in popularity; the product was suffering from an identity crisis since WOTC was trying to satisfy two computer bases and ended up satisfying neither. This was because the development team had to work on both the skirmish stats and the roleplaying stats, which made divided their efforts and spread their time too thin.

Another issue they had to address was the disappointment many players expressed with the randomization of the figures. Most players, their market research team discovered, bought the miniatures for use with the roleplaying game and not the skirmish game. With this in mind, the WOTC knew that the customers preferred more control over the figures they got. WOTC, however, says that the immense cost of single-packaged, non-random figures raises their production cost by a lot, and also ruins their sales—some figures will just go unpurchased since nobody likes them. This keeps them on the shelf longer, which prevents the stores from restocking.

WOTC eventually decided on packaging miniatures in two ways: Player Character packages and Monster Manual packages. The PC packages will contain three high-quality figures with multiple paint steps. Less minis per box means more paint steps each mini. These miniatures will be sorted by 4th Edition Power source (Martial/Divine/Arcane), and each will be of rare quality (hence the multiple paint steps).

The Monster Manual packages will be geared more toward the DM and will contain 5 figures each. There will always be one Large-sized figure, which will be visible through a plastic blister. The rest will be hidden beneath it, hidden in the packaging. This still adds an element of randomness, although at least the large figure will be visible.

I do like the idea of being able to choose whether I want to buy a box of heroes or monsters, and I also like how every Monster package will have a large figure–I didn’t appreciate how many of the boosters I’d bought in the past had no large figures. I hope this new product scheme will be able to produce a more enjoyable product for us and a more profitable one for WOTC.

Big Blue

Speaking of D&D miniatures, I decided to finally pick up the D&D Icons Gargantuan Blue Dragon for sale at Neutral Grounds Trinoma.

When they said it was gargantuan, they sure weren’t kidding. Also pictured are Icingdeath (Gargantuan White Dragon), a Guulvorg (blue creature with silver armor) and a Large Green Dragon.

While the blue and the white are both Gargantuan, but the blue has a much more massive head, arms, wings, and tail. The white is skinny, but the blue is pretty darn stocky.

The party faces off with the great blue dragon Al’Lashvahazred. As you can see, he’s pretty darn enormous.

Head detail.

The party confronts the enormous blue dragon in his desert lair. (This is the map that the box included.)

Seriously. Look at that head. It’s like a T-Rex, just with extra frills and a rhino horn. I’m really happy that I actually got this one now. It had been displayed on a more prominent shelf than usual today, so I just knew that someone was going to be tempted to buy it sooner than later. Of course, that someone was me.

I asked the lady at the counter if people had been expressing interest in purchasing the Big Blue, and she said that many did intend to either have it reserved or pick it up in December.

Hah, too late, guys. After all those times you bought the mini boosters ahead of me, now I beat you to the punch. I decided to actually get this limited edition figure because I can sell him if I need too–getting Red Alert 3 instead wouldn’t have been as good an investment.

In any case, I sure look forward to using this in my campaign.

The past couple of weeks have left me lethargic and twitching slightly. Although I’ve gotten a lot of work done, I’ve become so exhausted that I’ve had to skip the gym for more than a couple of days. Thankfully my weight still hasn’t shot up, but I need to get back to my regular workout schedule and fast.

Anyway, the biggest project/headache I’ve been attending to over the past two weeks is our annual Ramayana festival. My four classes put a lot of work and rehearsals into their presentations, which were all quite satisfying. (Pictures on my Multiply)

On the other hand, this may be the last year Ramayana is going to be performed as we know it. Many issues have been raised regarding its feasibility, and many of these concerns are valid. We’re still in the wait-and-see stage, but to be honest, things aren’t looking very pleasant.

I’m still thinking of proposals as possible replacements, but everything is still up in the air. Depending on how much we cooperate with each other, we might still get to see another show in PSHS.

Pathfinder

So D&D 3.5 is on its way out, and Wizards of the Coast has been throwing all of its weight behind the 4th Edition project. To be honest, I like 4th Edition, but 3.5 also has its shining moments, and since I’ve spent a lot of money on 3.5 books, it would be awesome if I could continue using them.

That’s where third-party companies come into the picture. Paizo has just released the beta version of its new 3.5-based RPG system, Pathfinder. I’m not so familiar with the setting, but their Player’s Handbook is under the Open Gaming License that 3.5 used, and as such is currently available online for download.

The system is pretty much 3.5, but with some minor tweaks and a touch of D&D 4e (whether 4e haters admit it or not).

After going through the book, I saw that they made some rather interesting changes to the 3.5e core:

-the Barbarian uses “rage points” to manage its rage ability instead of just having uses per day. The rage points can also be spent to give the barbarian special abilities while in his rage state.

-the cleric, druid, and wizard now prepare their level 0 spells (orisons for the cleric and druid and cantrips for the wizard) and can then use those spells at will for the rest of the day. This gives them a rather similar feel to the at-will powers that all classes use in 4e. However, did they really have to do this? These three classes are widely seen as the most powerful classes in the game in the core rules alone. Making them more powerful is just insane.

-the Fighter is now far more versatile. He still gains the massive amount of bonus feats he gets in 3.5, but also gains weapon and armor training that further improve his skill with certain weapon groups or armor types. This brings us closer to the image of the fantasy fighter–the quintessential soldier who can kill with anything from a greatsword to a tavern tankard. However, hitting and dealing damage is still boring. I still want to give the fighter more tactical options. (So the Tome of Battle Warblade and the 4E fighter are good fixes in my book.)

-The sorcerer: My favorite update. Many players saw the sorcerer as the wizard’s slightly less intelligent step-brother. He gets less spells, can cast more times per day, but is ultimately not much different from the wizard. In Pathfinder, the sorcerer’s “magical bloodline” flavor is translated properly into game mechanics—whatever gave you your innate magical ability also manifests in other ways: you gain abilities depending on the source of your bloodline (Aberrant: you were descended from tentacle monsters from the Far Realm; Arcane: your ancestors spent too much time around magic;Celestial: Your ancestors were blessed by the heavens; Draconic: dragon blood in your family roots gives you their arcane power, etc.) as well as bonus spells known. While this gives you a bit more versatility, you don’t become anywhere as overpowering as the Wizard. Overall I feel it gives the sorc a more unique and interesting feel than the unfortunate 3.5 humanoid artillery piece.

-Races now have two positive racial ability modifiers each, but also have one negative modifier. For example, the half-orc gains +2 to STR and +2 to WIS, but is penalized -2 to CHA. Humans and Half-elves share the versatility of getting a +2 to any single ability score, much like in 4e.

-The art is fantastic. Most of it is done by one of my favorite fantasy artists: Wayne Reynolds. Take the Barbarian class entry art, for example:

We don’t have to look at ol’ Krusk anymore. Here’s the fighter:

While Regdar from the 3.5 PHB was awesome (and so is Todd Lockwood), I really liked how Wayne Reynolds made this guy gritty, rough, and ready.

Finally, the sorceress.

I think a “nuff said” is in order here.

Anyway, Pathfinder looks like a good successor to the original 3.5e D&D. If ever I’m going to run a new 3.5 game, it will be with this.

Here is the link to Paizo’s online store. The PDF of the Pathfinder Beta release is FREE. You need to sign up for an account, but downloading it will incur no costs.

While the party is now on their way to fight with the traitorous Marquis Eldershade (whose true identity as Voltemand Cormaeril has now been revealed), I gave them a very long series of encounters to go through so they’d be prepared for whatever they’re going to meet at Dragonsgate.

The big problem I have now is that we might never even get to the end of Act II, so I was just thinking of making this adventure as epic as possible so that they’d be left with a feeling of satisfaction when they finish the last encounter.

As such, Chapter 4, The Seeds of Change, might really be the last. At least the campaign will end with a sense of closure. If we finish too early, I might run The Eyes of the Lich Queen instead.

In any case, The Black and the Purple has been very enjoyable thus far. I just wish we’d be able to finish it all the way to the very end, but that really seems unlikely.

Chaotic Evil

I was never really fond of Chaotic Evil villains. They just seem so unsubtle to the point of being predictable despite their chaotic nature. I always preferred Lawful Evil and Neutral Evil villains, as they are capable of depth and have plausible motives.

The typical D&D CE villain is short-sighted and uncoordinated, which leads to failures. He also likes executing his lackeys for no reason. He’s also often a lumbering brute who simply tears stuff apart. There’s no psychological depth, no pathos, nothing chilling or truly disturbing. As such I couldn’t really appreciate Chaotic Evil villains.

That is, until I saw The Dark Knight. The Joker there is the embodiment of Chaotic Evil. He’s without reason, without pity, without ideology or cause. He doesn’t care if he dies, has nothing to lose, and is completely flexible. He’s smart, and his plans are savagely unpredictable. His attacks are more psychological and strike a primal chord in the hearts of his victims, so much so that it’s not his aggressiveness that makes him dangerous. It’s his ability to rip apart the fragile worlds of his victims.

If I were to summarize his character into one sentence, it would be:

The Joker is so wrong as a person, but the things he says about human nature are so right.

As such, I award Heath Ledger’s Joker this motivational poster:

Earworm: The Gate of Magus ver. AQUASTYLE by AQUASTYLE.

SERIOUSLY? Galaxy-shattering mecha in high fantasy?

Well, this isn’t your Escaflowne or Rayearth. See this video.

This is from Gurren-Lagann parallel works, and seems to be one of a series of “what-ifs” with the characters outside of the original Gurren-Lagann universe. This seems to be a spin-off of what goes on in episode 26, where the characters are trapped in alternate realities.

Anyway, in this video, Viral seems to be a knight of some sort, and his wife (the imaginary wife he has in ep 26) is present. Simon and Kamina are warriors (what else?), and Yoko has levels in Monk and Swordsage. (She can flurry with a quarterstaff.) What appears to be Lord Genome is a huge brute of a Blackguard with really creepy armor. Nia is a princess in the castle.

I don’t really have any details beyond this, but it sure looks interesting.