Hemming and Hawing and the Danse Macabre

This post was inspired by an incident earlier today. I was at my art class, and my teacher had brought her youngest kid into work. This is happens on a pretty regular basis, so it's become normal to see a little one trundling through the art studio, asking questions and hanging out with "the big kids". One of my classmates is working on a piece about female sexual abuse and, like most modern artists, has no intention of holding back the grizzly. Now I'm a big proponent of a more open media. I do play Mortal Kombat with my youngest sister (who's 13) whenever we get together, so I'm no stranger to "corrupting" my younger siblings. But when I saw my classmate have to explain (while not explaining) her art to this four year old girl, I felt a twinge. Something just didn't feel right about needing to avoid what she was actually doing. Now, granted, this exchange lasted only a moment or two, but that was long enough for me.

Now call me old and sentimental, but why make  this stuff if we get on an intuitive level that we shouldn't show it to children? There has to be a better way than showing them not-beautiful things. And yet, as I sit here and write this post, I can't think of anything better. The world's a very dark place, a place that, in some ways, gets darker every day. It's pretty ridiculous when you think about it, but it's true. I know that when I get married and have children I want them to know that life is amazing. I want them to value themselves, body, soul, and spirit equally (because without one of the three we cease being ourselves), and I want them to look at the world they're in  and love it while they're in it.

But I still want them to know why this isn't our home. This world is fallen, corrupt, and sick, and sooner or later we won't be able to bear it anymore. As friends die, hearts break, and the world changes we need to move on for our own sanity's sake. It can't be hurtful to show them things that make them realize it, right? It certainly makes sense on some level. The Danse Macabre may not be there to tell us it'll be over soon and that there's nothing we can do about it, but  that some day it'll all be over and we'll be grateful, because that means it's time to go.

Although that probably still doesn't justify me playing Mortal Kombat with Munchkin. Oh well.

Burning Wheel Part 3: My Playtesting of Burning Wheel

Soo.... I decided to run Burning Wheel.

For twelve people.

For those of you who have run Burning Wheel, start laughing. For those of you who haven't, I'll provide an example of why this is funny. Most of you who read this blog are at least familiar with Dungeons and Dragons. One of DnD's hallmarks is its flexibility.  You can do pretty much anything with the system. It's part of the reason why DnD is the flagship RPG of our hobby. They say to only have six people max, but, to be honest, DnD can be run with as many people as you'd like. At some point it gets impractical with one DM, but that doesn't stop the system from operating.

Not so with Burning Wheel. It is fickle, and requires very exact specifications.

As with everything in my life, I found this out the hard way. I adapted "The Sword" to 16 people with the help of the Adventure Burner's premade PC's, and tried to run it. Gah, that didn't work.  People got bored when only two of them could enter the Duel of Wits (which I didn't even understand properly, it turns out), so I did what normally would work in DnD.

I sicced a dragon on them, without reading the text block. As a DM of many years I figured it would be fine. Terrifying, but fine. So when the dragon incinerated half the party with one good blast,  I realized I'd made a mistake. The rest of the time the surviving party was trying to get away from the dragon with the sword. Ultimately they failed, and left the sword to the dragon.  I'd gotten the Fight! and the Duel of Wits rules wrong, and had pretty much flubbed up everything.

And yet, from what I could understand of the system as I ran it, this is exactly the type of system I want to run. I like the systems we ran. The brutality of the system just  makes... sense. Fighting a dragon was what I'd always imagined it to be: a terrifying experience that required running and the shitting of pants. Maybe it was the Mortal Kombat in me, but I liked the finality of it all. I'm not sure if Burning Wheel is for everyone.

In short, I loved it. I'll be running another playtest in two weeks. But this time it'll be with just FOUR people. I'll be running the Demon scenario from the Adventure Burner, for those of you who are curious.

More Politics and Contraception

In case you care, here's more on that stupid-ass contraception thing from Obama. The man is evil, I kid you not.

A Basic Update

Eh, I'm in the mood to type, but don't know what I want to type about at 8:40 in the morning, waiting for class to start, so I'll write about myself.

RPGs
Due to the increased workload I've experienced as of recently, this part of my life has slowed down, but before that point things were getting extremely good. My DnD 4EMOD game has been kicking major ass, with three awesome sessions in a row before I had to step back to catch up on school. I'll be running a 15-man Burning Wheel Playtest with "The Sword" adventure in the Adventure Burner (which I now own, review when I'm done reading it!), and adapting it to 15 people. It won't be as bad as it sounds, to be honest. I'm fleshing out the four characters in the adventure to four factions. Elves will probably get the short end of the stick, but will be very powerful. Next week I'll start up the 4EMOD game again with a bang. My poor players...

Not finished yet. But will be soon.

Art
I'm having a blast with my classes so far! They're all pretty challenging and new, since I'm doing media that I've never had the opportunity to experiment with before: encaustics and watercolor. Both mediums are the opposite of acrylic, so I've been having a hard time trying to get used to them. I like what they do, I just can't seem to do it yet! My iconography has taken a bit of a backseat, but I'm almost done with Raphael, and I'll have a picture up by the end of the week. This icon is my best, by far and away, and I'm excited to show you guys what he's like.

Blogging
Yeah yeah, I know I haven't done many updates this month, but I got some projects for the blog still in my head. I'll be working on 4EMOD very soon again, and finish up the PHB1 and then move on to PHB2, stopping at the Assassin in between. And who can forget anime reviews, along with whatever theology stuff pops into my head? It's coming, folks, trust me. 





Gaming

I AM FINALLY PLAYING SKYWARD SWORD. I AM FINALLY PLAYING SKYWARD SWORD. I AM FINALLY PLAYING SKYWARD SWORD. About frickin' time!

Oh, and I played the Mass Effect 3 demo. CanNOT wait.

Anime
Going through Code Geass, Trigun, and Disgaea in whatever spare time I have left with Maria and friends. It's been really fun so far. I'll probably have reviews for Code Geass and Disgaea up whenever I'm done with them, respectively.

Personal
To say that this is the most improved area of my life is a bit of an understatement. Anyone in long distance relationships can attest to the fact that, once you really start to care for the other, there's a hole in your life. You can laugh and enjoy your life, but you can't ignore the incontrovertible fact that you want the other there to share in everything. It's been a challenge to adapt to her, but I'm finding that she's more than worth my time. If there is proof of God, it is in this: I am loved, and I love.

In Conclusion...
Life is good and stable. I hope it stays that way for at least a little bit longer.

Burning Star Wars SAGA: A Few Houserules

So here's a random idea. Light Side Points and Dark Side Points, tied into Beliefs. This is just a quick and dirty thought experiment, so it's not been tweaked or playtested. But I think it works really nicely for Star Wars SAGA, and would do tons for that game system.

I'll cover what the Points do first. The Light and Dark Side Points replace Force Points. When you make a character you divide up the amount of points you get from your classes between Dark and Light. You do not regain Force Points every level.

Light Side Points are a manifestation of the Light Side of the Force, and are extremely powerful. Whenever you use one you may either re-roll a d20 roll, amplify a Force Power (as Force Points normally did), negate a Dark Side Point (and nothing else), or regain your Second Wind. You regain Light Side Points by doing good deeds that threaten to complicate (and possibly end) your character's life.

For instance, let's say Han Solo hates the thought of Wookies being enslaved, so he helps save one's life. He gets kicked out of the Imperial Academy, but he gains a Light Side Point! Don't forget that the Wookie stuck with him til the end, too.


Dark Side Points are a manifestation of the Dark Side of the Force, and are highly corrupting. You may spend a Dark Side Point to add a bonus equal to 1d6+half-level to a damage roll, amplify a Force Power (as Force Points normally did), or regain your Second Wind. Whenever you spend a Dark Side Point you not only generate another Dark Side Point but you lose a Light Side Point. You get Dark Side Points by using Dark Side Powers and committing evil and selfish deeds, even if it's not to your benefit.

Now then, there's Beliefs. These are similar to Burning Wheel. You must have three. These Beliefs must be specific and have a plan of action written into them.  

Darth Vader is evil and must be vanquished.

Beliefs must have a Light or Dark descriptor on them as well. This helps describe the general intent of your belief, of whether or not your character means well in his belief. Whenever you fulfill one of these Beliefs you get the descriptor's Force Point, regardless of whether it's a good or evil action.

So, for instance, I said in my belief that Darth Vader must be vanquished. I attach a Light Side descriptor to this Belief. Whenever I take a step in the direction of fulfilling this Belief, regardless of what type of action it is, I get a Light Side Point. This represents the relative purity of intention. Of course, if I keep doing Dark Side things with a Light Side belief, that might piss the GM off.


If you keep abusing your Beliefs to get a plethora of both Points the GM may start a vote to change the descriptor of your Belief. If there is a universal vote, your Belief's descriptor is changed. This is to prevent power gaming and those bastard munchkins who think that the best way to play the game is to exploit it. ROLE PLAYING GAMES ARE NOT MADE WITH MUNCHKINS IN MIND, AND THE RULES SHOULD REFLECT THAT.  The GM may not invoke this vote unless it is obvious to all involved that the offender in question is only in it for exploiting the rules.

All feats that apply to Force Points apply to Light and Dark Side Points.

That's it for now. If you guys have any helpful additions and thoughts, please comment! I'll incorporate the suggestions into the main post and attribute whoever suggested it.

And Time to Post on Politics...

For the record, I did say the only thing that wouldn't be talked about on this blog was plumbing. So too bad for the people who didn't want to read about politics and religion on this blog, cause you're SOL. Anyway, unless you live under a rock you're aware that the Obama Administration has officially forgotten something very very important. It's called... I don't know... it's a piece of paper a long time ago... pretty important... probably the most important document since the Bible (no joke)... I just can't remember...

Oh well. The only difference between Obama and I? I'll remember at some point because it's something that'll just come back to me. Obama obviously has no basic understanding of whatever document it is, because the document I can't remember the name of is pretty clear that religious rights should not be trampled on.

It's the Magna Carta, right? That was a pretty important document too! But I just know that can't be it... I'll remember eventually.

Anyway, point being, apparently Obama thought this wasn't much of an intrusion on our rights.

What? He thought this wasn't an intrusion on our rights as stated in the Communist Manifesto? In what universe? This is so damn basic that the most dumb part of the Catholic Church, the liberals who want women-priests (and think they have legitimate historical arguments!), are pissed. I mean, Obama, these are the people who normally support you for the thirty pieces of silver they need to go hunt werewolves in their alternate universe, and even they think it's a bad idea! Even Joe Biden thought this was a bad idea (Y'know, the guy who threatened to shove his rosary beads down someone's throat for telling him he wasn't Catholic? Mr. Subtlety and Loyal?)! How does this not ring the "Oh Dear God This is a Bad Policy" bell? Or did you break that bell with Obama Care?

OK, I'm done. Sorry. I figured that after all the sarcasm that was just posted I owed you a few lines of actual, serious, text. This legistlation is wrong. I am with the Catholic bishops. This tramples on our rights in a way that's just as basic as being able to revoke our citizenship at any time for any reason. This piece of... (I don't want to call it legislation but too much foul language on a blog gets annoying) legislation attacks the basic human need for healing.

So yeah, this is monstrous. It needs to be repealed. Now would be good, please and thank you Mr. President.

And it's totally the Articles of Confederation, BTW's.

EDIT: And it's gotten worse. Stupid stupid stupid.

Anime that SHOULD Have Been Put in the Top 10

It's bound to happen sooner or later: I'll forget something. Ask any of my friends how often I've locked myself out of my house (or dorm room), and you'll get a snicker. So it's pretty often. So often, in fact, that I was surprised that I wrote all the stuff in the Top 10 Favorite TV shows from...well... memory. But (of course) I forgot a few anime.  They're in no particular order, so don't think of this as a definitive list. These are just a few awesome anime that, for whatever reason, didn't make it to the top.

Angel Beats

Jun Maeda, up until this point, has made one truly awesome show: Clannad. To those of you who point to Kanon or Air I sort of laugh derisively at, mostly because Kanon's first twelve episodes are painful and Air is so slow I fall asleep. Let's get real: Clannad was the only thing he wrote that actually worked, as a whole. Granted, Clannad works so well as a whole that it can be intimidating. But that doesn't change the fact that Clannad was the only one of the three that I consider to be good as a complete work.

Up until Angel Beats, that is. Not gonna lie, I really didn't like the show up until episode 3. The whole show was everything all of Maeda's previous work was not. It was fast paced and goofy, without the slightest hint of tragedy. I even looked the show up on the net to make sure that it was actually Maeda's work! Then episode 3 happened, and we heard "My Song", and watched as the girl smiled and vanished. That's when I knew it was Maeda. He hadn't gone away at all, he'd just changed it up a bit! What proceeded was essential the anime version of The Great Divorce (by C.S. Lewis for those of you who don't know). Seriously, go read that book and come back to me and tell me the works aren't similar. Granted, their tone and characters are completely different, and the theology is from definitively different sources. But the idea, the kernel, is the same. Heaven will not admit even one iota of evil and regret to stay around.

Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

 Ah, the good entry drug of anime (as opposed to just a drug). If you don't care about your friends and want to make a horrible impression of what anime can do, show them all the other shlock, like Dragonball Z, Bleach, Narutard, and One Piece. I could (and would) go on and on. But if you want to show them something really really well done that fits just closely enough into their Western ideas without throwing them for a loop? The Fullmetal Alchemists are yours, baby! Both shows are incredibly well done, in pretty much all ways that are possible. While I prefer Brotherhood for its more satisfying ending and plot, the original Fullmetal Alchemist was a fantastic point of entry to the world of anime. I'm glad that was the first anime I ever watched. While it's said you can't forget your first, I supposed I did with FMA. Oh well. Hopefully this'll make up for it. Although I'm not  gonna hold my breath, given how easily Ed forgives those who snub him. Miserable little half-pint. I hope he eventually grows up to reach the frickin' phone.

Code Geass

 Oh. My. Bloody... what the hell? I saw this show about three years back, and I remember it was good, but I forgot just how intense this show can really be! We're currently watching this at my house, showing Maria for the first time, and I gotta say: if any American show can pull off half the amount of twists that are here, please direct me (Lost doesn't count, I have that on my top ten already)! I mean, what the hell is this? How do you even do this? I'm dead serious, I'm a bit lost as to how the writers managed to put their heads through so many grinders willingly to chuck out a plot as awesome as this one. Disagree? Your mid has obviously been destroyed by watching too much Dragonball Z. You want a real "awesome" anime? This is bloody it. 

So there you have it. Four really fantastic shows that should have been put on the top ten, but weren't. Oh well. I'll be doing a new top ten in July, so they'll just have to wait til then. Somehow I think they can wait.