#Dwarf & Ogre Productions
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I Just Watched That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Episode 16 and Boy is My Nose Sore 🥊
(I'm told Tensuru is the correct shortening of the title, is that right? Calling it "this story" has gotten old.)
Our little village has become a well-organized town. The first story arc looked like an allegory for Japan's postwar occupation and reconstruction. Is Tensuru going to continue the metaphor through Japan's growing international influence in the middle of the 20th Century? If so, how subtle are they going to be?
About as subtle as a baseball bat. The metaphors in this episode are so much more on the nose my face hurt just watching it.
With many of the social reforms that had hampered Japan before the war sorted out, the country was about to experience the most rapid expansion of economic growth, prosperity, literacy, and infrastructure and real estate development the world had ever seen up to that point; but that wasn't obvious at first. The country was still getting back on it's feet, and America was determined to turn Japan into a trading partner whose economy was too inextricably linked with America's economy for them to afford to go to war with us again. American business trainers poured into Japan to serve as "expert consultants", including many who couldn't find work back home for various reasons. Factories were coming back online, but most of the goods they were capable of producing were of low quality compared to their international counterparts. That meant it was time to change the game, to innovate and produce things no one else had ever thought of, like the portable transistor radio which took the world by storm in the late 1950s.
Rimuru Town is having a quiet day when the Dwarf King Dragul shows up with his army. He's got a present for Rimuru, Vasta the now-disgraced bureuacrat/researcher whose harassment drove Master Kaijin and his brothers to Rimuru. Dragul has decided he personally has no more use for Vasta after the trouble the dwarf has caused. He tells Rimuru to use Vasta as he will and orders Vasta to redeem himself by improving the town's productivity.
🥊Pow! On the nose.
Kaijin: My King... That would allow Vasta's knowledge to leave the Dwarves!
Dragul: Says the man who left the Dwarves himself? That is what this alliance is for. Make this land you have chosen to inhabit a leader in new and unique skills!
🥊Pow! On the nose.
This time period was also the beginning of the Cold War. Exhausted from two world wars, the remaining great powers resorted to using subterfuge, coercion, and the manipulation of puppet states to attack each other without officially declaring war, making a real mess of world affairs in the process.
Clayman is the Demon Lord who sent the Orc army to Jura Forest in an attempt to create a puppet state there, and he is not happy that Rimuru and his friends have thwarted that plan.
🥊Pow! On the nose.
He shows the video of Rimuru defeating the Orc Demon Lord to a Generic Fantasy Protagonist - Female who is eager to investigate "this toy", as she calls Rimuru. The assembled Demon Lords agree that with Valdora AWOL the forest is up for grabs, and that GFP-F has first dibs.
Rimuru senses a disturbance in the force. It takes the form of a pink comet that hits the outskirts of town and reveals the GFP-F, who introduces herself as the Demon Lord Milim Nava, come to check out the town. She chats with Rimuru, who gets definite "too powerful to mess with" vibes coming off her.
And then his security team shows up to mess with her.
Ranga snatches Rimuru out of the way while the Kijin (evolved Ogres) try their best to kill her. They succeed in annoying her. It's an impressive fight but I'm paying attention to Milim, what she says, how she acts, what she's wearing, and.... Oh. My. Stars.
No. Uh-uh.
No way.
That can't be -- that isn't the mid-century "Ugly American" trope rendered in bubblegum-pink kawaii?!
And yet, there it is, big as life and twice as cute. Never in a million years did I expect to see that.
During the mid-century Cold War, America went from being a large backwater country to being the greatest power on Earth. Bluntly, we were psychologically unprepared and didn't handle the change well. The way we treated other people changed, and this resulted in the appearance of the "Ugly American" stereotype.
In the early-middle 20th Century the word "ugly" was used to describe behavior as well as appearance. If you were boorish, crass, mean, or bullying, you were "ugly" no matter how you looked. The Ugly American is tactless, boorish, bored, crass, gluttonous, immature, and immodest, a grown-up enfants terrible too powerful to spank or ignore. But most of all, the Ugly American is pure, unstoppable aggression.
It's a stereotype we still see today, but with a twist. In the 21st Century there's a defensive edge to the Ugly American's aggression that wasn't there originally. In my childhood the Ugly American exhibited pure hubris, a blind, overwhelming pride that couldn't comprehend that any power (short of the USSR) existed that could hurt it. Nothing could make it fall -- until it finally fell in Saigon on April 30, 1975, in full color and live in our living rooms.
But Milim as she is now is the Ugly American who hasn't seen the precipice yet. She's crass, immature, aggressive, bored, and insanely powerful. She wears a red, white, and blue animal-fang necklace, a red and white striped stocking, black bikini panties to signify immodesty, double ponytails and the mother of all cowlicks to signify immaturity, and most notably a cut-down version of a black leather biking jacket, the signature garb of the mid-century American bad boy, the domestic version of the Ugly American.
🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊 That's INSANELY on the nose!
(Yes, normally I would be complaining about the sexism, but immodesty is one of the defining characteristics of the Ugly American trope. Male or female, the Ugly American is going to be scantily clad in the eyes of the locals. A male Milim would be wearing far less. It's not a flaw, it's a feature.)
That also clarifies something else. Earlier I speculated that "Demon Lord" referred to a high State official or a State. Here it clearly means not just a State but a Superpower. And if THAT'S the case one of the goals of the current story arc will be to see Rimuru turn into a minor Demon Lord just as Japan emerged from the mid-century as an economic superpower.
Meanwhile back at the fight, the Kijin are down and about to be dead. Rimuru steps in, and inspired by Milim's childishness, distracts her with honey to end the battle. Like many spirits/metaphors, the Ugly American has more than one aspect. While the malevolent aspect leans toward "frat boy on vacation", there's a benevolent aspect which is more "well-intentioned cluelessness". Rimuru is clearly trying to keep Milim in a benevolent state.
Milim asks Rimuru what are his plans in a conversation that's WAY too on the nose. Replace "Demon Lord" with "superpower" in this conversation and try not to cringe:
Hey... Don't you ever think of becoming a Demon Lord (Superpower)?"
"Why should I put myself through that kind of hassle?"
"Huh? But you'd be a Demon Lord (Superpower)! Aren't they awesome? Doesn't everyone want to be one?"
"Hell no."
"Huh?!"
"Does something good happen when you become a Demon Lord (Superpower)?"
"Strong opponents come from all over to fight you! It's fun!"
🥊🥊🥊 Ow, ow, ow!
"I get plenty of that already. Not interested."
"What?! Then what do you even enjoy in life?"
"All kinds of things. I've got a lot to do. It's crazy. Is there anything fun about being a Demon Lord (Superpower) besides fighting?"
"Well, no... But you get to boss Majin and Humans (lesser countries) around!"
"Doesn't that just mean you're bored?"
*gasp*
"Ah. She's definitely bored."
🥊🥊🥊🥊 Ow, my poor nose! But, stripped of ideology, that sums up the Cold War with a brutal efficiency.
Intrigued by the possibility that Rimuru knows another way to have fun, Milim wants to see the village. Rimuru offers her friendship and extracts a promise from Milim not to hurt anyone, which she keeps for the handful of minutes it takes for her to meet the eminently punchable Gabiru. Rimuru introduces her to loud cheers from the crowd, which encourages her to announce that she's staying, and that from now on she and Rimuru are "besties". She's loud, brash, shameless, bored, belligerent, determined to be up in your business, and to drag her business to your doorstep, with no concern for your feelings. There's a host of dreary mid-century literary classics that she distills into one image which produces the same combination of hilarity and cringe as "Rogers: The Musical" from the Hawkeye tv show. It's funny, embarrassing, and impressive all at once.
More to the point, there's some very specific analogies to US-Japan relationships in the mid-century. In the my last post I talked about how during the Occupation the US built military bases all along the Japanese coast. After the Occupation the US evacuated them -- except in Okinawa. Impressed by the wide harbor and large tracts of undeveloped land, Okinawa became the
home base for the US Northern Pacific fleet in the 1950s-1970s. There they perched like a house guest who has long outstayed their welcome, regardless of how Japan felt about the matter.
But it wasn't just Okinawa that made Japan so attractive to the military. During WWII one of the major problems with waging war in the Pacific had been getting supplies, with the supply lines being over twice as long as it was in Europe. Japanese industry was back on it's feet after being flattened in the war. While their products weren't yet good enough to attract much interest abroad, they were literally "good enough for government work". Japanese business became the commercial and industrial suppliers for the US military in the Pacific, drastically shortening the supply lines. Supplies that had taken months to reach the Pacific front during WWII could now be had in days. Those reliable supplies earned Japan accolades as America's new "best friend".
"And thus Demon Lord Milim, being more dangerous than a powder keg, became a part of the Jura Tempest Federation."
🥊 Pow! On the nose.
It wasn't a one-sided relationship. The steady cash flow that US military contracts provided Japanese industry enabled them to upgrade their factories from "back on their feet" to "world class". And without those reliable supplies, the US would have had a much harder time waging war in Korea, and especially in Vietnam.
But having the most powerful and most aggressive military in the world on your doorstep during the Cold War wasn't the easiest relationship. Even mainland America feared nuclear missiles would cross the ocean and destroy the entire country. Japan was a much, much closer target. If either Korea or Vietnam, or their allies China and the USSR, had retaliated against US forces outside of Korea or Vietnam, Japan would have taken it in the neck -- and they knew it. It's a situation mirrored in Rimuru's emergency conference that night.
Goblin King Rigurd: It's about Lady Milim. I never imagined a Demon Lord (Superpower) would take the initiative in coming here.
R: Yeah, but she did promise not to cause any commotion without my permission.
Dwarf: Yes, but.. what's more concerning is what the other Demon Lords (Superpowers) will do.
R: What do you mean?
Dwarf: There are several Demon Lords (Superpowers), and they're always keeping each other in check. Your declaration that Lady Milim is our friend means this village is now under her protection. Under normal circumstances that might be a good thing, but...
Swordmaster: Great Rimuru, you hold the position of supreme ruler. In other words, it will appear to the other Demon Lords (Superpowers) that the Great Forest of Jura has forged an alliance with the Demon Lord Milim.
Benimaru: The Demon Lord Milim will instantly gain more influence, upsetting the balance between the Demon Lords.
Rimuru: I see.
Rigurd: But in reality, there is no way we could stop Lady Milim.
Benimaru: Her strength was on a completely different level. If not for Great Rimuru, we wouldn't be alive now.
🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊🥊 Ouch!
And there's the setup for the second story arc. I don't know how long they plan to continue telling modern Japanese history as an animal fable -- er, make that a "monster fable in an RPG setting" -- but if they continue with the analogy Rimuru Village will see explosive growth and the attendant problems, the development of improved and some entirely new industries, and shenanigans from various superpowers -- er, Demon Lords -- that lead to Rimuru becoming a minor Demon Lord and entering into political/economic relations at that level.
Sounds like fun! See you later.
There really wasn't space here to talk about the differences between the Kindly American trope and the Ugly American trope. If you want me to go into that topic in a separate post, let me know.
#anime#rimuru tempest#that time i got reincarnated as a slime#tensura#tensei shitara slime datta ken
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The acclaimed setting of Symbaroum has enticed and fascinated fans of tabletop roleplaying games since the launch of the game in 2016. Now this dark and mysterious world welcomes an even wider audience, with the production of a Player’s Guide, Gamemaster’s Guide and Bestiary adapted for 5E, published under the Open Gaming License. Note that you will need the core 5E rulebooks to fully enjoy Ruins of Symbaroum.
Welcome to the world of Symbaroum
The rich and nuanced Symbaroum setting revolves around the Ambrians – a civilization that two decades ago were forced to flee their ancestral soil after a devastating war. Their new and promised land borders on the vast forest of Davokar, covering the remnants of the Empire of Symbaroum which fell into ruin hundreds of years ago. Brimming with natural resources and mythical treasures, the forest calls out to the Ambrians to be explored and plundered, but the road into its depths lays far from open. Not only are the shadows beneath the foliage fraught with danger, monsters and infectious Corruption; there are also the elves of the Iron Pact who have vowed to die to keep anyone from disturbing the ruins of old, warning that the ancient evil of Symbaroum stirs in its sleep.
About ten years ago, Queen Korinthia of the Ambrians finally vanquished Chieftan Haloban and his Jezites.
Now you can join in the adventure! Seek out the barbarian clans to trade or to plunder their treasuries; establish a base of power among princes, guilds, or rebellious refugees in the capital city of Yndaros; survive encounters with trolls, dark-minded beasts, and undead warlords. But always remember the warnings spoken by the wardens of the forest: tread carefully and do not disturb the ruins of old, for the horrors of Davokar are about to awaken!
If you want a more in-depth introduction to the setting, with its dark wilderness, its warring factions and infectious corruption, you are welcome to download On the Nature of Davokar - a report from a lecture at the wine cellar Tuvinels in Yndaros, transcribed and commented by the famous explorer Iasogoi Brigo.
Aside from the base core rules referenced in the 5E OGL, the Ruins of Symbaroum Player’s Guide contains everything you need to create characters and set out to explore the world of Symbaroum. We provide this information in five major sections: an introduction to the setting, new rules for gameplay, new character origins, new character classes and feats, and a set of resources (equipment, spells, etcetera) for making characters and for use during play.
New Rules
To emphasize the dark fantasy nature of the setting, new rules for traveling and rests, social challenges, and magic are introduced. Regarding magic, wielders of mystical powers cannot avoid being affected by the ever-present threat of Corruption — the gathering of darkness to each character’s Shadow which, if left untended, can manifest as terrible physical transformations and even the eventual loss of the character entirely, as Corruption consumes them mentally and physically.
New Origins
Aside from familiar folks such as humans, elves, and dwarves, the Symbaroum game world lets you create PCs and NPCs who are changelings, ogres, goblins, trolls and even a particular form of undead. Also, the more recognizable folks differ quite radically from what you would expect – for instance, in Symbaroum the elves (rather than orcs, trolls, or similar) could be described as the default enemy of adventurers and explorers.
In Ruins of Symbaroum, character Backgrounds are generally tied to Origins. The following Origins and Backgrounds are included in the Player's Guide:
Origins: Human (clanfolk), Dwarf, Elf and Troll
Abducted Human - Runaway
Changeling – Broken Home, Mage’s Assistant
Dwarf – Dreams of Doom, Life-Debt, Outcast
Elf – Avenger, Exile, Mediator, Scout
Goblin – Laborer, Convert, Wild
Human – Common Folk, Faithful of Prios, Houses of Nobility, Merchant, Refugee, Scholar of Ordo Magica
Ogre – Learned in Magic, Raised by Common Folk, Sellsword
Troll – Artifact Collector, Journey of Discovery
Undead – Revenant
New Classes
The Ruins of Symbaroum Player’s Guide presents the classes Captain, Hunter, Mystic, Scoundrel and Warrior – each with between four and seven different approaches (called Subclasses in the 5E OGL rules), and all of them with customized features up to the 20th level. The captain class is something special, as its members have the capability to command and train others, to improve the fighting ability of a group as a whole.
Approaches: Ironsworn, Rune Smith, Weapon Master and Sorcerer
Captain – Merchant Master, Officer, Outlaw, Poet-warrior
Hunter – Bounty Hunter, Iron Sworn, Monster Hunter, Witch Hunter
Mystic – Artifact Crafter, Self-taught, Sorcerer, Theurg, Troll Singer, Witch, Wizard
Scoundrel – Explorer, Former Cultist, Guild Thief, Thug, Treasure Hunter
Warrior – Berserker, Duelist, Knight, Rune Smith, Tattooed Fighter, Weapon Master (plus unlocked: Templar, Wrathguard)
The graphic design of Ruins of Symbaroum borrows elements from the award-winning design of the original Symbaroum game.
Both these spreads are drafts (works-in-progress) from the Ruins of Symbaroum Player's Guide.
Note: the cover art is a placeholder and will be replaced.
The Ruins of Symbaroum Gamemaster’s Guide provides tools and guidelines for running the game, developing the setting and creating your own adventures. The content may be summarized as follows:
Invoking Symbaroum
Gamemaster’s Rules – on Ability Checks, Combat and Challenge Ratings, Time Within the Game, and Shadow and Corruption.
The Setting – describes three settlements central to the setting: Thistle Hold, the town of explorers and treasure hunters; Yndaros, the capital city of the kingdom of Ambria; and Karvosti, the cliff of the barbarian High Chieftain deep inside the forest of Davokar.
Running Ruins of Symbaroum
Building Game Worlds – guidelines on how to understand and develop the specific game world of Symbaroum.
Adventures and Landscapes – instructions on creating adventures and adventure landscapes where the PCs dictate the course and outcome of the story.
Chronicles – tips on how to design an adventure chronicle (also called campaign or adventure path) set in the world of Symbaroum.
Magical Items and Artifacts – a huge number of mystical artifacts that all come with ready-made adventure hooks, as well as guidelines on how to create mystical artifacts of your own.
Optional Rules
Troupe Play in Symbaroum
Adventures in the Underworld, Yonderworld and Spirit World
Advanced Traps
Pitched Battles
PC-owned estates and domains
Forest expeditions of different types
Ceremonial Magic
And more
Note: the cover art is a placeholder and will be replaced.
The Ruins of Symbaroum Bestiary is in most respects a reflection of the award-winning Symbaroum Monster Codex, but with stats and rules adapted for 5E – the difference being that it also includes the monsters and adversaries featured in the Symbaroum Core Rulebook.
Hordes of the Eternal Night
Twenty-seven original creatures that haunt, roam and wreak havoc on the world of Symbaroum.
Each creature come with full color art, lore, an adventure Set-up and between one and four variants with different stat blocks
Beasts & Monsters
Approximately sixty creatures presented with shorter descriptions and stat blocks
Sorted into categories, such as Abominations, Predators, Spiders, Undead and Winged Creatures
Adversaries
Approximately seventy types of cultural beings presented with shorter descriptions and stat blocks
Sorted into categories, such as Champions of Prios, Elves, Outcasts, People of Davokar, Townsfolk and Trolls
The abominations of Davokar come in different shape and sizes...
Do you want to know more and even playtest some of the new mechanics right now? If so you should head over to DriveThruRPG and download the free PDF Ruins of Symbaroum 5E - The Promised Land.
There you will find some of the optional rules, a selection of origins, classes and approaches, along with four readymade player characters and an adventure. Enjoy!
Kickstarter campaign ends: Thu, May 6 2021 8:00 PM BST
Website: [Free League Publishing] [facebook] [twitter] [instagram]
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Below the cut are homebrew encounters/one-shots I've run for my nephews and niece:
-A town has been repeatedly beset by skeletons and zombies. The mayor (a male Halfling named Jean Tufor) sees the party and asks them for help. The culprit is a Goblin Shaman (my notes say "5th level spellcaster", I believe I modified the Lizardfolk Shaman to suit my needs for this).
-A tavern owner asks the party to find a missing person. A local apothecary went to the mountains to get ingredients. They've been gone for 2 days and have yet to return. The apothecary has been captured by an imp and the mephits it summoned.
-Encounter: the party is traveling through a dark and dense forest that is silent and stuffy. An observant adventurer will smell the stale air and see the increasing amount of spider webs. They may hear a rustle behind them before turning to see a giant spider on each side. If the party notice the spiders' eggsac, it is surrounded by vine, twig, and needle blights. The tree is a Gulthias tree.
-The party goes to a tavern for a meal and overhear 2 patrons chatting about a tower about 5 miles from the village. Word is that a warlord built it as a stopping point between battles, but now a wizard lives there doing dark magics. A group of adventurers weren't there a few days ago, but haven't returned. However, the perpetual storm above the tower has faded. There are rumors of gold and treasures inside, but the villagers are too scared to go near. Among the 9 levels are ghouls, skeletons, animated armors, and mimics. Level 5 has prison cells (useful NPCs/DMPCs can be stored here), level 6 is a fighting arena, level 7 has monster cells, and level 9 is the spell room. However, when the adventurers get to level 9, the wizard is already dead and a new foe waits. (Here, I have introduced a lich as the BBEG to collect the wizard's most powerful artefacts.)
-The party enters a mid-sized town. At the gate, there's an unusual amount of guards. If there is a spellcaster in the party, the guards will stop the party and bring them to the leader of the guard, a Halfling named Roscoe Hillfoot, and interrogate them. Evil undead have been attacking the town and everyone is tense. The party can prove their innocence by stopping the nightly hordes (or, if they have no spellcaster, chat with some NPCs around town). The horde seem to be coming from the west. When they get past the hordes, they'll find a run-down cottage with a solitary wizard losing their grip on reality. Upon being perceived, the wizard attacks. What is allowing the wizard to summon hordes is the Amulet of the Dead, however, since it's not the real thing, its unstable magic has been messing with the wizard's mind. Among the horde is skeletons, zombies, and even an ogre zombie.
-After saving a mine in a previous adventure (sourced from the Wildemount sourcebook pg 89, "A Hungry Problem"), the mine owner suggests the party visit a local store called Mevis's Wonderous Emporium. The owner, a gnome merchant, is a little strange, but she carries good products. She offers her wares to the party. If they impress her, she decides to ask them for their help. A wealthy landowner stole a Bag of Holding from her and she wants it back. If the party accepts and gets it back for her, she can become a wandering merchant and meet them along their way with new wares. (how sneaky they accomplish this may affect how well she rewards them afterwards).
-While in a wealthy merchant town, there's a tavern owned by the local baron with a job board. One of the job listings is from the local sheriff (I encourage your Kronk impressions for this guy), a gruff and wordy dwarf. He owns a smoker. There are suspicious rumors from the cemetery, in particular, moved headstones and opened mausoleums. Most recently, a man rushed in a claimed he'd been biten by a vampire. The sheriff doesn't currently have the manpower to pursue it and needs extra help. The culprit are Thugs robbing tombs and digging up the ground for gemstones. When apprehended, the Thugs will proclaim "and we would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling adventurers!" (I have been watching Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated.) Also, strangely... There are more skeletons. What else could be happening in this cemetery?
A one/multi-shot I started running for the younger party:
"Night at the Museum"
The party travels to a new city called Wildetide. It's a small city or large town filled with mostly humans, but also with elves and Halflings with a smattering of other races. When the party goes to a local tavern, they'll see a half-elf, Hafier Phiven, glumly drinking at the bar. When he sees the party, he'll perk up and goes to the party.
He's been looking to renovate an old museum that he purchased a while ago. However, there are some mud creatures (mephits) that are getting in the way and he can't get rid of them. He will give the party a reward for clearing the museum of these pests.
Upon investigation, the true problem is that the museum contained two similarly colored dragon eggs... Except one is a chromatic (white) dragon while the other is metallic (silver). The chromatic dragon is trying to turn the museum into its lair and the silver dragon has been hiding from it.
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Could you do shrek the musical?
It’s not ogre yet! for the Starkid dreamcast for Shrek the Musical has arrived! Shrek the musical always brings back memories from watching the Netflix recording (I wish most musicals did that) to being in a production in High School where almost everything when wrong (our pink paper-mache dragon cracked it’s head open on opening night) so going down memory lane to create this cast.
1. Dylan Saunders as Shrek
2. Kim Whalen as Princess Fiona
3. James Tolbert as Donkey
4. Robert Manion as Lord Farquaad
5. Jon Matteson as Pinocchio/Magic Mirror
6. Britney Coleman as The Dragon
7. Jaime Lyn Beatty as Blind Mouse/Shoemaker’s Elf/Duloc Performer
8. Jeff Blim as Papa Ogre/Straw
9. Tyler Brunsman as White Rabbit/Skeleton
10. Corey Dorris as Sticks/Bishop
11. Denise Donovan as Queen Lillian/Wicked Witch/Magic Mirror Assistant
12. Mariah Rose Faith as Ensemble
13. Nick Gage as Bricks
14. Angela Giarratana as Teen Fiona
15. AJ Holmes as Pied Piper/Gnome/Skeleton
16. Janaya Mahealani Jones as Mama Bear
17. Nick Lang as Young Shrek/Dwarf
18. Lauren Lopez as Gingy/Sugar Plum Fairy
19. Curt Mega as Ensemble
20. Kendall Nicole as Young Fiona
21. Alex Paul as Blind Mouse/Ugly Duckling
22. Jim Povolo as Papa Bear/Thelonius/Barker
23. Joey Richter as Peter Pan
24. Meredith Stepien as Fairy Godmother/Bluebird/Magic Mirror Assistant
25. Rachael Soglin as Mama Ogre/Humpty Dumpty
26. Joe Walker as King Harold/Big Bad Wolf/Captain of the Guard
27. Tiffany Williams as Baby Bear/Blind Mouse
Standby: Nick Strauss (Shrek)
Swings: Julia Albain, Ali Gordon, Brian Holden, Joe Moses
Understudies: Jeff Blim (Shrek), Tyler Brunsman (Pinocchio), Corey Dorris (Donkey), Nick Gage (Donkey), Lauren Lopez (Princess Fiona, Teen Fiona), Kendall Nicole (Young Shrek), Alex Paul (Princess Fiona), Joey Richter (Pinocchio)
Make sure to leave any show suggestions or any questions on my casting choices so I can explain them.
#starkid#dreamcast#shrek#shrek the musical#dylan saunders#jaime lyn beatty#james tolbert#robert manion#jon matteson#britney coleman#nick strauss#jeff blim#tyler brunsman#Corey Dorris#nick gage#lauren lopez#Kendall Nicole#alex paul#joey richter
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Games Workshop Rant
I just wanna put “pen to paper” about this. If you read it, thank you for your time and enjoy the rest of your day. TL;DR is Games-Workshop are up to their bullshit again and i am really getting tired of it.
I would like to start by saying I, against everything, I have supported Warhammer and Warhammer 40k for 20 years and over the last six to eight years the company has gotten more predatory and I feel it has lost alot of respect for it’s original customer base and is going out of it’s way to attack them.
Before i got into warhammer and for the first eight to ten years of it, Games-Workshop pushed this idea of “we aren’t just a game! We are a hobby.” They would post articles and have guests in White Dwarfe that would show off how to make truly amazing things using their IP as an influence. From Deoderant stick Ork Trucks to making Eldritch themed Ogres using greenstuff paperclips and plasticard. They did everything in their power to foster the hobby for that first thirty-ish years. Now, they are going out of their way to destroy it with this “If it isn’t 95% our product, you aren’t allowed to bring it into our stores or to our events.” I have seen an entire converted orc Dreadnaught, big mek army made out of something like five Ork Trukk Kits, three ork boy kits and alot of greenstuff and plasticard. There was no way it was 95% your product BUT it still looked and felt like it was. That guy clearly had a passion for the IP that i honestly feel, GW simply does NOT have anymore. Just as another example, I know a guy who is making a Guev’asa (I believe is the term) detatchment for his Tau army. Gue’vasa are inducted imperial citizens who bought the whole “greater good” propeganda pamphlet. Usually due to feeling like they have been abandoned by the empire as a whole. His troop transports are all converted Leman Russes and Chimeras with 3D-printed self made side panelling to give them a merged technology feel. According to my local manager and to GW, his army which won’t be 95% GW product, will not be allowed in their stores or at their events...
In my opinion not only is this a betrayal of the original customer base GW helped to cultivate but it’s an echo of other predatory and shitty behavior GW has and is still doing.
When Warhammer+ was announced, a great many of us were not excited about it. Why? Because we all had a lingering feeling about what was coming. GW in the past has proven that it will attack anyone and everyone they feel is cutting into their pie. They have teams of lawyers that are dedicated into ‘controlling’ their IP. We feared that they would use it as a basis to start “controlling” the fans by strangling them and extorting them. ... Which is exactly what they have done. Content creators (who i would like to remind you, are protected under most circumstances by what are known as fair use laws) are now being extorted. “You will make content for us or we will do everything in our legal power to shut you down.” Emails are being sent out and content is being removed. Sodaz, being the most recent one. (I would not be surprised if some of the people who now work on the Warhammer+ platform got similar emails).
How is attacking your customers? Your fans? a good fucking business plan? Who the fuck taught these people this was okay? Cause it isn’t. You want proof? Look at the comic book industry. Instead of writing stories for everyone to enjoy, they politicize and demonize strawmen of their policitcal opponents. They take beloved characters and destroy them. Make the characters betray themselves; what makes them, them. How has it effected the comic book industry? It’s FAILING. It’s dying and it’s losing to the Manga industry because Manga just stays in it’s own lane and does it’s own thing and doesn’t attack it’s customers. Star Wars is no different. Disney is hemorrhaging money thanks to it’s attacks on the fans they inherited from their purchase. Activision-Blizzard has and will probably continue to do the same thing going forward. This is why they are dying.
These people are not the kinds of people GW wants to follow. That road leads to enervation and death. Stop attacking your customers. Relearn who your actual customers are. They make a better product because they have passion for something you don’t. You need to either rediscover their passion or let them do their own thing.
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Warcry Warbands Ranked
I ranked all the Warcry warbands, trying to use some consistent standards. All are ranked on Chaos - how clearly they communicate the core aesthetics of Chaos, Originality - how original their designs are, and Bonus - additional points given based on special traits and other standout features.
Some things to note: 1. I threw this together really quickly. 2. This is entirely the product of my own opinion, and should not be taken as an indictment of your favorite warband.
Read below the cut!
#8 - The Splintered Fang
Chaos – 3/5
Originality – 3/5
Bonus – 1/5
Even the lowest on this list are some of the best models GW’s ever produced, in my opinion. Warcry has been an absolute boon overall. The Splintered Fang, with their sleek gladiatorial design and snake obsession, cut closer to being Dark Elves than normal Chaos worshipers. They do their design well, but it leaves them somewhat trapped between these two worlds. Bonus star for being a multi-racial group, however, in featuring the rare Chaos Elf!
#7 - The Cypher Lords
Chaos – 2/5
Originality – 4/5
Bonus – 2/5
The Cypher Lords stand out by having a very unique design, and for having managed to infiltrate the realm of Hysh. The forces of evil may not be able to breach the borders of Azyr, but managing to sow discord in Teclis and Tyrion’s realm is still pretty impressive. Unfortunately, while their gimmick is very cool, it doesn’t quite scream “Chaos”.
#6 - The Corvus Cabal
Chaos – 3/5
Originality – 4/5
Bonus – 1/5
The Cabal has an incredibly cool design, and that really carries them. Their sleek, stealthy appearance may not be the standard for the ravaging hordes of Chaos, but damn if they still don’t look barbaric, intimidating, and cool overall. These guys shouldn’t even waste their time in the Eightpoints. They don’t fit in with Archaon’s hordes, and would probably have more fun just living up their cultist-barbarian shtick out in the wilds of Ulgu.
#5 - The Untamed Beasts
Chaos – 4/5
Originality – 2/5
Bonus – 2/5
These guys are the golden ideal of the Chaos barbarian. They might not have figured out the whole “metallurgy” thing, but to a warrior they have more daemon-infused testosterone coursing through their veins than most Bestigors. Even the women. Probably especially the women. They may be small fry by the standards of Chaos, and not have the most original designs, but they are absolute exemplars of Chaos’ savage fury. They also have a dog!
#4 - The Spire Tyrants
Chaos – 5/5
Originality – 1/5
Bonus – 2/5
And these guys are the reason the Beasts aren’t one slot higher. The Spire Tyrants may be the preps of the Warcry world, but they are the undisputed standard by which all of Chaos may be judged. Flesh and steel, they are the vanguard, the first step on the Path to Glory and the first and last thing many a thin-blooded soldier of Order will see of Chaos’ power. In the absence of an Azyr warband, they stand as dark paragons. They also get bonus points for being another multi-species group, for bringing one very special Beastman along for the ride!
#3 - The Iron Golem
Chaos – 4/5
Originality – 3/5
Bonus – 2/5
Another example of doing the core concepts of Chaos well, with the added flair of being more original and memorable than some of the other “classic” warbands. The Iron Golem love metal and being as hard and unyielding as metal, and they hold to that standard. There’s not a scrap of anything besides flesh and steel on these guys. They look like absolute tanks, and can tout having both an ogre and a dwarf in their ranks. Now that’s a winning team!
#2 - The Unmade
Chaos – 3/5
Originality – 5/5
Bonus – 1/5
Similar to the lowest spot on this list, the Unmade are put in an awkward place by bridging the aesthetics of the Chaos and Death alliances. However, they get away with this by being among the most terrifying, most memorable, and most jaw-dropping warriors in the Mortal Realms. Seriously, these guys look like fresh hell. Chaos has a tough job of having to fulfill multiple vibes depending on the story in question - brutish barbarians, conniving sorcerers, sympathetic fallen souls, or horrific monstrosities. Often the last slot is the most difficult to manage, due to GW’s hesitancy to lean into the darkest aspects of their universes. The Unmade have no such hesitations. They revel in blood, gore, and horror, and they look amazing doing it.
#1 - The Scions of Flame
Chaos – 4/5
Originality – 3/5
Bonus – 2/5
Ok, so admittedly I’m biased! But the Scions have everything: the brutal, intimidating, grim aesthetic of classic Chaos, coupled with a tried and true gimmick that looks incredible on them. These guys really do look like they’re chosen by the gods. What’s more, while they have all the key features that people know and love from Chaos, the subtleties of their unique culture show through. Not just in their fire obsession, but in the exotic, almost oriental vibe of their armor that hearkens back to before Norsca was the only Chaos nation that anyone paid attention to in the Old World. Beyond even the Spire Tyrants, the Scions look as though they’re ready to burn the world to the ground in the name of the Everchosen and the Dark Gods.
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Netflix Reveals Upcoming Slate of Anime Titles for 2021
Additional reporting by Daryl Harding
During the Netflix Anime Festival 2020, the streaming company announced 16 anime titles coming to the service. Hosted by Hisanori Yoshida with special guest Rio Uchida, the two walked through the company’s upcoming anime from previously announced series to upcoming features. The announcements below are in alphabetical order.
Baki Hanma
The story of the strongest parent-child fight in history comes to its climax in the 3rd part of the Baki Hanma series, subtitled ‘Son of Orge,’ premiering on Netflix in 2021. Manga creator Keisuke Itagaki drew a special illustration of Baki for the announcement.
The most dysfunctional father-son relationship of all time reaches its climax when Baki Hanma faces off against the Ogre himself in next year’s season of Keisuke Itagaki’s brutal fight series! pic.twitter.com/Y0mEC8PmS8
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
B the Beginning Succession
The second season of the popular B the Beginning anime series was announced during the presentation, entitled B the Beginning Succession. Netflix showcased the first images from the series as well as the new staff members.
They might have solved their last case, but Keith and Koku aren’t finished yet. Here’s your first glimpse at B: The Beginning Succession’s story of detectives and killers in a high-tech world, arriving next year. @ProductionIGinc pic.twitter.com/spcWDOFUh7
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
Ichiro Kawasaki takes over from Kazuto Nakazawa as the director of B the Beginning Succession at Production I.G. with Nakazawa returning in a supervisory role and the rest of the staff and cast returning for the second season that is scheduled to stream in 2021.
Eden
Netflix released a brand new trailer and visual for the four-episode original series Eden, directed by Yasuhiro Irie with animation production by Qubic Pictures, coming in May 2021.
Sometimes a family is a human girl, a robot, and another robot. EDEN follows Sarah and her mechanical adoptive parents as she confronts a strange, beautiful world, arriving May 2021. pic.twitter.com/1foOcAT8Eh
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
Godzilla: Singular Point
During the presentation, the first visual and teaser trailer for the upcoming Godzilla: Singular Point anime series from Studio Orange and Bones roared its way through the presentation hall.
When danger comes up from the depths, only young geniuses Mei, Yun, and their team can face the threat in Godzilla Singular Point! Take a first look at next year’s new series featuring the classic monster. @CG_Orange_eng @TOHO_GODZILLA pic.twitter.com/B7VWyGb3ZZ
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
The series will feature character designs by Kazue Kato (Blue Exorcist) and a new Godzilla design by Ghibli animator Eiji Yamamori. The series is currently scheduled to broadcast in April 2021.
High Rise Invasion
Netflix will release an anime adaptation of High Rise Invasion, based on the manga series by Takahiro Oba and Tsuina Miura (Ajin), in February 2021. The first two visuals of the series was released as well as the staff and cast. Directed by Masahiro Takata, with animation production by Zero-G.
As Yuri finds herself in a bizarre world of endless buildings and masked killers, she’ll do whatever it takes to find her brother and escape. Next year, discover the secret of the skyscrapers in action horror series High-Rise Invasion. pic.twitter.com/ShFLIYsKHL
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
Yoichi Ueda does the character designs, while Toko Machida works on the series composition, with music from tatsuo and Yoichi Sakai. Haruka Shiraishi, Shiki Aoki, Akira Sekine, Junya Enoki, and Yuichiro Umehara all lend their voices to the anime series.
Pacific Rim: The Black
After being announced in 2018, the first animated visuals and images of Pacific Rim: The Black anime series, based on the cult film series from Legendary Pictures, was released. The presentation showed off the opening title sequence of the 2021 series from Polygon Pictures and co-showrunners Craig Kyle and Greg Johnson.
Long ago, humanity defeated the Kaiju. Now, they’re evacuating Australia. In 2021 join a pair of siblings and their battered, long-abandoned Jaegar as they battle across a continent of danger in Pacific Rim: The Black. @Legendary @POLYGONPICTURES pic.twitter.com/P5ZHZYv9OQ
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness
Announced in September, TMS Entertainment and Quebico (the same studio behind Resident Evil: Vendetta) will be producing a brand new original series based on the Resident Evil franchise, featuring Resident Evil main characters Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield.
When biohazards run wild, only a pair of veteran zombie slayers can get the job done. Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness is a new original series set in the canon of @CapcomUSA_’s classic survival horror franchise @RE_Games, coming next year. pic.twitter.com/nuBKVgXuzp
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
Rilakkuma's Theme Park Adventure
A continuation of the Netflix anime series, directed by Masahito Kobayashi with animation production by dwarf studios and San-X Co., Ltd.
Grab your tickets and get in line for a new series of stop-motion adventures with Rilakkuma and Kaoru! Join Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, Kiiroitori, and Kaoru as they explore an amusement park in its closing hours when Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure arrives next year. pic.twitter.com/qU2qzSl7pH
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
Spriggan
After originally being announced on October 5, Netflix released the first trailer and visual for the newest adaptation of Spriggan. Based on the 1980s to 1990s manga series written by Hiroshi Takashige and drawn by Ryoji Minagawa, the new adaptation will be released on the platform in 2021.
As the armies of man battle over ancient relics, one organization will do all it can to seal them away. Here’s a first look at 2021’s anime series adaptation of legendary action manga Spriggan in action! @DPInc_official pic.twitter.com/ukTzI0nlMS
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
Spriggan is directed by Hiroshi Kobayashi (Kiznaiver), with character designs from Shuhei Handa (Little Witch Academia) and series composition from Hiroshi Seko (Mob Psycho 100), and will be produced at david productions.
The Way of the House Husband
Based on the award-winning manga by Kousuke Oono, J.C.Staff will head the production of The Way of the House Husband. The series will be directed by Chiaki Kon, with Kenjiro Tsuda playing the main character Tatsu.
Japan’s most evil yakuza makes its cutest househusband! Follow Tatsu’s journey from underworld legend to domestic bliss when the anime adaptation of Kousuke Oono’s hit comedy manga The Way of the Househusband premieres in 2021. pic.twitter.com/V7tdVIaYVc
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
Thermae Romae Novae
A new season of the award-winning Thermae Romae series was announced during the presentation, entitled Thermae Romae Novae (novae means new!). A visual for the upcoming series was released. Mari Yamazaki will be drawing new episodes for the series. Production by NAZ.
When Roman Empire bath designer Lucius ends up in modern Japan, he’ll find the two cultures aren’t so different after all. The anime adaptation of Mari Yamazaki’s bathhouse comedy Thermae Romae Novae hits the screen in 2021! pic.twitter.com/SeS1ZMS83W
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan
All four episodes of the OVA anime series for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure spin-off Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan will be coming to Netflix in 2021.
To truly capture the ways of the world, this manga artist will scour the globe for inspiration! All four episodes of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure spin-off Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan make their Netflix debut 2021. pic.twitter.com/cONOzo0d3B
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
Transformers: War For Cybertron Trilogy
Netflix announced during the live stream that the second chapter of Rooster Teeth's Transformers: War For Cybertron will be coming soon.
With the Allspark lost and Decepticons trapped on a dying Cybertron, Optimus Prime pushes the Autobots to the limit in the depths of space. EARTHRISE, the second chapter of the Transformers: War for Cybertron trilogy, is coming soon. @RoosterTeeth @Hasbro pic.twitter.com/up6g4Qt3QB
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
TRESE
New anime series based in Manila, TRESE, was announced. The stream noted that because the series is being created in the Philippines, the creators will have a different perspective of Manila than someone not from the city.
Aswangs of Manila, beware: Alexandra Trese is coming for you. Enjoy this very first look at TRESE, coming soon on Netflix. ???????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/BpiRc6WhjQ
— Netflix Philippines (@Netflix_PH) October 27, 2020
Vampire in the Garden
Vampire in the Garden, a new original anime series from WIT STUDIO, was announced by Netflix. The vampire series, which is being directed by Ryotaro Makihara (The Empire of Corpses), with character designs and animation direction Tetsuya Nishio (Naruto) and art direction from Shunichiro Yoshihara (Attack on Titan), will be out on the platform in 2021.
Once, vampires and humans lived in harmony. Now, a young girl and a vampire queen will search for that Paradise once again. Here’s your first look at Vampire in the Garden, an original story from @WIT_STUDIO premiering next year. pic.twitter.com/9Z55Cn3ijV
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
Yasuke
Yasuke, headed by MAPPA and directed by LeSean Thomas, released the first character sheets of the Black samurai Yasuke as well as the legendary Oda Nobunaga, both drawn by character designer Takeshi Koike.
A village in danger, a mysterious child, warring daimyo, and the greatest ronin never known all clash in a Japan of magic and mechs. Learn the story of the first African samurai when LeSean Thomas’s Yasuke, voiced by Lakeith Stanfield, arrives next year. pic.twitter.com/jCabzutMIv
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) October 27, 2020
Lakeith Stanfield will voice Yasuke, with animation produced at MAPPA and music produced by Flying Lotus. Yasuke is scheduled for 2021 on the platform.
Netflix also discussed the current state of anime on the platform, saying that over 100 million households in nearly 100 countries around the world watch anime on the platform – which has one of the widest reaches of all streaming services –. In Japan, “almost 1 out of 2” households watch at least five hours of anime on the service every month, equal to at least one season of a 12 episode show.
Kyle Cardine is an Editor for Crunchyroll. You can find his Twitter here.
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1. What traditional fantasy races (elf, dwarf, orc, etc) do you have? Have you created any?
Well, the genesis of this story is that people said you can’t do good fantasy in an RPG setting. I’ve read much better fantasy in Forgotten Realms, Warhammer Fantasy, and World of Warcraft tie-ins than in most “original” works (aside from how a lot of fantasy authors are just writing uncredited RPG tie-ins—Witcher is Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, A Song of Ice and Fire is F.A.T.A.L.); so I decided to set a fantasy story in my (homebrew) Pathfinder campaign setting, mostly just to show it can be done. (I think I’m in the clear legally if I don’t use any ‘product identity’ things. Order of the Stick has books, after all.)
So. There are elves, dwarves, and gnomes, plus halflings but my halflings are magically-modified humans, descended from slaves of the witch-empire whose rulers thought a miniature slave would be an amusing novelty. Then I also have goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears (also barghests) as various castes of a mutated elf offshoot, and then orcs and ogres (not ogre mages, I don’t think) are two castes of mutated dwarf. I also have gnolls (which I just call “hyena people”; I don’t know where people hallucinated the idea “gnoll” refers to a hyena dude), catfolk (“cat people”—I hate the word “folk”), and yak people, created by the witch-empire’s mages along with the halflings. There are hybrid races like half-elves and half-orcs, but they’re created by alchemical genetic engineering not naturally, usually by the same people as made the animal-people and halflings (the witch-empire also artificially hybridizes themselves with fiends, elementals, and vampires, to make tieflings, what D&D proper called genasi, and dhampirs). There are also giants, various talking beasts (like wargs) ridden by the nonhuman races—my elves ride talking Homotherium, my dwarves ride talking wolverines the size of black bears—and dragons. (All my dragons are chaotic neutral, since they’re basically intelligent cats.)
There are also bee, ant, and spider people made by one group of weird spirits, and another group made fish people, frog people, lizard people, and snake people; the latter one made kobolds and troglodytes, which are two branches of the same race in my setting, same as goblins and hobgoblins, or orcs and ogres.
The main world of the setting is the home of the gnomes, and the elves and dwarves each came from one of its two moons through magic portals, when rampaging goblins and ogres (respectively) broke down their spiritual protections and allowed their worlds to be overrun by fiends (basically D&D/PF devils, but evenly divided among lawful, neutral, and chaotic). The giants likewise came to the main world from the star-system’s giant planets—stone and fire giants from one, wood and frost from another, and hill giants and cyclopes from a third—because the fire and frost giants, and cyclopes, did what the goblins and ogres did. Humanity only came into being when the other races came from the moons (and planets); the other races aren’t sure exactly why that occurred or where, exactly, humans fit in their cosmology—since they weren’t demonstrably the children of a family of gods, unlike all the other races.
The big peculiarity of my setting is it has no fey; they’re kinda redundant with elves, gnomes, etc.
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((Another old piece, one that makes me sad that I think I lost the Halloween one I wrote for Trask...which is sad because I loved that one alot(Trask a Geist tried to mingle on halloween and it backfired a bit because he just can’t stop when he’s actually ahead.). But this is an old one when I revisited the idea of a Death Knight character but wanted to do something different with it. Which overall wasn’t bad since Areelan was the straight-man to Trask’s general insanity.))
Areelan shuffled through the woods of Elwynn, the chirping of the nightlife seemed to quiet down at her passing. Which only caused her to sigh as she remembered the times when she used to lay in a tree simply listening to such lovely sounds. The pale night elf simply shook her head to get rid of the image as she reached the run down house that was her home, taking a key from her pocket and unlocking the door she entered.
The inside was rather neat and orderly with an armor rack that stood full of dust covered protective gear. A wicked bloodstained axe rested nearby glowing with blue runes. She turned her head towards her desk and the shelves above that were laden with alchemical ingredients.
So many concoctions and so many failures, every so often she’d think she’d have found a cure for the boiling wracking pain that afflicted any Death Knight that didn’t partake in violence. Only to be proven wrong at inopportune times, it made her feel as if the affliction was ever changing, she’d find one mix of ingredients that’d stifle it for a time, only for repeated doses to be ineffective.
Still it was one of the few hobbies she had left that helped keep her sane in her unlife. Aree took a seat at the desk after setting her broom aside, mind pondering. She’d been hearing a lot of hearsay recently, about Garrosh and his new power trip. One that he seemed to be taking even further to the point of trying to conquer or destroy the world, she couldn’t figure out which.
“It seems even when Monsters step aside to try and fade into obscurity, more are ready to take their place and act with far less restraint,” She stated softly to herself before straightening at the sound of claws scrabbling against brick. She turned her head just in time to see the upside down head of the Geist Trask appear in the cold fireplace.
“Ho ho ho, I’m great father winter, and I’ve come for your gifts!” The geist stated wheezily with a mad chuckle, eliciting an eye roll from Areelan.
“You’re several months early Trask…and I don’t know why I told you that, now you’re going to just do it again later.”
“Hey, if a fat ugly dwarf can be great father winter why not a guy with a bag on his head? I’d be prettier.” Trask remarked as he dropped down landing on his hands and knees before rising and moving closer to the desk.
“Because people do not worry about a dwarf trying to eat them.” She stated dryly.
“Hey, I prefer eating things with more meat on their bones, like Ogres, once you get past the blubber and slow roast..mm mm.” Trask replied in a mocking manner.
“I doubt even you could stomach trying that Trask.”
“Details…so what is on the agenda, another glorious alchemical failure hmm?” The undead asked while placing a clawed hand on Aree’s shoulder. The night elf walked over to her desk taking a seat as the old floorboards creaked, her hands grabbing pen and parchment.
“No, money is short again, sweeping the streets of stormwind just doesn’t give much in the way of coin.”
Trask clasped both of his clawed hands together tilting his head to the side and back slightly, “Ooooh you’re getting a second job! How productive of you, you little death knight you supporting your little geist child like a responsible death dealing adult!”
Aree rolled her eyes before she started writing, “Being responsible would be giving you up for adoption to the light.”
The geist feigned a hurt look pose, “I thought you loved me!” Before he cackled.
“Sometimes I wonder why I let you hang around, but no, I have to seek out mercenary work again.” She put simply.
“What the heck do you spend the money you do make on anyway? Not like you eat, no way you spent all the money you built up last time on alchemical supplies, I’ve been keeping track of that out of boredom.”
“Keep wondering Trask,” Aree replied as her hand glided smoothly over the parchment.
“Either way, what outfit will take you? Didn’t you sort of burn the bridge with that last group you worked with, you know throwing their leader overboard when he tried to get you to execute prisoners in some gruesome manner or another?” Trask tapped a claw against where his chin would be underneath that line bag covering his head. “I still say you should have thrown him off the front of the ship, naval road kill, speed bump!”
Aree rolled her eyes again, choosing to stay silent and let Trask rant hoping it might shut him up eventually. She focused her attention on the parchment while dabbing her quill pen in ink and starting to write. There was one unit she could try, though she was fairly certain she’d be rejected due to her undead nature.
To Commander Forrester of The Silver Dragoons
Ishnu-alah Commander Forrester, I write to you with regards to potentially serving with your unit. I would have filled out one of your applications. However I thought it best to write to you first due to circumstances concerning me as an applicant. I am a death knight, and I would not blame you for turning down any notion of my joining based on that fact alone. I know how our kind are looked upon, with evidence to back up such viewpoints.
I however find myself in need of coin, street sweeping simply doesn’t provide much. Not that I am leaving that line of work entirely, someone has to keep the streets clear. As to why I am interested in your unit as opposed to other mercenary groups, to put it simply I have principles that I wish to uphold and other merc groups have in the past been more interested in coin than caring what the job was. Your group has a distinguished past, I remember seeing your tabards among others taking the fight to the Lich King in his own citadel. Anyone that will stand against a foe like that cares about more than just money.
If you are willing to consider me as a potential recruit, I will do what I can to prove myself.
Though I do have some, extra baggage that I have to deal with, I’d prefer to iterate on that in person rather than through a letter.
Sincrely,
Areelan
“Baggage!? Did you seriously just put me down as your baggage!?”
“Do you have a better term for yourself?” She asked wryly.
“Your Stalwart Sidekick against the terrors of dirt in the street!” He stated with a high raspy mocking voice.
“You create more trash to clean up.”
“Assisted job security,” He exclaimed more exuberantly before going into a brief hacking fit.
Areelan let out another sigh before rising, folding up the letter carefully before sticking it in an envelope and sealing it, “I need to go mail this, stay here and fantasize.”
“Right, hold down the fort and scare the crap out of any kids that were dared to knock on your door.”
The night elf eye rolled before departing her home, door creaking shut behind her, only to slam shut when Trask grabbed the door handle.
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Dear Dan,
I want to tell you some thoughts on a fragment called “The Last Judgment” accredited with Hieronymus Bosch.
The painting was first recorded in 1822 as part of the collection of the Städtliche Gallery in Nuremberg. Later on, it came in possession of the Bavarian State Painting Collection, which also belongs to the Alte Pinakothek.
This fragment painted on oak wood was found 1817 (about 400 years after its production!) in the depot of the Nuremberg Castle in Bavaria. The original must have been huge: the dimensions of the fragment are 60cm x 114cm!
It is supposed to be the lower right part of a triptych, if you look at the very bottom left you can see a big amount of dark blue fabric, this is said to belong to a great, standing archangel Michael. In that case, the painting would look as followed: at the top Christ as a judge, underneath him Michael weighing the souls, to his left, the resurrection of the elect, angels leading to heaven, and to his right the saved fragment: the damned, demons dragging them to hell.
This structure was quite a typical one for the 15th century (check out below the polyptych of the Last Judgment by Rogier van der Weyden). It wasn’t even known for a long time if Bosch painted it or not –the new consensus is that it’s painted by an anonymous Bosch follower. This fragment displays the immense popularity and relevance of Bosch for the painters of his time.
What I find so exciting about this painting is not only its visual appeal, the content is so overwhelming: it depicts in a way a “hell on earth”, a system of the afterlife on our world, a visualization of dystopia in our future.
We know that Bosch was rather conservative, he belonged to this re-moralist brotherhood in his hometown and nearly never left the village he lived in. Most of his commissioners were catholic royals and his paintings said to depict the horror people would suffer in hell - a very creative horror though. The goal of his paintings was to depict this hell and create fear inside of the observer and therefore behave more morally correct. Nevertheless today his paintings fulfill some sort of different role, we find them amazing and fantastic, many see them as the pioneering precursors of the surrealist paintings and find similarities between Dali’s and other surrealist paintings and Bosch’s. It makes sense if I was a little Dali boy and would see one of this paintings I would’ve also been heavily inspired!
Even though most of his figures appear nude, the aspect of metamorphosis, collage of elements and transformation is highly linked to fashion design. In a way, I could see modern designs by JW Anderson, Jacquemus, Craig Green, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy and the likes popping up in his paintings. Bosch’s sceneries also remind me of big fetish parties from bird-perspective: people in weird costume next to naked women and men, all in rather experimental, almost painful poses, creeping around, in dream-like landscapes. Several Designers used his paintings as prints and inspiration for their creations, among them also Lee Alexander McQueen in his very last other-worldly collection.
I will describe a few of my favorite figures in this painting. On the left side of the painting, we see about 10 naked people crawling up from holes in the ground. The holes are dark slits, the earth seems to be spitting out people. Among others, we see a pope, two royals and also a priest or pastor, all identifiable by their headgear. The ground is hissing out flames. On center top we can see a green-ish demon, its spine-bones are bunching out strongly, its butt towards the viewer. Two big wings span from its back, a mix of butterfly, moth, and bird, very organic and delicate. It is looking at us, with big black shiny eyes. Kind of a cocky face expression. With its mouse or fox ears, it resembles a bat-demon somewhat. He’s farting on a tortured soul. Not far from it we can see a rather elegant humanoid bird-creature. It has legs and hands of a human and head and tail of a bird, the tail turns into something lizard-y. Its bulky body covered in a long yellow gown, with typical medieval sleeves, wide and long, adorned with white feathers at the hem. With a long metallic rake at hand, it seems to be pulling humans out of the soil.
Underneath it, we find two rather funny promenading individuals. The first one is an old guy with a white hood around his face, to both sides of his head grow a few thin filigree feathers. Its facial expression displays annoyance or displeasure. The small body stands on four human feet and is shrouded in a blue cloak with white lace parts. A ridiculously big tail a la peacock-feather-meets-platypus peeks out from the cloak.
The other figure has a slightly slimmer body shape. Its white skin is naked. The tail and head are of a mouse (or rat), the snout being very pointy red with extremely long white feelers. Its head is covered in a nun-like white cloth, crowned by a red pointy hat. It seems to have a boob, or an udder hanging from its torso. This weird figure is basically just standing there, quasi-hanging out in hell….
Next is a group of four dwarfs or ogres. These figures are very important because they wear oriental clothing and one of them bears the Turkish coat of arms symbol, the moon, on his turban. This is a typical symbol in medieval Christian painting: the Turkish as representatives of the whole Arabic world and Islamic culture, and furthers representing the bad, the evil enemy and the devil. In the very center of the painting, we can see a monster which looks like an explosion. It has no head, instead two tails at the bottom and top of its body. The colors from its skin and wings are fancifully chosen. This demon is brutally smacking a tortured person against the fire-spitting ground. The demons take charge of the dead, who are evidently being led off to hell!
All creatures and scenes shown on this fragment are illustrating the insanity reigning in the devilish hell, a huge chaos rules the world of the sinners and traitors and nobody is safe! The creatures appear as fusions and metamorphosed mutants, all shapes and forms are mingling, all colors and kinds are melting to creatures which take quite a while for our minds to process! The fashion creations in our current world are not far from this, they are wicked and weird, they are materialistic and abundant, exaggerated and extreme. Imagine if eventually, Bosch was just a visionary fortune teller, he might have had some sort of magical crystal ball streaming him live imagery from London or Paris catwalks and runways, providing him with endless inspiration for these Babylonian sceneries!? Or maybe he was able to peek through a future-curtain directly into the studios of the big fashion houses, he could see the poor tortured souls of the interns being maltreated by eccentrically dressed fashion fanatics! We will never know exactly how Bosch’s creatures were conceptualized, but don’t you believe my fashion-visionary theory to not be too far from reality?
text & image selection: Federico Protto
image sources:
The Last Judgement (fragment), by Hieronymus Bosch: boschproject.org
Polyphonic of the Last Judgment by Rogier van der Weyden: artbible.info
First Bosch detail: pinterest.de
Other two Bosch details: boschproject.org
All runway images: vogue.com
#fashion & _______#fashion & catastrophe#catastrophe#fashion#hieronymous bosch#hyeronimus bosch#rogier van der weyden#art theory#federico protto#alexander mcqueen#charles jeffrey loverboy#charles jeffrey#jw anderson#craig green#jacquemus#vivienne westwood#federicoprotto
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The Epic Fallacy Trilogy is a series of interrelated novels by USA Today Bestselling Fantasy Author Michael James Ploof. It is a high-adventure fantasy filled with satirical humor which makes it an interesting near 900 page read.
Epic Fallacy is a satirical high-adventure romp through the Fantasy genre in the tradition of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. Included in this bundle are books 1–3: Champions of the Dragon, Beyond the Wide Wall, and The Legend of Drak’Noir. This collection is 899 pages and 380,000 words. Champions of the Dragon is now a USA Today Bestseller & 2017 Readers’ Favorite Bronze Medal Winner in the Fiction — Fantasy — General genre!
There are three books in this series in the below order
Champions of the Dragon
Beyond the Wide Wall
The Legend of Drak’Noir
It follows our hero Murland Kadabra (appropriately named considering he is a wannabe wizard) who is chosen by the High Wizard as a champion along with four other unlikely companions. These champions are chosen to defeat the Dragon Dark’Noir or so they think…
The deadly dragon is not the only threat that awaits them in their journey as there are far more sinister foes lurking in the shadows.
I will give a short review for each of the books without spoiling too much
Epic Fallacy Book 1 : Champions of the Dragon
The first book starts off with our hero who is a wannabe wizard but he is actually a total failure at magic. He is considered a complete joke among his peers. But his world turns upside down when he is chosen as a champion along with four other seemingly terrible companions. He turns from a zero to a hero within the day. What he and the other champions do not know is that they are not meant to be heroes but sacrificial lamb for the dreaded dark dragon. How they attempt to change their unenviable destiny while battling a multitude of enemies is what makes up the rest of the story.
Please check out the synopsis from the author himself
Murland Kadabra has always dreamed of becoming a great wizard. However, at age 19, the young apprentice has yet to successfully cast a single spell. He has been reduced to grounds keeper of Abra Tower, and has become the laughing stock of the wizarding school. But when the Most High Wizard Kazimir chooses him to be one of the five Champions of the Dragon, Murland’s life changes forever.
He soon finds himself traveling through the wilds with four unlikely companions, including an alcoholic knight, a gay elf prince, a dwarf with humanism, and an obese ogre. Prophecy dictates that these champions must march west to the shadowy peak of Bad Mountain, where they are destined to do battle with the dreaded dragon of legend, Drak’Noir.
But what few people know, is that the prophecy is not altogether true. For it is not five champions who Kazimir chooses, but five fools. They are not meant to defeat the dragon, but to feed her.
To change their fate, the Champions of the Dragon must not only overcome their enemies, but also themselves.
Here is an excerpt from the book containing the first few chapters. Read and Enjoy
Shared via Kindle. Description: Murland Kadabra has always dreamed of becoming a great wizard. However, at age 19, the…
Champions of the Dragon (Epic Fallacy Book 1)
read.amazon.in
Epic Fallacy Book 2 : Beyond the Wide Wall
After overcoming the odds in book 1, the journey continues in the second book. They need to travel beyond the wide wall and onwards to the peak of bad mountain where the dragon awaits for the promised sacrifice. The journey gets even more perilous. Four of Murland’s friends are captured by Captain McArgh and they need to figure out a way to escape so they can reach the champions in time. Meanwhile another new threat in the Dark Lord Zuul rises and he is going head-to-head with Kazimir. How the champions combat all these threats makes up the second book.
Here is the synopsis from the second book
The Champions of the Dragon have survived the darklings, bandits, flocks of harpies, cyclopes, and have finally reached the Wide Wall — now the hard part begins.
Murland and the companions must now travel west beyond the Wide Wall, through the Forest of the Dead, past the Swamp of Doom, over the Horrible Hills, across the Long Sand, all the way to the shadowy peak of Bad Mountain. For Drak’Noir awaits her sacrifice.
Taken prisoner by the fearless Captain McArgh, Princess Caressa, Valkimir, Hagus, and Dingleberry are traveling farther away from the champions with every passing minute. If they cannot figure out a way to escape, they will never reach the champions in time to deliver their shocking message.
Meanwhile, Kazimir plays a dangerous game with Zuul, the Dark Lord reborn, and Headmaster Zorromon the Off-White sets out to save Murland from a fool’s fate.
Here is the link for the first few chapters from the second book
Shared via Kindle. Description: The Champions of the Dragon have survived the darklings, bandits, flocks of harpies…
Beyond the Wide Wall: Humorous Fantasy (Epic Fallacy Book 2)
read.amazon.in
Epic Fallacy Book 3 : The Legend of Drak’Noir
The grand finale pits the motley band of heroes against the deadly dragon in a fight to the finish. Will the heroes defy all odds and defeat the dragon, or will they fall victim to their fate like all the champions who went before them?
The synopsis for the third one is below
The Champions of the Dragon have braved the wilds beyond the Wide Wall, but now the truth of the prophecy threatens to tear the group apart.
With Sir Eldrick missing, Murland and the others solicit the help of Captain McArgh to track down the drunken knight across the North Sea.
Meanwhile, Zorromon the Off-White races to the Twisted Tower to free Headmaster Hinckley from a terrible fate at the hands of Zuul.
Can the champions come together against all odds and defeat the terrible dragon of legend, or will they suffer a fool’s fate like those before them? Download now and whoosh yourself to Fallacetine to find out, for epic adventure, magic, and ridiculousness awaits!
Here is the beginning of the third book for your enjoyment
Shared via Kindle. Description: The Champions of the Dragon have braved the wilds beyond the Wide Wall, but now the…
The Legend of Drak'Noir: Humorous Fantasy (Epic Fallacy Book 3)
read.amazon.in
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.
If you enjoyed the sample chapters, please make sure to buy the book and leave a review to support the author
Readers from US, Canada, Europe and Japan can get complete set at the below Amazon link
Epic Fallacy Trilogy: Contains Champions of the Dragon, Beyond the Wide Wall, The Legend of Drak'Noir - Kindle edition…
Epic Fallacy Trilogy: Contains Champions of the Dragon, Beyond the Wide Wall, The Legend of…
www.amazon.com
Readers from India can get complete set at the below Amazon link
Murland Kadabra has always dreamed of becoming a great wizard. However, at age 19, the young apprentice has yet to…
Epic Fallacy Trilogy: Contains Champions of the Dragon, Beyond the Wide Wall, The Legend of…
www.amazon.in
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Kampy Takes a Look At: Ghostwatch
Spoilers
I love horror movies. I love found footage horror movies. The intense sensation the viewer experiences by seeing events unfold as though they were actually in the film, framed by the first person Point of view of filming techniques, is a cinematic trope of which I have yet to tire of. Filmmakers must construct these films with much more care than a typical horror film. It’s difficult to strike a balance of showing too much, ruining the realistic feel of the film, and showing too little, disappointing the audience with an unfulfilling pay off to the cinematic haunted house. Filmmakers must also strike a delicate balance with the protagonists, which act as the audience surrogate; compelling enough to carry the story with clear purpose while being generic enough that the audience can continue to insert themselves into the film. The UK television mockumentary, Ghostwatch succeeds in overcoming both of these difficulties masterfully. While not a perfect film, Ghostwatch makes many choices, which help to both draw the viewer into the drama as though they were truly present for the events in question, creates a compelling cast of characters in which the audience can interact, and creates unsettling atmosphere and subtle scares which never go too far into the absurd. It’s no wonder that the film would inspire many in the UK to believe it was real upon it’s initial airing, but would also go on to inspire a whole slew of found footage style horror films –most notably, The Blair Witch Project.
The BBC’s Ghostwatch is a 90-minute horror story shot in a documentary style that aired in 1992 as a part of the BBC’s “Screen One” drama series. While the special was clearly indicated to be a work of fiction, it is based on the paranormal case of the Enfield Poltergeist. Heavily investigated and criticized, with evidence both confirming and denying it as a potential hoax, this poltergeist case was in the forefront of every paranormal investigator’s mind as one of the most compelling pieces of supernatural occurrences. Many casual viewers who watched the special were terrified by what they saw, and later angered when they found out it was a work of fiction. Tabloids were outraged by the disturbing imagery and frightened viewers continued to call the network even after the airing. To this day, the special has not aired again on the BBC. However, its rise to cult status and its influence on modern day found footage horror films cannot be understated. Many of the found footage techniques this film utilized are found today in modern horror films, including the dreaded mirror scare (which I hate). This just goes to show the influence this film holds over filmmakers, even 25 years later.
The special stars professional reporters Michael Parkinson, Sarah Greene, Mike Smith and Craig Charles as themselves and actress Gillian Bevan as the in studio parapsychologist. Sarah Greene is sent with her camera crew to investigate the potential haunting of a house in Greater London. Through interviews with neighbors, on site happenings, and in studio investigation with calling viewers, it is revealed that the house is haunted by a malevolent spirit the children who live in the house call “Pipes”. In the end, all hell breaks loose and the viewer is left to wonder what will happen next as the special ends with Michael Parkinson reciting the creepy nursery rhyme Pipes was fond of.
The framing, through a news network investigation, is a boon to the special as it allows the viewers to both feel as though they are participating in the haunted excursion and to have a compelling protagonist to act as the focal point of the film. The audience is viewing the events unfolding from the perspective of the relatively silent cameraman, focusing on Sarah. With Sarah Greene acting as the mouthpiece for the audience while having her own agenda, the viewer becomes invested in not only the happenings of the haunting, but also the wellbeing of an actual character that we have come to know and identify with. Greene plays herself as inquisitive, but somewhat skeptical, much like the average viewer would be. I think this is one of the main reasons viewers were drawn in and compelled to believe the events that took place as truth, as opposed to listening to the disclaimer at the beginning of the show; Greene acts as your average joe, or jane, while investigating. Even though she kindly takes care of the kids that live in the house while their mother observes, she is shown to be skeptical of their claims due to ever nature as a reporter. However, at the same time, she wants to believe them as she herself is a woman who is excited by the prospects of the supernatural. This duality, along with the depth of her performance, makes Green a fascinating character to watch as the chaos around her unfolds.
The special itself holds an air of skeptical realism, with much of the haunting itself being like real world claims of paranormal activity. Inanimate objects moving, seeing glimpses of something out of the corner of your eye, recordings seemingly changing depending on the viewer, weird sounds at night, and such. Michael Parkinson falls on the opposite side of the spectrum of belief desire. He’s quite sure the whole thing is a hoax but doesn’t want to let on to this fact due to the ratings monster that the special had the potential to be. He surrounds himself with those who want to believe and yet he himself has a hard time doing so. It’s the perfect juxtaposition to Greene. The weird sounds are easily explained away in the studio as natural phenomenon (heating pipes and leaky faucets, for example) and the possessed voices are explained as the girls playing tricks. However, we as the audience and Greene on location, know something isn’t quite right.
So, all of this is good and whatnot, but how effective are the scares? Well, pretty effective, honestly. Thankfully, as a found footage style special, the subtle scares are as true for the viewer as they are for Greene’s character. The ghost is never seen fully and is often hidden in the background, with fleeting, but unsettling glances. Sometimes the lighting is set up in such a way to trick the viewer into seeing something that isn’t there. Sometime, the actor playing the ghost is wearing clothes to blend in with the background, giving the audience a vague, humanoid outline that seems to appear and disappear at random. Even the mirror bit -which I hate- is present when the specter appears in a reflective surface suddenly, only to disappear when the character turns away. A great example of this thoughtful staging would be early in the film when a video camera catches a glimpse of something at night. The two girls who live in the house are going to sleep in their room and when the lights go out, you can vaguely see a humanoid figure against the curtains alongside the window. A “viewer” calls in about this and when the footage is played back, the shadows of the room’s lighting makes it appears there is something standing in front of the curtain, but there isn’t. Later, the footage is played again and you can clearly see something watching the girls as they sleep. In truth, there were 3 different versions of this scene shot. One had no ghost, one had a transparent ghost, and the third had the curtain set up purposefully to make the shadow fall in such a way that tricks the viewer into seeing something. The average viewer would have been, and was, tricked into thinking that they, perhaps, hadn’t seen anything at all when in reality there was something in the room. This effects staging is prevalent all throughout the film and is so impressive that so far not all the apparition appearances in the film have been recorder, with a new sighting occurring every couple of years.
Like anything, Ghostwatch isn’t without its faults. Some of the segments, like the interview with the skeptic from the US, are too slow and mess up the pacing of the actual investigation, which is the heart of the film. The actors playing the little girls are a bit distracting with their line delivery being rather forced. Though this may be a result of their ages and inexperience at acting. The last 15 minutes of the film also escalates too quickly and the tone shift is sudden enough to give you a case a whiplash. Finally, the use of the viewer calls to dump exposition at the very end of the film felt like a cop out to explain the haunting, rather than something that developed organically or could be left ambiguous. However, most of these issues are overcome by the strength of the reporter’s performances, the quality of the scares, and the atmosphere the special carefully builds.
Ghostwatch is a fascinating film with a great sense of atmosphere and intrigue. As a precursor to many of the found footage films we see today, it’s easy to see where many of the influences are drawn from. While the beginning can be a bit slow, the payoffs and scares are well worth it. It succeeds in creating a dramatic, tense atmosphere while ensuring the audience remains a part of the film and remain invested in the protagonist. This is difficult for any film to achieve, much less a found footage film. Ghostwatch, surprisingly, does it wonderfully. It’s especially commendable due to being a early 90’s BBC production, which traditionally have suffered from low budgets and studio interference. Thankfully, neither hindered this piece.
Rating: 8/10 – Ghostwatch is a well-crafted, albeit slow starting, scare filled ride which not only wants to include the audience in it’s fun, but also develop a strong story and characters to leave as much impact on its viewers and genre as it can.
#ghostwatch#movie review#bbc#ghost#poltergeist#mockumentary#Kampy Takes a Look At#Dwarf & Ogre Productions
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Happy Late Valentines Day!
To @goddesswan. Hi! I’m your CSSV and I’m sorry this is a little late. I wasn’t able to get to my laptop till today. But I hope you enjoy this story and I can’t wait to update it again. I enjoyed getting to know you!
Through the Fairy Ring (also here on AO3)
Chapter 1
All she could hear was the thundering of hooves behind her as she ran through the forest. It was light enough that people could see, so there was no place to hide. She came to a stop in the middle of a clearing and looked in every direction to see which way she would go next. In front of her the clearing opened to what sounded like a stream. To her left and right, the forest grew thick with brush the deeper you went. And behind her the sounds of the hooves grew louder.
She decided to take her chance with the stream and went straight ahead. She knew anyone with half a brain would go to a water source to try and get away from people who were hunting them.
As she went forth, the sounds of the hooves grew fainter behind her until she could hear them no more. She continued through the field and was met with a hill the moment she hit the tree line. Looking around she could see that there was no safer way to get down than the spot in front of her, so she carefully started to slide down the hill, taking one step at a time and dodging trees.
At the bottom of the hill, her eyes focused in on her target and she smiled at herself. She had finally found it!
There, on the other side of the stream, was the buck that she had set out to find earlier that morning. It had eluded her all morning and most of the early afternoon, but now she had finally caught up to it.
Emma slowly pulled out her bow and equipped an arrow and carefully aimed at the animal that was about 200 yards away; an easy shot by her mother’s standards. As she was just about to let her arrow go, another arrow flew past her head and into the animal’s chest, dropping dead instantly. Her eyes were wide as she saw her hunt laying on the ground with an arrow that wasn’t hers.
“Nice try there. Thanks for leading me to him darling,” a soft voice declared behind her. Emma sighed and put her arrow back and bow away.
“Mother,” she moaned, “You know I had him! I was about ready to aim when you came in and shot him before I did.” Emma turned to fully face her mother at that point.
Queen Snow just laughed as she flipped her braided her behind her back and knelt next to her daughter. “Emma, you still have much to learn about the forest. Yes, your archery skills are nothing short of spectacular now. But you need to learn to read animals. If you did, you would have known that the buck had grown stiff and weary. He was getting ready to dash and you would have missed your shot if you had taken it.”
Emma couldn’t help but agree with her mother. She knew that she had more work to do if she was to know as much as her mother did. But being on the run from the Evil Queen kind of forced her to become very good very quickly or die trying. Emma had the luxury of learning at her own pace.
“You’re right. Maybe that will be the next lesson?” she asked her mother, hope quickly bubbling in her voice at the thought of moving on in the lessons. Snow just nodded her head and smiled as she watched her daughter jump up and down with excitement.
“Just remember, it’s still a race to see who will get the animal first. And I will still win,” Snow said with a wink to Emma, who in turn scoffed before headed to the fallen dear.
“Oh Emma, don’t worry about it! The dwarves said if we get it today, they would take it home and cook it up for dinner!” Snow called from the trees behind her.
She only smiled back at her with a little tint of rebellion in her eyes. “Well, that’s good that he won’t go to waste but I don’t think it’s fair that they have to come all the way out here to get it just to take him all the way home…”
“Emma Ruth…” Snow started calling, “I know exactly what you’re thinking and the answer is no! Don’t you remember the last time you tried that?”
Emma just shrugged her shoulders a little and looked back. “Okay, so I accidentally ended up in the swamps with the Ogres. Nothing bad happened. We now have a growing friendship with them because of it.”
Snow couldn’t help but drop her head in defeat. Of course, she had to bring that part up. How did she forget! It’s not like she couldn’t stop her anyways because no matter what…
THUMP!
Snow White looked up quickly from her spot and started running to where her daughter had just been. The area was now surrounded in a white, heavy smoke and she could hear someone coughing in it. She reached for her arrows, never knowing what was going to happen when her daughter used her magic for teleporting to other areas. Sometimes nothing appeared, sometimes birds or other small animals appeared. One time a child appeared and they cried the whole time until they were reunited with their mother.
The smoke in the area was starting to clear up and Snow could make out a small person in the middle of it. She started to put her bow away, not wanting to scare a child with it and got closer to help them up. As she got closer, the coughing started to turn to sneezing and she feared the child may have gotten too much smoke in their lungs... until she saw that it wasn’t a small child at all.
“Sneezy?” She cried. The dwarf just looked up at her and smiled and then went right back to sneezing. “Oh goodness. Well, at least that means she made it to your home this time,” she said as she helped him up and they started walking back to the castle.
-----
Later that evening, after much thanks from the dwarfs for dinner and three failed attempts to get back home, Emma sat in her room getting herself ready to turn in for the night. She sat in front of her vanity brushing out her long, golden hair and then weaved it into a braid for bed. As she sat, she pondered over her magic.
How come she was the only person in her family to have magic? No one else had ever heard of any ancestors being able to wield it. She had been told that it was because she was the product of true love and that sometimes those born because of it were blessed with magic. But that was only a legend. No one in this land was able to wield magic except for two people: the Dark One and Fairies. Although she had heard that fairies could bestow magic onto those they deem worthy, but they never gave it to a newborn. It was always an older adult. And she had been born with it.
Oh well. It didn’t matter anyway. The last person to have powers bestowed upon them was the Evil Queen who had been taken down by her parents many years ago. Ever since the Evil Queen’s reign the fairies had all but disappeared from the Enchanted Forest, leaving the place without magic for at least 20 years. That was, until Emma was born. And she was learning from her books pretty well.
Emma shook her head violently to get her thought out of her head. Every time she started thinking too hard on the subject she always ended up with migraines and the next day was horrible to get through. She got up from her stool and walked her way over to her bed and laid down. As she started to drift off to sleep she looked out her windows and out into the forest and let her mind wander to the next lesson she was to learn tomorrow.
----
The next day Emma had awoken with much anticipation. Her mother was going to finally teach her how to read the animals and find effective ways to communicate. She was always in awe when she would watch her mother calmly walk up to a woodland creature, gently talking to it, and just pick it up and start petting it, or the animal would come to her and perch on her arms. When Emma tried all she did was scare the poor creature away while her mother giggled behind her. She wondered why she didn’t teach her this first when they started this when she was five. Why wait until she was 16? Oh well, better late than never.
Or at least that’s what she had said this morning. It was already afternoon; the sun was at its highest peak and was beating down relentlessly on the princess and the Queen. The trees offered some shelter from the sun, but the shade was sparse as they were in the less dense part of the forest closer to the castle.
“Mom,” Emma cried, “can we please take a small break? It’s so hot out today!” She had taken a seat on a stump nearby.
Snow just turned around and looked at her poor offspring. “Emma, we need to get to the rabbit’s hole before long. If we stop, they’ll be gone by the time we get there!”
Emma only let out a loud sigh when she got an idea in her head. “Hey how about this. You keep walking, I’ll stay here for just a minute or two and then run to catch up with you. I know where the rabbit hole is so even if I don’t find you I can find it!”
Snow looked down at her daughter and closed her eyes. Didn’t she know running was only going to exhaust her more? When she opened them again she saw Emma bouncing in her seat and just smiled weakly. How else was she going to learn?
“Okay, but don’t be too long. If you get lost I may have to send Ruby out to find you.”
Emma’s smile was huge and it made Snow’s heart melt a little. Her baby girl was growing up and there was nothing she could do to stop or slow it down. She gave her a smile back and turned around to keep walking towards their destination.
Emma sat back further on her stump until she met the tree behind her and closed her eyes. It really was a beautiful day out. But it was just too hot for them to be doing anything. Even her father, who loves to train every day, decided to stay indoors today. Now that was saying something.
When she was sure her mother was far enough away that she couldn’t hear, or see her, Emma opened her eyes and pulled out a little bag of rice. She put one grain in her palm, covered it with her other hand, and began to chant silently until she saw a white light come from her hands. With anticipation, she opened her hands and let out a shriek of joy. In her hand was not only the grain she started with, but at least ten more! She had finally gotten the duplication spell down! She started putting the rice back into her bag, seeing as how it’s been way longer than the two or three minutes her mother had told her, and got up to start in the direction of the rabbit hole.
Emma had only walked a few yards when she came upon a peculiar site. Before her was a large circle of mushrooms, or better known as a fairy circle. She thought back to all the readings she’d done and wondered how it ended up here? These rings only appeared when a fairy was around who was willing to help out a human should they find their ring. And well, seeing as how no fairy had been in this land for 20 or so years, they were all gone, their magic taken with their fairy. Could this just be the way the mushrooms wanted to grow? Oh well, no matter. She had a rabbit hole to get to and a wolf to keep off her back if she was late.
And so, not even thinking twice about it, Emma began to step into the fairy circle to make her way to her mom, when all of a sudden her vision grew dark. The trees around her began to fade from her sight. The ground underneath felt like it was giving way.
And then, there was nothing.
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Game 322: Nemesis (1981)
Hey, it was a bare-bones era.
Nemesis
United States
SuperSoft (developer and publisher)
Released in 1981 for CP/M
Date Started: 24 March 2019
Date Ended: 24 March 2019
Total Hours: 4
Difficulty: Moderate (3/5)
Final Rating: (to come later)
Ranking at time of posting: (to come later)
In 1977, the innovative first-person dungeon crawler Oubliette appeared on the PLATO mainframe system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Two students, aspiring programmers, became convinced of its commercial potential. Taking various elements from the game, they reprogrammed it for the microcomputer and released their version in 1981, offering no credit or acknowledgement to the Oubliette authors. The game was a smash hit and launched a dynasty of sequels and imitators, influencing the genre down to the present day.
The last sentence makes it clear that the above paragraph was about Wizardry, but take it out and you also have a description of Nemesis, one of a very small number of RPGs released for the CP/M operating system. The CP/M was a popular OS for Intel 8086 and 8088 computers in the 1970s, and based on most accounts, it would have been the OS of choice for the new IBM-PC if some issues hadn’t arisen over a non-disclosure agreement, leaving the door open for Microsoft to sell IBM on PC-DOS, which ironically took some of its elements from CP/M. If things had gone another way, Nemesis might have been one of the first RPGs for a booming OS rather than one that died the same year.
A mix of D&D, Tolkien, and Donaldson in the race list was an early clue.
Like Wizardry, Nemesis isn’t an exact copy, and has plenty of its own innovations, so we shouldn’t go too far in making accusations of plagiarism and such. In fact, in making their adaptation, the authors–Michael A. Pagels and Michael Q. Hiller–changed enough of the elements (in particular getting rid of the 3-D interface) that I might not have noticed the association. What tipped me off was the use of “ur-vile” (from Stephen Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant series) as a character class. I knew I’d seen that before, searched my blog, and came up with my entry on Oubliette. From there, I noticed that the list of races for the two games were exactly the same, in the same order, excepting the replacement of “Eldar Elf” with “Grey Elf.” Then I got hold of the game manual and noted that the address for SuperSoft was a post office box in Champaign.
Getting the game running was no picnic. The only reliable CP/M emulator that I could find (Simeon Cran’s MicroFast) was for DOS, which put me in the weird position of running an emulator within an emulator. The game then requires you to create a configuration file for the terminal you’re using before you can run it. It has configurations programmed for numerous terminals, but none of them seemed to overlap with the various options offered by MicroFast. Actually, one did–the D.E.C. VT-52–but I overlooked it for a while, wasted a lot of time trying to define my own terminal type, and nearly gave up before I figured it out.
Nemesis is necessarily dumbed-down from Oubliette. Microcomputers of 1981 had nothing like the resources of the PLATO mainframe. Oubliette‘s explorable “town” level with numerous shops, inns, and so forth was (like in Wizardry) turned into a menu town. Instead of a party, a single character adventures alone. Combat is rendered considerably easier as a consequence.
But the basic rules, logistics, and statistics come directly from Oubliette, which itself drew heavily from Dungeons & Dragons and a few other sources. Character creation has you choose first from 15 races: human, elf, dwarf, half-dwarf, half-elf, hobbit, orc, uruk-hai, ogre (misspelled “orge”), pixie, goblin, hobgoblin, kobold, ur-vile, and grey elf. The game then randomly rolls for your strength, intelligence, wisdom, charisma, constitution, dexterity, gold, and (weirdly enough) sex. The rolls are modified by your race choice. You also choose an alignment from lawful, neutral, or chaotic, which was also used by Oubliette but goes back to original D&D.
Choosing a class after rolling attributes.
You can re-roll as many times as you want before accepting the character, at which point you choose from a list of available classes, with those that don’t meet your minimum attributes filtered out. There are 15 classes, and they again match Oubliette’s list in names and order, except for the substitution of “rogue” for thief and “featheror” for courtesan. Nemesis‘s full list is cleric, demondim, featheror, hirebrand, mage, minstrel, ninja, paladin, raver, peasant, ranger, rogue, sage, samurai, and valkyrie. After a few false starts with boilerplate characters (e.g., an ogre hirebrand), I decided to aim for a “minstrel” because it amused me to think of an adventurer pratfalling his way through a dungeon while belting a tune about his mammy down in Alabamy.
The menu town has an armory for buying and selling weapons and armor, a hospital, an inn, and Archives. Hospitals and inns both let you restore hit points. Hospitals cost money but heal you a lot faster (in game days) than inns, which has implications for your longevity. The Archives is where you go to pay money to have unknown items identified. New characters have no equipment, but they also have so little gold that you usually can’t buy anything. Even a “pointed stick” costs over 100 gold pieces. So you enter the dungeon and take a chance with your hands.
Visiting the store. I have no idea why I’d need a hanky, brick, or beenie.
Visiting the hospital after a rough dungeon trip.
Gameplay consists mostly of wandering the 21 x 23 dungeon levels, picking up equipment as you find it, and killing monsters as they attack you. The items you find almost immediately outclass what’s available in the store, so you mostly use gold for healing and identifying items in the archives. You want to stay near the entrance until you gain a few levels and extra hit points; although combat is relatively easy on Level 1, the game still features permadeath, and you can always get unlucky.
The dungeon is rendered in roguelike fashion, with ASCII characters representing the walls and doors, rather than in the 3D graphical fashion of Oubliette. It’s possible that the developers were exposed to Rogue but equally possible that they came up with the idea independently. In addition to stairs, players can encounter chutes and pits to lower levels, teleporters, anti-magic rooms, anti-cleric rooms, “melee rooms” (every square has a combat), and special treasure rooms. You maneuver with the URLD keys.
Making my way through the dungeon. The character is a flashing underscore, so don’t ask me to find it on this static shot.
Combat is drawn largely unchanged from Oubliette. When you encounter an enemy party, you’re taken to a separate screen. Where you can see your own statistics and inventory and the enemy groups that you face. Your options are only (F)ight, (C)leric spell, (M)age spell, and (U)se a special item. There is no fleeing or parrying. Even worse, the point of most of the character classes is nullified, as the authors failed to adapt any of their special abilities. Courtesans/”featherors” and minstrels can no longer charm enemies; rogues and ninjas can’t hide; clerics cannot dispel undead; paladins cannot lay on hands. There is a suggestion that some of these abilities were intended for a sequel.
I believe the primary party I’m fighting is orcs, but I caught this in the process of refreshing the screen. Two mediums (priestly classes) have joined the battle.
Other monsters may appear to join a battle in progress. As you kill them, you see your experience and gold increase. Leveling happens when you leave the dungeon, and it’s accompanied by increases in maximum health and spell points.
Nemesis offers 55 different monster types, and all of them appear in Oubliette with a few exceptions, and those exceptions are all simple substitutions. For instance, Oubliette‘s giant spider and giant ant become “huge spider” and “large ant” in Nemesis. Oubliette has a lot more monsters than Nemesis; those that didn’t make the cut tend to be the higher-level monsters like dragons, medusas, and advanced spellcasters, and I suspect that the Nemesis authors didn’t know how, or didn’t have the space, to program those enemies’ special attacks.
The game’s town. Oubliette had stores, hospitals, and inns, but I think the Archives are original to this game.
There is some overlap in the games’ spells, but on the other hand, the 13 mage spells and 11 cleric spells offered by Nemesis are common enough that they could have come from anywhere. Nemesis doesn’t require you to know a spell code name to cast its spells. They are separated into travel spells (“Light,” “Protect,” “Levitate”) and combat spells (“Damage,” “Sleep,” “Fireball”), and each depletes a number of magic points from the character’s pool.
There’s no main quest or winning condition in Nemesis. The manual encourages you to set your own goals, such as a certain experience level or treasure level. Survival isn’t very hard if you can live past Level 0 and if you play conservatively, for instance returning to the surface when you’ve lost half your health. The game earns only a 12 in my GIMLET, with no element rising above a 2. It is particularly hurt by the lack of any backstory, NPCs, or quests (all 0).
Ironically, one of the monster types that the game did not adapt from Oubliette was dragons.
The manual indicates that Nemesis II was already under development when Nemesis shipped. The creators intended to bring multi-user capabilities to the sequel. Players were invited to join the “Nemesis User Group,” which met at Hiller’s residence, to test the new adventure. Alas, it was never finished.
Pagels, Hiller, and SuperSoft issued at least two other products: a multi-player science fiction game called StarJump and a dungeon level and character editor called Nemesis Dungeon Master. The latter came with the edition of Nemesis that I downloaded, but it must have been a late addition because the manual doesn’t mention it at all.
The Nemesis Dungeon Master character editor.
On a Google Group about a year ago, Pagels indicated that he and Hiller “had a great time writing this game, and it helped pay for grad school.” Neither continued in the gaming industry. I reached out to both for comments but didn’t get a response.
If we ever get hold of OrbQuest (1981), we may have a challenger, but until then, I’m willing to call Nemesis the best CRPG issued for the CP/M operating system. I’m glad we had a chance to check it out.
source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/game-322-nemesis-1981/
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What is Tower of God? A Beginner's Journey to the Phenomenon
It’s finally happening: on April 1, 2020, Crunchyroll and Telecom Animation Film are adapting the megahit WEBTOON Tower of God into an anime. Tower of God is the closest WEBTOON has to a Naruto or Bleach-sized hit shonen comic. A series that’s been going strong for ten years, with a fanbase that includes both curious new readers investigating this new “Webtoon” thing as well as older readers with warm and fuzzy feelings for that cool Korean comic they found once.
Up to this point, I’d never read very far into the series myself. But I’ve always been curious. The world of Korean comics is vibrant—comics optimized to read on your phone which vacillates between professional work and endearingly amateur productions. I’ve heard good things about Tower of God over the years from a former coworker of mine who recommended it especially highly. With the anime about to air in just two weeks, I figured it was time to blast through the first season of the comic (about 80 or so chapters) and discover the truth:
What is Tower of God?
Well, now I know. Tower of God is the story of Rak, a huge and arrogant crocodile man. With his mighty spear he aims to defeat all challenges and conquer the world of.........nah, just kidding.
Tower of God is the story of Bam, a young boy chasing his friend Rachel, up a tower featuring countless floors of tests and challenges. But it’s also the story of the ruthless king Zahad and his adopted daughters, murderous princesses who wield the legendary weapons known as the 13 Months. One of these princesses is Anak, a headstrong lizard girl with a secret. And then there’s Khun Aguero Agnis, the runaway scion of a royal family of schemers and assassins.
Tower of God features plenty of tropes and ideas familiar to fans of Shonen Jump comics and their ilk. There’s an emphasis on solving games and puzzles familiar to any fan of Hunter x Hunter (for that matter, Khun begins as a dead ringer for Killua.) There’s the team-based interplay of Naruto, where mismatched heroes are forced to work as a team against dangerous foes. The 13 Months are introduced as living weapons right out of Bleach, though that angle is dropped quickly (at least in part 1.) There’s even a section where Tower of God becomes a magical school story, as one of its many tests forces the cast to train and study in close quarters.
In my mind, Tower of God stands out from the pack in two ways. The first is in its emphasis on scale and lore. The world where the story takes place is a big one, filled with creatures that dwarf Bam from the very first chapter. The 13 Months grow and shrink, filling the whole of the long and thin WEBTOON display with their power. The world of Tower of God is also a weird one—much of the cast are cool and stylish teens, but there are also lizard people, devil men, folks with multiple eyes and a full range of conniving royal families and insignia. There aren’t just separate powers, artifacts, and abilities, but individual character classes that play different roles in battle. Fans of Type-Moon properties and of Kinoko Nasu (the writer of Fate/stay night and Tsukihime) should get a kick out of the endless flow of proper nouns and concepts introduced, contextualized, and retrofitted every other chapter.
The Secret to Tower of God's Success
This leads me to Tower of God's second distinguishing feature, which is its exuberance. On its publication in 2010, series creator SIU (short for Slave. In. Utero.) claimed it was only the first story in the Talze Ulzer series. Years later, none of those other stories have come to fruition, just as the Ogre Battle Saga remains incomplete and fans of Xenogears continue to trawl its millennia-long history in search of clues. Reading through the first arc of the series, I began to suspect that Tower of God was a stand-alone story that spun out of control, a narrative that despite its author’s obsessive planning features its share of dead ends. Compared to One Piece or even Bleach, projects managed by editors and hammered into marketability by constant reader surveys, Tower of God gives the impression in its first few chapters of a webcomic in its first phase, the author casting around for inspiration before settling into a groove.
Based on my research, this is almost exactly what happened: Tower of God came into being as ideas and drawings scribbled in a notebook the author worked on during mandatory military service. And this isn’t a bad thing! ONE was a webcomic artist who drew One-Punch Man as a one-off joke, and from there took the world by storm. Tower of God may be a tangle of monsters and tests and ideas and powers, but that tangle is genuine. You get the sense reading it that the author crammed every one of their favorite ideas into the strip, even if not all of them fit perfectly. There’s something refreshing about that compared to the almost aggressively polished and formulaic storytelling (with all due respect to its effectiveness) you find in a Shonen Jump comic. Tower of God became popular not because it was a market-tested, efficient Rube Goldberg machine of cliffhangers, but because readers across the world responded to the author’s scrambling passion and gave their sketch-filled notebook a life of its own. SIU’s hobby became too big to fail. And now it’s an anime.
I’m curious to see how the new adaptation cuts and refines the comic’s original story. Of course, I hope that the staff does what is best for the purposes of the medium, rather than slavishly recreate the comic. The nature of webtoons themselves, a long film-strip of discrete moments, already lends a “cinematic” feeling. But part of me hopes that the spirit of those early chapters is kept intact—just like the adaptations of ONE’s work went to great lengths to keep the source material’s DIY spirit alive. Either way, I’m excited to see the new adventures of Rak: the noble crocodile who, as we all know, is the true hero of Tower of God.
Are you a fan of Tower of God? Are you looking forward to the upcoming anime? Is Black March more or less powerful than King Arturia's Excalibur? Let us know in the comments!
---
Adam W is a Features Writer at Crunchyroll. His favorite comic on Webtoon is Your Letter. He sporadically contributes with a loose coalition of friends to a blog called Isn't it Electrifying? Find him on Twitter at: @wendeego
Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!
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