Cliff Clavin, Rebel Officer

 The original Star Wars trilogy has been on TV a several times lately.  And since it is my
trilogy I've watched it when I can.  The last couple of times I've seen The Empire Strikes Back I've noticed that one of the officers in the hanger scene on Hoth where Leia is worried about Luke and Han looked familiar.  He looked like Cliff Clavin from the TV show Cheers.  So I checked it in IMDB and what the hell do you know, John Ratzenberger was in The Empire Strikes Back!  He played Rebel Force Major Derlin.  Maybe many of you know this but it's news to me.  It both blew my mind and made me laugh at the same time.  Now John Ratzenberger is a fine actor and an excellent voice actor but he will forever be Cliff Clavin to me.  Not that he's completely type cast in my mind but that's the character I will always associate him with because of how much and how long I watched Cheers.  I watched it from when I was a freshman in high school until after I got out of graduate school.

Now, delving a little deeper into his roles he has some pretty impressive SF cred.  He was in both Outland and Superman II.  Beyond that he was in A Bridge Too Far, Gandhi and Reds.  Even though they were small roles, I'm still impressed.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I finally got to see it.  And in a word:  Excellent.

Slightly predictable, action filled and filled me with an incredible sense of nostalgia.  I won't spoil anything for the two of you out there who haven't seen.  The movie rushed along with the same pace as the original and I appreciated that and the sense of wonder it invoked.  Also, as I explained to my son, I have known these characters since I was 9 years old.  I grew up with them and even when they weren't in the forefront of my psyche they were always there.  I think this movie did justice to them and stayed true to their essence.  The new characters grew on me quickly and I began to care about them before long, too.  To me it was an excellent movie going experience.  One that took me back to my youth yet moved me forward at the same time.

InSpectres Movie

I've thought about getting the rpg InSpectres.  I've read reviews and such and it sounds interesting.  But what really surprised me is that they are apparently making or have made a movie based on the game.  The IMDb entry is here.  Maybe I'd better get it soon before it becomes a fad!

John Carter

Short Review:  Fun special effects driven movie.  My oldest loved it.  I enjoyed it.

Rare Exports

First, let me state that I haven't seen this movie. Second, I do not like horror movies. But this movie sounds intriguing both as a movie and from a gaming perspective.

The movie, made in Finland, draws on old legends of a pre-Christian Santa Claus. And he ain't a nice guy. In the movie, Santa was buried in the ice and was recently dug up. Then the children started disappearing. According to reviews the film has a dark humor all its own.

When I read the review I immediately thought of this as a scenario for Barbarians of Lemuria. It fits the sword and sorcery genre perfectly. An ancient evil is uncovered and begins preying on the people of the area. The heroes have to track it down and face its unfathomable horror.

I wonder if I can pull this off.

There Can Be Only One

One of my favorite movies from the days of yore.

Is there anyone as pure badass as the Kurgan? Now there is a foe I would not want to face in an RPG. Or anywhere else for that matter.

The Star Wars Sourcebook

I mentioned in my last post that I picked up The Star Wars Sourcebook during my last trip to Gary's. This is a supplement to West End Games 1st edition Star Wars RPG. It is in really good shape for being printed in 1987.

It has some really cool information in it. It has lists of various starfighters and other starships. It has info on droids, aliens, lightsabers and other various Star Wars goodies. My favorite part, however, is the stats for many of the main characters of the original trilogy. It was only on my second read through of the character section that I realized something:

Yoda does not have the lightsaber skill.

I didn't notice it the first time but it jumped out at me the second time. He's got the melee skill and the melee parry skill but not lightsaber. Obi-Wan has the lightsaber skill. Vader has a slightly better lightsaber skill. Even Luke, who's skills are listed as of the Battle of Yavin, has the lightsaber skill at 4D+1. But Yoda doesn't have it listed. At first I thought it might be a typo or an oversight. But it is my understanding that WEG's material had to pass muster with Lucas' folks. I don't think they would've missed it. So I discarded that idea.

Now, I've been reading various "what-if" threads about the history of the Star Wars universe based only on the original Star Wars film or the first trilogy. An examples is here. So, if Yoda doesn't have the lightsaber skill, at least a portion of the prequels don't make sense (big surprise, some may say) and the original conception of the characters was much different.

I know, I know, this isn't a canon source or anything but it is very interesting to me.

Kick-Ass

I saw this movie the other night. My opinion can summed by the title.

Other than the superhero aspect, this really isn't my type of movie. I don't usually watch movies with over-the-top, gratuitous violence. But, for some reason, I found a twelve-year old girl who can cut through a crew of drug dealers like a scythe through wheat very endearing. And then there's the goofy lead. And Nicholas Cage.

It just pushed all the right buttons for me.

Hylas Jones and the Cup of Heracles

My son and I have played two sessions of our Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief based Supers! game. My son has read all five books in the series and movie is currently his favorite movie of all time. I've read half of the first book in the series (so far) and have seen the movie. So I'm winging it a bit as the GM. For those of you not familiar with the series, Percy Jackson is a half-blood. His father is the Greek god Poseidon and his mom is a mortal. The Greek myths are true and fantastical creatures exist. Oh, and the Greek gods migrate with the center of the Western World. So the current Mount Olympus is located on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building.

Here's the set up:

Hylas Jones is twelve years old and his best friend is named Mac. (I gave my son a list of ancient Greek names and Hylas is what he picked. I picked Jones because he couldn't think of a last name.) Hylas doesn't know it but his father is the god Zeus.

The call to action (literally):

Hylas receives a phone call at school from his mom. She orders Hylas home immediately and tells him he needs to bring Mac. Mac (also twelve) recognizes the urgency of the message, gets a motorcycle and drives them to Hylas' apartment. The place has been ransacked. The boys find a note from Hylas' mother. It says that "the Cup" has been stolen and she has gone to recover it. Hylas doesn't know about any cup but Mac tells him it is an important gift from his father. Neither Hylas nor Mac have any idea where she has gone. Mac, however, says he knows someone who can tell them. They need to go to Delphi, Ohio to talk to a fortune-teller.

The journey:

Hylas doesn't know how they will get there but Mac says he'll drive. He comes back a short time later with a car. After gathering supplies they drive off. They drive all day and stop late in the evening. They sleep in the car. Hylas wakes to the sound of Mac leaving the car. He says he needs to use the bushes. While Mac is gone a van pulls up and five men in long black coats get out and surround the car. When Hylas gets out they try to grab him. Hylas fights back as best he could. Mac comes out of the bushes and yells for Hylas to run. Hylas hightails it out of there. After he hits the forest and hides, he hears a bellow from behind him. He eventually hears footsteps coming toward him. It's Mac. Mac says the men are gone. He tells Hylas that he threatened to call 911 and the men left. After hours of driving they finally reach Delphi. They find the fortune teller's shop and enter. She seems to know them and refers to Mac as Maceros. It is smoke filled and the lady, Mac keeps calling her Pythia, sits them down and asks them their business. Hylas explains that they are looking for his mom. Pythia goes into a trance and says that she sees his mom in an underground city in his home town (Seattle). But they will need the key to get her. When they leave Mac gives her some odd coins.

Mac tells Hylas he knows where to get the key. It is at the national mint in Denver. They travel for awhile but then Mac pulls over into an isolated field and says that they need to talk. He tells Hylas he is not a normal kid. He is the son of Zeus and he has special powers. Hylas doesn't really believe him until Mac flattens his rather voluminous hair and show Hylas small bull horns. Mac tells Hylas that he is his protector and that he's not really twelve. The cup they are looking for is the Cup of Heracles. The cup was a gift from Zeus to Hylas' mother. The cup protected Hylas from supernatural beings. He then teaches Hylas how to use his powers. Being the son of Zeus the powers are electricity bases. After a little practice they drive on. Several hours later they stop so Mac can use the bushes. Suddenly 16 men in black coats appear. They state that they are the Myrmidons. They take off their coats and are wearing bronze armor, have shields, spears and bronze helmets. They attack. Hylas uses his control of electricity to blast away at the men. He defends himself with his fighting ability. Suddenly a bull burst forth from the foliage and attacks the men. Between the two they defeat the men.

And my son is looking forward to session three.

Hylas Jones

Son of Zeus

Resistances

Composure 2D

Fortitude 3D

Reaction 2D

Will 2D

Aptitudes

Animal Handling 3D (Birds 4D)

Fighting 2D

All the Rest 1D

Powers

Energy Control - Electricity 5D

Energy Form - Electricity 1D

Disad

Enemy(s)

Competency Pool 8D

Supers! and Percy Jackson

I was discussing Supers! with my son yesterday before our gaming session and I mentioned that Conan had been statted up for Supers! over at Vargold. First I had to explain who Conan was and then I had to tell him that I would usually create Conan for a game like Barbarians of Lemuria. Then I casually mentioned we could probably run Percy Jackson, his current obsession (along with Supers!), with Supers! Well, that was that. He Gm'd the second session of our Supers! campaign and then charged me with creating a Percy Jackson campaign. I think it will be pretty simple. I just need to translate the various powers displayed into the superhero powers and I'm set. He's already created an original character so the game isn't going to include Percy directly. I'll run it in that style but make it our own.

The Lightning Thief

My Queen and I took our two young Princes to see Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. My oldest read the book a week or two ago. He loved it and really wanted to see the movie. So we went. It was with some reservation that we took our youngest, only 5, but there was no way we could get away with taking one without the other. All of us enjoyed the movie. The monsters were a bit frightening for the young one but he really liked the movie. The first thing he asked when it was over was if we could buy it when it came out on DVD. I have never seen my oldest enjoy a movie more. He was literally sitting on the edge of his seat though the movie with a gigantic grin plastered on his face.

I think the movie could serve as a good setting for a modern day fantasy game. What if the Greek gods and other ancient deities still existed? And you discovered their existence or were somehow connected to them? A fun world to explore.

Cloverfield

I watched Cloverfield the other night. It's stuck with me. It was a touch disturbing and a bit depressing. I seem to like depressing things though. I really liked the point of view. I mean most giant monster movies seem to be about defeating the monster. This was about regular people just trying to survive. Sounds like a good rpg scenario to me.