HAY GUYS HAVE YOU SEEN THIS THING (Forum Shout Out Thread Thing)

[pigsinspaces]

I just started listening to the Dead Authors Podcast on the recommendation of a friend, and holy shit is it wonderful. The premise is that Paul F. Tompkins, in the guise of H. G. Wells, snatches dead authors from history, who are played by other comedians, and interviews them before a live audience. The episode where John Hodgman played Ayn Rand had me literally cackling, and they even did one with E. Gary Gygax.

Yessss ... the L. Ron Hubbard one was hilarious. I came to Dead Authors via the Thrilling Adventure Hour http://thrillingadventurehour.com which you are probably already aware of ... but if not then you are in for a treat.

[Twisting H]

Found this from a post on the Something Awful forums.

...[T]wo Finnish RPG designers are working on a generic RPG system called Ironcore and the pilot game for the system is going to basically be Cthulhu meets Mad Max: http://ironspine.com/wp/en/blog/2015/08/12/ironcore-engine/

According to the website

We chose Chthonian Highways as our pilot project that combines two fairly well-known and popular genres: Chtulhu mythos and post-apocalyptic demolition derby in style of Mad Max and Fallout.

Chthonian Highways is set in a world where nightmarish creatures have ravaged the world and otherworldly landscapes have merged with ours. Strange and dreadful beings prowl in the shadows and dangerous alien flora is taking over the green forests and grasslands. The few remnants of civilization are held together by the chthonian highways – a webbing of roads that are still traversable by ground vehicles. The characters are dauntless road warriors who roam the cursed highways with their rigged cars and motorcycles – for as long as there is gasoline to keep the engines roaring.

We are making a short demo of the Chthonian Highways and it will be available as a free pdf download during September 2015.

The other setting with this Ironcore system is dungeon crawling in space.

Hyperstorm RPG is a space opera tabletop role-playing game based on the Finnish science fiction RPG Heimot. Hyperstorm is more of a reboot rather than a simple translation or a new edition of the game. We have revised a lot of stuff from the setting and Hyperstorm will the first “full-sized” role-playing game to use Ironcore Engine expanded with rules for advanced character creation and progression, space battles and psionics just to name a few rules we are adding to the core engine.

The main idea in Hyperstorm is to transfer the well-tested idea of dungeon crawling into outer space. Instead of dungeons, the heroes in this game will be exploring wrecks. In game terms, wrecks can be anything from crash-landed space ships, wrecked space stations, and abandoned colony settlements to mysterious alien ruins.

You can read more about Hyperstorm RPG here: www.hyperstorm-rpg.com

[CADmonkey]

The main idea in Hyperstorm is to transfer the well-tested idea of dungeon crawling into outer space.

Heh, sounds like the first few sessions of every Traveller campaign I've played in (before they all, inevitably, became a game of Papers & Paychecks).

[CADmonkey]

Saw Robin Williams' final dramatic performance this weekend:

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A very low-key performance, full of pathos; but what really got to me was a line Nolan (Robin Williams) had, while talking about his mother passing away:

"People leave, you know? But for some people, it just doesn't seem fair"

[Twisting H]

Found this on the Something Awful Forums.

Temper your enthusiasm, this game may NEVER come out.  Still in development.


That Which Sleeps

That Which Sleeps is a re-imagining of the God Game. Take the role of an awakened evil and manipulate a living, reactive world.

http://www.kingdinosaurgames.com/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingdinosaurgames/that-which-sleeps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K461KtsmEQk


Text courtesy of Normal Adult Human on Something Awful
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3708603&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1

That Which Sleeps is a Cool Mapgame where you play the role of an Eldritch Horror what is groggily going about it's Morning Routine.

Each of the 8 bad, dark evil, monster things has a unique playstyle. Karth fully awakens very quickly, plays like an agent on the map, and conquers the world through military action, while Azlan will take much, much longer to awaken but wins when he does.

That Which Sleeps is a turn-based strategy game where the player assumes the role of an ancient being who was sealed away in ages past but has now returned to reclaim dominion over the world. However, when you waken you are weak and must lurk in the shadows to avoid a return to your demonic slumber.

The player must balance an aggressive approach utilizing his considerable power and eager hordes with the need to remain unknown to the Champions and Heroes of the world. This allows for multiple play styles and various meaningful decision paths - all made more unique and re-playable due to the large cast of available agents and awakened demons aka "Ancient Evils". In addition, the world is customized at the beginning of the game as you explicitly lay out how you were sealed away, and what methods you used to manipulate the world in your slumber.

Current existing terrible, awful, no-good, very bad gods/demons/organs/reflective surfaces:

Azlan, the Dreaming God
Very slow-waking Old One who is more subtle than the others, specializing in small changes over time that slowly add up to an unstoppable force.

Dream Host: Bring elements from Azlan's dreamworld into the reality of the game, hiding clues, shrouding the world in mystery, and eventually merging the realms completely and winning the game in one stroke.

The Night Whispers: Subtly warp and twist the personalities of Heroes, Leaders, etc., to either drive them insane or merely adjust them to be more suitable pawns.

Belial, Herald of the Corrupted
Versatile Old One whose abilities augment a range of playstyles and who is able to recover from "mistakes" more readily.

Will over Fate: Perceive the random events that shape the world before they occur, and eventually learn to move these events, amplify them or even create your own on demand.

Dwelling in Darkness: Command beasts (and eventually weak-willed men) to do your bidding, including providing Infilitration in the far corners of the world.

Inatha, the Shrieking Wind
An Old One that allows for both fast and slow playstyles, specializing in terraforming and "area denial" through use of its voice.

The Gathering Storm: Expand the boundaries of your tundra home, advancing the cold and bringing winter to all the land. Create blizzards, freeze rivers and destroy crops as the arctic creeps across the face of the world.

In Voice and Form: Bring back together the scattered tones of your voice to bolster your own abilities and marshal your minions, or leave them scattered to deny meddling Heroes access to those areas by increasing their Danger and use them as remote outposts for your own forces.

Karth, the World in Flames
A fast-waking Old One who incarnates on the map to personally oversee his forces, specializing in military actions and direct confrontation.

War Without End: Increase the chance of conflict and make it more bloody: more attrition, more Wounds, etc.

Call of the Horde: Recruit orcs, goblins and other creatures to your cause at first, moving on to more powerful creatures as the game progresses.

Limos, the Unchained
NOTE: Limos was reworked at one point due to internal testing finding him overpowered, so he may be completely different now.
An Old One who desires to destroy all life, specializing in raising Undead hordes and general destructiveness.

The Gift of Death: Raise the slain to servitude as Undead, and grant the eternal gift to Agents and Heroes to increase the powers and bend their wills to the task of omnicide.

End of Days: March the world to the brink of the Apocalypse, spreading pestilence, drowning the land beneath the waves and even setting the very heavens on fire.

Moloch, the Fetid Primeval
A slow-waking Old One who, unlike Azlan, eschews subtlety in favor of omnipresence. Specializes in terraforming and overwhelming his foes with the sheer number of problems he causes.

Parasite: Spread your corruption throughout the world, at first laying waste to it in your fetid pools, and later on pushing your tendrils through for more direct imposition of your will.

Call of the Primitive: Revert the world to primeval times, regressing forests to the time before men - back when they were populated with ancient terrors. Eventually you can turn back time on civilization itself, turning whole cultures back toward their tribal and primitive roots.

Seraph, the Dark Star
An Old One who desires the world bow down to her splendor, specializing in Rituals and Artifacts, as well as having a unique "tower and light" mechanic.

Reflections of Grace: Recover your strength as you wake up, increasing the range and potency of your light and extending your dominion over the world and your power within that domain.

Celestial Artifice: Collect the shattered shards of her palace to recreate buildings and towers that emanate Seraph's sickly light. As more such buildings are constructed, the range of the light grows, as does Seraph's power. These shards can also be used to power celestial Rituals and forge legendary Artifacts.

Sisyphus, Man's Lament:
An Old One who wakes at a moderate pace who possesses different abilities varying with choices made by the player. Specializes in powerful Agents.

Of Mortal Birth: Select from different ability trees and receive changes to your abilities based on the choices you make during Scenario Generation (the questions that you answer before the game proper begins) and, later on, your interactions with the Chosen One. Depending on your choices, you may find yourself specialized for war, magic, or infiltration.

The Price of Victory: Strengthen your Agents to levels undreamed of, with imbues that impart boosts and abilities far beyond what other Old Ones are capable of, but inflicting them or you with drawbacks as well.

[CADmonkey]

The Mayfair Theatre, one of our local independent theatres, just put this up on their website:

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g80/CADmonkey__________/unnamed-1_zpspote5gbw.jpg

August is going to be a great month.

So, Apocalypse POW! is over, and this was the lineup:

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An Italian/Spanish co-production from 1983, directed by Giuliano Carnimeo.  Probably the stupidest of the four (I know it's a B-movie, but still), what it lacked in plot coherence it made up for in sheer silliness (Robert Iannucci's hair had me giggling thoughout the movie, and the deus ex machina ending had us rolling in the aisles).

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Shot in the Philippines in 1985, Directed by Cirio H. Santiago, a disciple of Russ Meyer's.  The plot was paper-thin, but coherent and action-packed.  Unfortunately, this movie is also rape-packed.  The hero's sister is captured by the villain early on and spends about half the move being raped.  Her boyfriend is also raped by the villain's henchmen, but he receives a swift death at the hands of the hero.

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An Italian production from 1983, directed by Enzo G. Castellari (director of the original Inglorious Bastards).  This was the best of the lot in so many ways: the music, the costumes, the hair, the action scenes, Fred Williamson.  Enzo G. Castellari is a great fan of Sam Peckinpah, and it shows in the action sequences.  Castellari also worked a lot with Fred Williamson, who is just pitch-perfect in his role as the hero's badass lone wolf friend.  And, as the organizer of Apocalypse POW! warned us, this film has the most unforgettable sodomy scene you've ever seen, even more so than the one in Deliverance.

http://youtu.be/skhk7lUsEqI (Embedding disabled, limit reached)

Another of Cirio H. Santiago's pieces from 1987, this was another action-packed story with little in the way of plot.  This movie also uses many of the same sets & locations as Wheels of Fire, and has some very samey action scenes.  It does however have a gun, a big gun, which is totally not phallic.  And the scenes of the hero fabricating parts and assembling the gun, shirtless, are absolutely not dripping with sexual subtext.  Not in the least.

[CADmonkey]

They also showed a new trailer for Turbo Kid before Wyrmood.  I asked the proprietors if they'd show it a while ago (Canadian retro 80's post-apoc teen movie), and I'm still gonna see it, but holy shit does it look stupid.  At least it's got Michael Ironside overacting like a champ.

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It's 1997. In a ruined post-apocalyptic world, the orphaned Kid survives on his own through drought-ridden nuclear winter, traversing the Wasteland on his BMX, scavenging for scraps to trade for a scant supply of water. When his perpetually chipper, pink-haired new best friend Apple is kidnapped by a minion of evil overlord Zeus, the Kid summons the courage of his comic book hero and prepares to deliver turbocharged justice to Zeus, his buzzsaw-handed sidekick Skeletron, and their vicious masked army.

Saw it Friday night and I was partly wrong, it was stupid fun.  Turbo Kid is a hilariously fun homage to 80's post-apocalyptic & gorefest B-movies. With Michael Ironside as the scenery-chewing villan Zeus. And, something that might be the most realistic element in any post-apocalyptic movie ever, bicycles are the only working vehicles seen in the movie!

And in attendance at Friday's screening:


Turbo Kid Directors by Bryan Rombough, on Flickr

The directors Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell & Yoann-Karl Whissell, talking about their movie and answering questions from the audience. And:


Turbo Kid Cosplay by Bryan Rombough, on Flickr

A Turbo Kid cosplayer!

[Twisting H]

Hey. Hey Ross. If you want to keep your hipster geek cred you have to go do this.

SynnCon September 19, 2015

Come and learn Synnibarr in this one day event designed to teach you how to play.
Raven McCracken and the creators of the game will be there with our team of Synners in a series of events that will lead you through the rules and have you adventuring.
Member of the Synners team will be available while you play to lead  you the rules and answer your questions.

Food will be available onsite to purchase or go to nearby restaurants and stores.  You can continue to play through the meal periods.

Fate's Fist Referee training for 10 experienced referees will be run for 10 people at one table with Raven plus a few of the team.

http://synnibarr.com/synncon.html

[D6xD6 - Chris]

Synn. . . Con. . .

wat

On the plus side, you can still play with Raven during meal times!   

[CADmonkey]

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In the wake of a nuclear war, a young woman survives on her own, fearing she may actually be the proverbial last woman on earth, until she discovers the most astonishing sight of her life: another human being. A distraught scientist, he's nearly been driven mad by radiation exposure and his desperate search for others. A fragile, imperative strand of trust connects them. But when a stranger enters the valley, their precarious bond begins to unravel.

Saw this last night. A good postapocalyptic thriller, beautifully shot & directed with great performances by Margot Robbie & Chiwetel Ejiofor. The film fizzles a bit after Chris Pine shows up, but what can you expect?

[BishopSansPants]

This is something I think Ross and any other architecture nerds might be interested in:

I went to the current exhibit at the Frye Museum of Art yesterday featuring Leo Saul Burke's exhibit: this man was so changed by living in the Ford House in Aurora, IL that he did a wealth of art about it. It was really interesting to see the idea that architecture changes you in practice and reality.

If any of you are going to be in Seattle in the next month, I suggest going to the exhibit before it closes. The museum admission is free (I'm not sure about parking as I live within walking distance of it).

[CADmonkey]

Here's something other the cinema geeks might enjoy: http://bit.ly/1NnFvYA

It's a virtual tour of Ottawa's oldest surviving movie theater.  Built in 1932 with an "atmospheric" Spanish Colonial-style interior, it's also one of the few theatres to still have a 35mm film projector.  And since it's now being run by a collective of gen-x movie geeks, it boasts a growing collection of geek movie memorabilia, including some items that should interest Ross...

[CADmonkey]

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Kevin Bacon (The Following, HBO's Taking Chance, Mystic River) stars in director Jon Watts' delightful throwback thriller Cop Car. When two good-natured but rebellious young boys (James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford) stumble across an abandoned cop car hidden in a secluded glade they decide to take it for a quick joyride. Their bad decision unleashes the ire of the county sheriff (Kevin Bacon) and leads to brutal consequences. (C) Focus World

[clockworkjoe]

Cop Car looks fun.

[CADmonkey]

Cop Car looks fun.

Yeah, kind of light on story, but fun nonetheless.  I think the comparison to the Cohen brothers in the trailer gave me some unrealistic expectations.