Land of Mist and Snow

Take one part Frankenstein, one part Lovecraftian horror, a dollop of Moby Dick, and a dose of Horatio Hornblower, and set it all during the US Civil War, and you might get something like this. The premise is more exciting than the story itself, a demon raider prowls the shipping lanes as a US naval ship built to mystical specifications launches to sink her.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, it lacks in the execution. The plot and characters are predictable, and the diary format, while it allows for different points of view, just doesn't convey the emotions and urgency of the scenes. In fact there are several characters that blur together due to this, as the writing is similar enough that you have to look closely to see who is actually being represented. Though a I ended up using this little cheat, if they believed strongly in freedom, it was one of the main characters, if not, then they're likely going to die.

We start out with our eager Ishmael/Hornblower character in Nevis, and our Frankenstein/Herbert West/Ahab in Captain Sharp. Who harnesses a spirit to guide their ship in the search for their Confederate counterpart(which runs on blood sacrifice), all the while quelling dissent by slowly but steadily turning the crew into zombies. The romantic subplot with Miss Abrams and Lt. Nevis is, well, you can tell the due course of that from the moment they meet, the foreshadowing is beaten into your head with a stick. And the rest of the cast are more or less, forgettable. The climax is more anticlimactic, and we have a typical all lived happily ever after ending, which I found quite disappointing.

On the other hand, it does have some interesting naval action, though more or less lopsided due to the nature of the ship. And it moves at a pretty fast pace, due perhaps to the fact that they skip ahead with the diary entries quite a bit. But really, that isn't much to recommend it. Personally, I'd say to save yourself the cash and pass this one by, it looks a lot more exciting than it really is.

Shaintar: Immortal Legends

Shaintar was something I've had my eye on for some time, and when the GM's Day sale started up I had no excuses left not to buy it. Published by Talisman Studios and written by Sean Patrick Fannon, one of the first things you realize when you open it up, is that this is a project that they cared about.

The art is beautiful, and the writing is crisp and interesting. One thing I especially want to point out is the "GM to GM" sections, which is something that I'd love to see in every game book. Something that's very simple, and yet so useful in getting into the mind of what the writer was thinking or trying for. With over 250 pages, for a SETTING book, you know you're getting a lot for your value, and it doesn't disappoint. Setting specific flavorful gear and classes right along with the more traditional fantasy tropes, one almost feels as if those hundred of pages aren't enough for what they put in, not to mention the wonderful art that is sprinkled throughout the pages(it actually feels more professional than the core Savage Worlds book).

Of course, the majority is taken up by the latter sections, the plot point campaign and a list of sample encounters. I call it a list because that's what it is, it has something that I really feel that any GM would appreciate, samples of the characters/monsters presented at three levels, a regular version, an advanced version, and an elite version. A lack of interchangeability has always bothered me in the more traditional RPGs*coughdndcough* in that adventures are designed for a certain level of character and it's quite hard to adjust that, whereas an inability to judge what will be a challenge without a being an execution squad is an adjustment that Savage World GMs have to make. The little guide they present and levels of challenge provide a very useful tool for making your own adventures, or repopulating theirs as you see fit for a larger or smaller party.

The plot point campaign and assorted adventure hooks promise to quickly pull the adventurers into all sorts of world shattering events. Again, the GM to GM sections shine through here. With references to the Cajun flavor of a certain group of elves sticking out in my mind, and in another adventure you've got a familiar Hatfield and McCoy type feud. Also included is the MACs, which is a pretty comprehensive adventure generator, for when you need to toss something together without much prep.

If this was a regular book, the review would stop here, but it's not. Because it's an RPG and setting book it has to be functional. That's something I demand, and something that I'm sorry to say Shaintar has some problems with, because with quality like it has, I want to like it. First and foremost is the Table of Contents, sharing half a page with other information and easily overlooked, it's definitely lacking.If I wanted to find a specific adventure or encounter, I would need to possibly page through nearly a hundred pages of densely packed information. On a similar vein is that some sections are oddly organized, information on the Arcane powers for example, there's actually a section on arcane powers in Shaintar, which lists some of the background and trappings, yet says that I'd need to look under the professional edges, which has me flipping through pages to find them as well, and once I get there they mention needing skills associated with the magic, but each magic has a different skill and these are not mentioned in the "skills in Shaintar" section, which I would have found useful. Actually, come to think of it, an expanded Table of Contents would be good, but bookmarks would be ideal. (Edit: A little update, the new version of the download includes a well organized bookmarks page, and thus resolved the major issues with navigating the document.) Also, near the end of the book is the full color map, in print it might be perfect, but on my screen it's small and the detail could be improved. I was nose to the screen to read some of the city names there, and since much of the plot points and adventures are in a relatively smaller area, a regional map would have been nice, even if it was just a black and white sketch(if there was one somewhere, which is possible with 260 or so pages, then I couldn't find it). A final little quibble is the download, instead of having both the print friendly and full version in a little zip file, they're presented as separate downloads, it's something to look out for and make sure you have both versions when you get it.

Now on the gripping hand, Shaintar has something that you aren't going to get with every RPG you get, a very active and accessible creator. It's not hard at all to get in touch with questions, not to mention additional information supplements. It's a living creation, and the gaps at the edges of the map with "here be monsters" are being filled in. And with a very helpful community, I'm hopeful that someone or another is eventually going to at least come out with crib notes that will keep me from going crazy searching for things while trying to run a game.

Paying for a fantasy setting book when there are so many free conversions on the internet may be controversial, but if you get it, then you aren't going to be disappointed, and as mentioned before, it's a lot of book for the price. It isn't without its flaws, but I don't want to give the impression that they overshadow the meat of the product, and with the active community, many of those flaws are likely to be patched up. This isn't a must have, but if you are going to run Savage Worlds games in a fantasy setting this provides a vibrant, living world for your players to adventure in.

Linkfest 3

Tricksters, that's what todays linkfest will focus on.

To start off with we have the folks from Cockeyed.com a bunch of pranksters who show that mad science is fun. Not to mention obsessive compulsive disorders which force you to measure and document how much is inside things. If nothing else you might answer that burning question to how long a line of cheese wiz is inside that can.

Next up is Improv Everywhere a bunch of people who, well, cause scenes. But in a positive way, and I think one that they should be lauded for. Such pranks as bringing desktops to Starbucks, city tours in a fountain, and impersonating U2 to give a free concert, just to name a few examples. My favorite mission is the Moebius strip.

Thirdly, we have American Gods by Neil Gaiman which is now up online as a free e-book. Without giving too much away if you haven't read it(and if you haven't, what are you waiting for, go, read), tricksters, con men, and slight of hand galore fill this story. A full review is for another time, but suffice to say that it's one of the best world as myth yarns in our day.

Of course, once our tricks run out and we have to head for the road...why not do it in style? Check out this list of the Ten Best Post-Apocalyptic Survival Vehicles and start preparing for the zombocalypse today! It's got some good advice and solid points....Though I personally might not agree with all their choices. Dammit! To my undeath I'll fight for my right to keep and bear M1A2 Abrams for home defense against zombies. Well, I can't exactly bear it, operate it maybe, but it's better than nothing.

Finally, we get some good advice from Sam, the resident trickster of the webcomic Freefall. Big archive, but very funny, definitly worth checking out.

As an aside that doesn't fit the theme. This deserves a link through good comic, funny person, bad luck. Now I'm not trying to force anything, but the comics are worth a read, and probably a few bucks tossed into the donation jar.

Now, a little status report. March is looking to be a busy month, but significantly less so than the last one, hopefully the updates will stabilize and we can get rolling on some good stuff. As always, feel free to comment and I'll talk at y'all next time.

Off Armageddon Reef - David Weber

There are two ways of looking at this book from the perspective of one who's read quite a bit of sci-fi. Either it's a good addition to the volumes on this particular topic, or else it's a not to inventive retelling of a familiar theme. I'd like to lean towards the first, but there's no denying that this story will be familiar to readers. At it's base we have the Connecticut Yankee scenario, civilization has fallen on the colony world and the main character is ready to bring it back up to its space faring roots. The first few chapters lay the groundwork of what has come before, and I'm tempted to say that it's the most heart filled part of this tale, as the alien exterminators crush the last human resistance save for one small fleet, ark ships sent to establish a colony and go on low tech silent running to evade detection.

Once they get there however we have something that could have come out of Zelazny's Lord of Light, a split between those who would set themselves up as gods of a permanently agrarian pre-industrial society, and those who want to keep the knowledge of what has come before alive so that their descendants can take back the stars. Needless to say, the deicrats win, even though the techies manage to squirrel away one of their android bodies(along with a few high tech goodies) for 500 years or so. And now we awaken a living computer to guide humanity back to the stars(The General Series by David Drake), keep the barbarians from sacking what may be the last bastion of civilization(Lest Darkness Fall, L. Sprague De Camp) holding out against a violently anti-tech mother church and the added complication of an orbital space array set to destroy any telltale emissions(Greatwinter Trilogy, Sean Mcmullen).

We of course go through our checklist when encountering a more primitive society you wish to bootstrap up. Gunpowder? Check, they already have that but the protagonist introduces a better mixture. Rifled Weapons? Check, as well as Mine Balls. Better Ships and Cannons? Schooners, Galleons(the current navies are anchored on rowed galleys) and cassions. Cotton Gin? Check. And so on and so forth. As Nimue, now in her gender bending role as the teacher Merlin guides the fledgling kingdom(And yes, Excalibur makes an appearance as a machine forged sword of 'battle steel').

There are a few places where we get interesting factors in play, such as Nimue being schooled in the Japanese sword arts and trying to teach that to essentially medieval Europeans. As well as the aforementioned gender bending...but otherwise it' simply a rather predictable grind. Not that the grind isn't enjoyable of course, Weber definitely knows how to write military fiction, and learning how Nimue deals with the next ordeal was enough to keep me interested. However some of the other characters fall flat, especially their antagonists, are pretty archetypal, and I found myself skimming while their parts came up, or when it discussed their religious structure, an undisguised take-off on Catholicism. Which is a little strange in itself as the early discussions feature ancient Egypt as the historical near ideal for a static society(Which I'm not sure I agree with, as opposed to perhaps a far eastern Confucian example, but we digress).

From Bring The Light by David Drake, to A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge, one wonders if this bootstrapping of technological progress should have a genre all its own. As it is, this addition to the type doesn't really have any portions that I can point out as especially bad, but nor does it have many extraordinary qualities either. Good writing, but it feels like we're just going through the motions, without anything "special" to make it stand out, the exciting story makes up for this, but there really isn't much tension. When you're a neigh immortal android body, waiting another century or two of stony sleep isn't that terrible of an idea as it seems that technological progress was beginning to seep in through the cracks anyways. Her motivation being to stop a holy war, but one that most likely won't destroy civilization on the planet, so it's very hard to see the urgency that she seems to feel.

Anyways, solid work, but predictable and made less forgivable given that Weber has already written on this very topic in Heirs of Empire, which in my opinion did it better with more sympathetic characters and in about half the length(Off Armageddon Reef weighs in at about 800 pages...and promises to be only the first in the series given that they hadn't even made any steps towards working around the orbital bombardment/sword of damocles over their heads). I'll pick up the next in the series, but it probably won't be a priority for me.

Prologue

Okay, so I figured that it's about time I showed my face around here. So, here's a quick "hey". I'm Sera-Star and I'm the video game reviewer. Now, I'll generally be reviewing RPG's since that's mostly what I play. On occasion, I'll be reviewing other types of games as well as platforms/systems.

Now, like any good RPG, I like taking something simple (in this case, a review) and making it very complicated. Generally, a five-star scale is used to review something. Well, mine will still be a five star scale with stars for Graphics, Character Design, Music, Story, and Gameplay. Now, a game will gain a star if I feel it did well in a particular category. If I feel it did exceptionally, it will gain an extra star. So, max score for a game if I felt it did both well (i.e. upheld the standard or was unique in some way) and excelled (I, personally, really liked it, etc.) would be 10 out of 5.

Yeah, I know, I know, there are so many simpler ways to do this, but, there's nothing like a 10 out of 5 to show something's awesomeness, lol. :)

Anyway, I'll be back soon enough with a review. Until then.

-- Sera-Star

Mini-Update, Writing

Just a small update, as it's been a busy week or so. Anyways, in case you didn't know, I'm an aspiring writer. My work is now being featured up on the Often Inspired site. Check out my short story, Inkblots in the member's section or else the novel I wrote for Nanowrimo, which is being serialized over there.

By the way, just because you, my faithful readers deserve something good. Go watch Expendable life through the eyes of a henchman.

I expect I'll be back up to schedule on updating by the end of the month, though I do hope to keep new content coming up at least sporadically. We will see how things go.

Sun of Suns - Karl Schroeder

"And for some reason, the thought that Admiral Fanning was dead, or soon would be, was no consolation. Who cares about him? some unexpeected part of him said. Only you, and what do you matter?"
-Karl Schroeder, from Sun of Suns

Hayden Griffin has just seen his family and his homeland destroyed at the hands of one Admiral Fanning, and swears revenge. A basic premise for any fantasy or space opera, except of course for the fact that he lives within a fullerene balloon(a dwarf cousing to a Dyson Sphere) and that his parents were killed because they were trying to create a sun. And now, after years of hatred and revenge driving him, what happens when he realizes that perhaps, the Admiral is not the monster he is believed to be.

Mixing a classical set of fantasy tropes with some surpising use of hard science, this makes what could have turned out to be a tiring rehash into an interesting and enlightening read. Heated by a central sun as well as smaller peripherary suns created by nation flotillas of wheeled towns and cities(the wheel is the basic shape to create more than microgravity), the space between becomes a sea with ever moving landmasses. And of course Winter, where no light penetrates through the clouds, and Sargassos where the air has gone stale and toxic, deadly to all without their clockwork space suits. Because of certain factors, which I won't tell for fear of spoiling the book, there is a mix of advanced and primitive technology at work, kerosene powered jet bikes for short range travel, and large wooden hulled sailing vessels ply the tradeways.

It feels like Schroeder has created a fully realized world, one with history and myth, as well as wonder and danger. The sciences of the cloud formations seem quite well thought out, though as I am no meteorologist I can't give more than a "it makes logical sense to me" opinion. The whole politics of nations in orbit around each other is something that is quite interesting, something that few other books have tackled.

The book reads like naval fiction, set in a space opera backround and a steampunk spirit with hard science added into the mix. I for one am looking quite forward to the second book in the series, but either way it's an excellent read. Perhaps not for everybody, but if you keep an open mind coming into it then I believe most will enjoy the vivid scenes that combine the otherworldly and familiar. Sun of Suns has my recommendation.

Linkfest 2

Being in the mid-week schlump and not quite ambitious enough to post another book review yet, here's another linkfest.

Five Most Horrifying Bugs In The World because it's possible that you aren't quite terrified enough of creepy crawlies. Actually there aren't really creepy crawlies there as much as bitey and stingeys, though the last one does fit. Just...keep them all away from me.

On the lighter side, we have A Gentleman's Duel a steampunk romantic comedy. Or at least an excuse to watch animated steam powered mechs and some vast....tracts of land!

On a similar vein...well, as similar as steampunk romance can be to pre-apocalyptic zombie comedy, is Tofu the Vegan Zombie. As an added plus one of the voice actors is Ellen Muth, who starred in Dead Like Me, frightening off door-to-door missionaries. Anyways, go watch, and ask yourself, can love(and mad science) conquer death?

This I found really intesting, Sweet Power, or how to convert natural sugars in our blood into a continuous power supply. Those biomechanical implants you always wanted for your android future self are getting closer as we speak.

And for the inner geek.... Star Trek XI Trailer. First thoughts: Neat! And then of course the pedantic mental voice started going crazy over the difficulty of building a spaceship on-planet. But we will not go into mindless fan-chatter right now, let us focus on the fact that there will be a new Star Trek movie soon, not to mention hope that it's better than the last few.

Finally, we end with Troubleshooting your Time Machine. A serious business, at least if you don't want to end up in giant pig-mantis ruled medieval France.

Of Mice and Men...or Rats and Players

Mal: Well, look at this! Appears we got here just in the nick of time. What does that make us?
Zoe: Big damn heroes, sir!
Mal: Ain't we just?
-from Firefly

One of the main pitfalls of having a GM and players is all too often the GM gets caught up in creating a challenge for the players that they see themselves as their opponent. But in my opinion, one must realize that they're actually working together. The players create the world as much as the GM, by rough magic and flashing swords they shape it, and in the end it is an effort in cooperative storytelling. And in most cases, that means that the GM must have a hand in offering the players opportunities to be, simply put, BIG DAMN HEROES.

The players should never feel like they're rats in a maze, or pawns in someone else's game...they may well be, but they should never have to feel that way. Agent of one's own destiny, if such a thing is possible, or else at least given the opportunity to laugh in the face of death and face it head on. They may not win all the time, but they should never feel inconsequential. Never should they feel that they have no choice, there should always be choice, and an opportunity to be heroes, not just people being tossed around, their victories have to mean something. Players come with characters that are most often diamonds in the rough, they'll be shaped and sharpened by the challenges they have to overcome,and hopefully polished to a heroic luster.

Anyways, remember, while a GM should challenge the players, they shouldn't put them in untenable situations with little recourse but to follow along. Not to mention of course, the need to let your heroes shine.

Mighty Mooks!

Kobold, Gremlin, Orc, Cultist, whatever their label we all know these people, just enough threat to hold the countryside down, yet sword fodder to the first real adventurers that swing through.

Now I went through quite a few cheesy titles for this posts including, Making Mooks More Meaty, Mooks Mess up Mercurial Marauding Characters, The Little People, Goons, Goblins, and You, and similarly themed options certain to elicit groans. Because lets face it, after the first few levels most game systems give you characters that can plow through them without breathing heavy. But that doesn't mean that you have to leave these fellows behind, there's a certain charm to seeing a party brought low by a bunch of kobolds.

Now the obvious option is to simply level them up, they have adventures too, right? The problem with that is twofold, first and foremost it makes more work for you, secondly, the players might feel cheated by it. "What do you mean that gnome is an epic level barbarian!" This is one of the places where I'll say that detail is unneeded, faceless minion #165 might be facing a troubled marriage and is a concert violinist, but be honest with yourself, why waste time coming up with a background when he'll be dead before dawn.

What I think is an acceptable solution is to spend a little bit thinking about the tactical situation. Often heroes will be venturing into the mook's home ground, aka, the first line of defense. Traps are always a favorite, although can be unbalancing if the PC that can actually find them is absent, or even if nobody thought to create one to begin with. But what I think that you need to remember is that there are other ways of fighting besides standing face to face battering swords, the holy trinity in most RPG games is Grapple, Trip, and Disarm. Swarm tactics, helping each other out for bonuses, and then getting the PC's to where they can ram their dirty little feet u...errr, lets just say in a vulnerable position. Other tactics include nasty little things to slow the heroes down, nets work well, and in certain situations weapons with reach allow some survivability to your mooks(not that you should expect them to survive, but you should at least hope to wear the Heroes down). Remember, weak does not mean dumb.

The other situation that you have mooks in is where you're likely just teaching the PCs the rules of the game. Here is where I think you're validated in making your tactics for the mooks less than optimal, use them to illustrate maneuvers that the PCs have as options. Again, grappling, tripping, disarming, all valid, and there are some settings that allow other options, being intimidated by a little lizard man will at least wring out a few laughs. And don't be afraid to include a little camp or humor in their portrayal, or what the heroes do to them.

The only other thing to mention is that if you're going to be rolling up treasure, take a moment to do it beforehand...and let them use it if they can. A magic wand or weapon or something of that nature can give ample opportunities for adding some depth to the encounter.

Anyways, hopefully this little primer has given you some ideas, although it is by no means exhaustive. If you'd like to share some of your tactics for the making and breaking of mooks, feel free to comment.