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That looks a lot better than the initial trailer. Isn’t there a similar liminal space horror movie coming soon? Something with a subway-esque theme I thought?

It seems to be mostly about wanting to push digital tools, which is really too bad.

Exactly. The characters had to be inherently interesting and visually distinct because they would be toys. Or, they were visually distinct and inherently interesting toys, therefore they were represented as such on screen. This also lead to not giving a damn about a lot of conventions...

That actually looks kinda fun. Way better than the Dolf version from the 80s. I don't care about "canon" or whatever changes they've made. It's live-action movie based on a kids cartoon from that 80s that was nothing more than a long commercial for toys.

I just finished The Talosite, a novella by Rebecca Campbell. The subtitle could have been “Or: the modern Frankenstein.” It was such a good book. Well written and utterly engaging. The main character, Anne, is our Victor Frankenstein. She reanimates corpses for the Allies in an alternate...

Little bit of a necro but, there's also Gravity Falls and Over the Garden Wall as possible inspirations. Both are cartoons. Gravity Falls is explicitly set in the PNW. Over the Garden Wall is not, from what I remember, but could definitely add a good spooky vibe.

I read Vaults of Yoh-Vombis yesterday. It’s a Lovecraftian horror short story by Clark Ashton Smith. Archaeologists on Mars explore some ruins and find more than they bargained for. I gotta say I wasn’t impressed. The monster was kinda neat. The writing was really awkward and stilted. I just...

Hey, @SlyFlourish I don't know if this'll help you with improvised monsters, but this is what I was using for a bit. Pick a column for the main stats, ferocity through damage, or mix and match. Then build attacks. As you mentioned, monsters typically have: 1. fear attack; 2. ranged attack; 3...

Exactly. It’s only after engaging with the horror and getting their asses absolutely kicked and losing people that they decide to turn tail, run, and “nuke the site from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure.” But they don’t do that first as a way to avoid the horror up front.

Mike Shea does an extended review of Dragonbane.

I cannot express how much I hate justified text. The only worse sin is body text that’s white on a black background.

Sure. There are also a lot of people who sign up to play D&D, an explicitly action-adventure monster-killing game, who refuse to make adventurers or engage with the premise of the campaign as set out by the referee. In those cases I'd also say that those players didn't actually want to play an...

Fair. But to me that’s not really a distinction that makes a difference. Either way they’re intentionally avoiding engaging with the horror, which tells me they’re not interested in playing a horror game.

Exactly. When the players actively avoid the horror it's the biggest clue that they aren't actually interested in playing a horror game. Luckily some modern games will incentivize engaging with the horror. Like Mothership. Your stress becomes your XP. So the more you engage with the game and...

I just finished I'll Bring You the Birds From Out of the Sky, a novella by Brian Hodge. Damn. What a spectacularly beautiful book. It's definitely a Lovecraftian cosmic horror...or maybe chthonic horror. Like with Ballad of Black Tom, I'd heartily recommend this as a door into modern cosmic...

Evil. Lacking empathy, self-centered, and motivated only by self-interest. Chaotic. Dismiss all laws or moral codes of any kind. Chaotic Evil. Do whatever you want regardless of rules as long as it benefits you personally.

“But you have to wait for it to get good.” No. No I don’t. Write better.

That's a good distinction to make. I'd agree that all three are mutually exclusive with wildly different approaches and goals. I'd suggest Combat as Theater is more the purview of storygames than traditional games. For some reason pro wrestling popped into my head after reading the above line...