Recent content by piper909

I worked at TSR Hobbies in 1980-81 and saw firsthand much of what has been reported since. I will say in brief that by that time (if not long before) Gary's manuscripts were slapdash at best and he left it to the TSR Product Development dept. to churn out a professional game or module. E.g...

Just watch out for snoopy girl reporters.

All I need do is comb my hair back and put on a pair of glasses. Easy-peasy.

It's not one I followed at the time, but I am familiar with it, and have read reprints and an occasional revival story. Yes, this is a good dodge Robbie Reed (?) had!

Study up on the actual history of firearms and learn about how they evolved -- and pick an era to work within, and decide how fast your world might allow for innovations (e.g., can magic be used to "upgrade" the technology?) How available are the resources for firearms, from gunsmithing to...

I have always been a reader. I had tons of books from the library on history and mythology and absorbed them all from the time I could read. And before I could read, some ancient myths were read to me by grandparents from various children's books. Also comic books (Thor! Silver Age DC and...

I want the super power of shape-changing. And every day I used my powers or any other power I'd alter my DNA profile and my appearance. And perform publicly -- IF NECESSARY -- as an entirely new individual each time. And not necessarily human, either. I'd just want to be like what some people...

Boy Howdy!!!

The notorious Duke of Wharton and his Hellfire Club make a short but memorable appearance in Anya Seton's historical novel "Devil Water" (which I highly recommend), set in 18th century England and America.

Roger that! I do have some plastics, esp. larger than man-size creatures, so I'm not entirely a lost cause. I agree, metal dragons, e.g., tend to be ultra-expensive and ponderous and liable to damage from handling. I'm all in favor of that sort of plastic or resin model. (And dinosaurs! Toys...

I'm with metal all the way. Much easier to clean and file and I can't stand the flimsy weight of plastics or trying to assemble multiple-piece minis and getting the super glue on everything except where it belongs. Plus plastic breaks, bends, and is often not a crisp a sculpt and harder to prime...

I have long wanted to find a use for a tarot deck in a game, perhaps taking the place of a regular card deck. It has the same element of randomization as a regular card deck, but more so, with slightly larger suits plus the addition of the Major Arcana. And the "chrome" value of the tarot deck...

I politely disagree. The Silmarillion came out in 1977 and was rushed to completion and heavily abridged. We can see that from the later, full-length narratives that have been published since. Also, as "The History of Middle-Earth" series was edited and published, over succeeding decades, many...

Whoa, that's harsh. To this day, I know many, many women of various ages for whom Scarlett O'Hara is a heroine (flawed, but heroic) whose character does evolve over the course of the novel (maybe more so than the film version). I don't see how she merits being placed among the "worst people...

If you are of a certain age, you grew up with only books (or comics), pre-dating any of the D&D games or any of the movies -- hence, people like me and my friends, in middle school/early high school, reading fantasy and sci-fi, discovering wargames (Avalon Hill, SPI), and Lord of the Rings...