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Well, of course much of D&D is straight out of Middle Earth, so to a certain extent it's unavoidable. But otherwise, I'd be inclined to bet against you on that. The magic system, for one thing, bears no resemblance to Tolkien's, and many of what I see as typical "D&D-isms" aren't to be found in...

It sounds as though you're referring to "home field advantage" in a sports context. I don't know that this applies to D&D, unless your battles really are sports events, gladiatorial contests or whathaveyou. I think the difficulties in attacking a prepared defender, to say nothing of a creative...

- Doctor Lecter coughs up a paperclip while the guard's back is turned in "The Silence of the Lambs". - Selena realizes that Mark has been bitten by one of The Infected and kills him with a machete in "28 Days Later...". - Brian, in a final dream, sees Catherine emerge from the church in...

The director's cut of Blade Runner demands to be seen on the big screen.

First, I presume that everyone here acknowledges that D&D makes no real attempt to be realistic, even while discussing "realism" topics such as this. The basic mechanic, established 20+ years ago, is simply flawed (from that perspective - it's a much more enjoyable system than those that try to...

Paladins in my campaign world are quite different from what many describe. My vision of Paladins sees them as a kind of Force Recon for the church. They are the few & the proud who go out looking for the Forces of Evil instead of waiting for them to come looking for us. Supernatural Evil, to be...

Did anyone else notice the homage to "28 Days Later..." at the end of last night's ep of "Alias"? It was so quick that I almost wondered if it was unintentional...

The best illustration of Hit Points that I've ever seen is "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

November 15th? D'oh! I've been looking for a good one-or-two-day game that I could play, too. Oh, well. Looks like it's filling up fast, which I take to be good sign. I hope we get some good stories, for those of us living vicariously (does that mean I have a fantasy fantasy life? boy, that's...

Dracula/Gary Oldman in the 1992 "Dracula" turned into a swarm of rats, and I think the SFX were pretty good, although it's been awhile since I've seen it. There was also a demonic assassin in an episode of "Buffy" who was a big pile of insects (or was he worms? I can't remember now).

Hm, okay. So Gather Info opposes Gather Info. I guess I can see that. For the purposes of "counter-intelligence", Disguise could provide a Synergy Bonus. If you wanted to get really intricate, say if you're running an espionage campaign, things like Bluff, Intimidate and Sleight of Hand could...

The size of the crew could have an effect on operational range, which could be important for the big fleet ships you mention. A contemporary aircraft carrier is expected to operate 24/7 while at sea, so there are probably three full shifts of redundant crew for the vital positions. It may also...

Let's say the Bad Guys are trying to learn something about Our Heroes. Where they live, who they hang out with, what PC Class they are, that sort of thing. How do the PCs conceal themselves or mislead their adversary? Bluff? Disguise? Hide? Sleight of Hand? Those skills all seem tactical, rather...

Here's some I've enjoyed, that are neither sword-n-sorcery nor wildly off-topic. Forgive me if any've already been suggested: - King Rat, by China Mieville - Guilty Pleasures, by Laurell K. Hamilton - Bones of the Earth, by Michael Swanwick - Slow River, by Nicola Griffith - Ammonite, by...

I meant the third active Slayer. Faith is actually, like, the 1000th Slayer or something (I don't think they ever indicated just how long the Slayer line had existed, other than "a long time"). I never understood that the whole "Slayer Line" was attached to Faith (and to Kendra before her). I...

One of the things that I enjoyed in Harry Turtledove's "World War" series was watching the humans develop creative tactics to attack the advanced-tech aliens. At first, "A Hymn Before Battle" appeared to be setting up the humans for the same sort of brains-vs-brawn combat, but it didn't follow...

I guessed I missed that part. I was disappointed that a third Slayer was never introduced, although the 7th season, and the series finale, made it a moot point.

Since reading "Perdido Street Station" and "The Scar", all my D&D-related thoughts keep swinging in their direction. In fact, I'm genuinely surprised that no one has a published a "d20 guide to Bas Lag." While Gene Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun" hasn't made it's way into a game, it nevertheless...

Looks like Turtledove is a common choice here. Next time I'm in a bookstore, I'll give his stack a closer look (his "World War One in a high fantasy world" series looked interesting, too - I forget the name of it, though). I like the looks of "The Man in the High Castle", too. I've enjoyed other...

Did I miss something, or was that whole plot-line dropped like a hot potato? At the time, I assumed that this was the beginning of something big, but it never went anywhere. Did it?