Search results

A few years. I started with the Red Box in 86, and before 2e came out in 1989, had started playing Gamma World, Top Secret/SI, Call of Cthulhu, and Traveller. Also Clay-o-Rama, but I'm not sure that counts.

As a long-time cleric fan, I can't deny that just looking at this old table gives me a thrill:

I finished Leblanc's Embodied Exegesis: Transfeminine Cyberpunk Futures anthology. The stories really span the gamut, from traditional cyberpunk to biopunk, to out-there W.S. Burroughs-style body horror/surrealism. I also finished Ray Kurzweil's The Age of Spiritual Machines. I think he was a...

There are some really cool looking gems out there. One wonders where Gary Gygax got his original list.

About the only thing that comes to mind easily is giving cleric PCs inspiration for following the tenets of their religion. I think back then people were grasping for greater character depth, not being just tokens being moved about a dungeon. But things were still evolving, the language and...

I go with the second method, but additionally add brief descriptions or even photos if I'm playing online. Because not everyone knows what chrysoprase looks like.

This has been an issue since the dawn of the hobby (or more likely, since the introduction of the paladin class). Paladin PCs have been harassing Thief PCs for decades. These days, I think it's on the players to figure how their characters work together. Because gaming is a group activity...

These days, unless you're AD&D, I don't want a system that makes me learn a ton of sub-systems and exceptions.

The Bridge of Sorrows is a crackling good cover. The way the lightning draws you towards the wyvern, creating a tension with the action in the lower left is pretty great. While I don't know about outright banning certain spells from clerics, I think that it behooves the PC to choose their deity...

I watched Alligator when I was way too young.

100% The original Star Wars trilogy would not have been the same without his music. It gives just enough time for the 20th Century Fox theme to fade away. Then a moment like a paused breath. And boom.

Same. There's something about when that opening fanfare hits and the scroll starts up in front of any Star Wars movie. It's like some instinctual nostalgic lizard brain thrill.

Oh yeah, there is value being added with the OAR products. Goodman Games gives these old products the deluxe treatment every time. For me, it's more meaningful to have an original copy, but I can see how people might feel otherwise.

I think part of the original Judges Guild's charm was that degree of roughness. The poor paper quality, the limited colors of the art, not to mention some of the quality thereof. I have never heard about the "Pete Rose asterisk" before. Learn something new every day. Huh, so it will actually...

Assuming a price point of at least what OAR #7: Dark Tower had for print + PDF, this is probably going to cost at least $100. It costs in the range of $20-80 more on eBay for a vintage copy of CSIO, depending on seller, condition, and printing edition. That's not much of a difference, and if I...

A couple re-reads for me. Re-read Martha Wells' All Systems Red. On a second read, I liked it much more. Then re-read John Shirley's Eclipse. John Shirley saw the writing on the wall with the threat of American christofascism, even the return of a Le Pen to France, back in the 80s. There's still...

I'd probably put Village of Hommlett at number 1. To me, that's the platonic ideal of an AD&D adventure in Greyhawk. I'm surprised to see Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure rated so highly. To me it's got too many gotcha tricks and traps for my tastes.

As kids, my brother and I went to see Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan with our dad. We'd already been exposed to TOS, and seeing Spock's death was an emotional punch we weren't prepared for. Also, those dang Ceti Eels... Later on, going to see Bram Stoker's Dracula was a theater experience I've...

My dad experienced antisemitism growing up. I experienced antisemitism growing up. The difference is social media, I think. Bigots have always been bigots where they've felt safe. And on social media some people still feel completely insulated from consequences, despite numerous FAFO incidents...