Search results

  1. Ralif Redhammer

    Dice with character...when is using them cheating?

    In my experience, people that are going to fudge their dice rolls aren't going to bother with weighted dice. They'll just roll and make up a number to their liking. One thing I've realized that pre-3e editions of D&D did right was that sometimes you wanted a high number, sometimes a low number...
  2. Ralif Redhammer

    D&D General Mr. Potato Head Beholder from WizKids?

    That is surreal and amazing! I can only hope that people start using them in their games. I want to show up to a con game and have a DM plunk that thing on the table!
  3. Ralif Redhammer

    What videogames are you playing in 2025?

    Just finished up Va-11 Hall-A, a cyberpunk visual/novel bartending sim. It took a bit of getting used to, as I hadn't really played (read?) a visual novel before, but once I got into the swing of it, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Was also surprised to see author Cassandra Khaw credited as a QA on it.
  4. Ralif Redhammer

    AD&D 2E Huh. AD&D 2e is my favorite D&D

    I don't know that I could pick a favorite D&D edition (given my mood, it jumps between BECMI, 1e, and 2e), but until 5e came along, 2e was the edition I played the most of, for the longest time. It made me so sad that the deluxe 2e reprints that came out some years back were the revised 2e...
  5. Ralif Redhammer

    What are you reading in 2025?

    Parable of the Sower is one of the most terrifyingly prophetic books I've ever read. Haunting and powerful. That sort of Orientalism is all over books of the late 19th century to the early 20th. Lots of Ballantine Adult Fantasy and pulp works are redolent with it. And frequently, written by...
  6. Ralif Redhammer

    You're approached by a Hollywood exec...

    Yeah, the role needs a Tom Hiddleston or Timothy Chalamet type build. I wouldn't want to see someone go full-on The Machinist for the role, though. There is the possibility that Elric could go the route of John Carter of Mars - that is to say, so influential that audiences had seen so many of...
  7. Ralif Redhammer

    General DCC RPG thread

    My brother got his about two weeks ago. I still have yet to get mine. Grr!
  8. Ralif Redhammer

    You're approached by a Hollywood exec...

    Elric would be such a meaty role for an actor to inhabit. And the Melniboneans as the villains only resonate more as time has gone by. For all its satire, Snow Crash was incredibly prophetic. Heck, it's one of the few cyberpunk novels to predict the omnipresence of cellphones (When Gravity...
  9. Ralif Redhammer

    The Castle is Alive

    Thinking about it like a giant mimic, I think it would have lots of things to entice intruders into dangerous situations. Fake and real treasures that lead the PCs into traps of all sorts - fire jets, collapsing ceilings, etc. It also might have a symbiotic relationship with rust monsters...
  10. Ralif Redhammer

    You're approached by a Hollywood exec...

    If someone asked me, I'd put forward Walter Jon Williams' Hardwired. The story already practically screams off of the page. It seems wild that Snow Crash hasn't gotten an adaptation yet...unless you count Ready Player One, which cribbed a whole lot from it. I think Elric would have to be the...
  11. Ralif Redhammer

    Amazon takes over Bond franchise

    Roger Moore would agree: "Of course, I was getting long in the tooth. I was 58 when I finished. My god, Gary Cooper was seemingly an old man when he was about 56 doing Love in the Afternoon with Audrey Hepburn. And I started to realize. When the leading ladies came in and they were younger than...
  12. Ralif Redhammer

    Amazon takes over Bond franchise

    Good point. I don't think Sean Connery has ever acted with an accent other than his own! A good point. Big action, big spectacles, big budgets, big stars.
  13. Ralif Redhammer

    Amazon takes over Bond franchise

    Yeah, this is the end of an era. As you said, even if not every outing was great, The Broccolis made Bond the longest-lasting film franchise I can think of. Generations grew up with Bond. I can't say I'm hopeful here. I guess I better start practicing my English accent!
  14. Ralif Redhammer

    D&D General Favorite Less Used Low CR Creatures?

    Yeah, skeletons are probably one of the most useful low-level monsters - they can fit into almost any scenario. Definitely a favorite of mine. Plus, Easley drew some of the best! I mean, just look at them:
  15. 1740001406109.png

    1740001406109.png

  16. Ralif Redhammer

    What are you reading in 2025?

    I just finished re-reading Count Zero. It's been about ten years since I last read it, and while I used to think it wasn't as prescient as Neuromancer, time has proven it just as. “And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian...
  17. Ralif Redhammer

    D&D General TIME Dungeons & Dragons Special

    I would say it's much better articulated now. D&D clothing lines, bands that specifically call out D&D elements in their songs, metatextual commentary in print and video formats. And the big thing, not limited to targeting kids. But don't get me wrong, I love that we got stuff like the LJN...
  18. Ralif Redhammer

    D&D General TIME Dungeons & Dragons Special

    I just read it. Kinda mind-blowing to see that level of acceptance and recognition, even if some of the timeline details are off in it. One thing that it especially drives home is that D&D is no longer just a game, but an entire culture. There are so many ways to consume and interact with D&D...
  19. Ralif Redhammer

    How many were abused due to their love of D&D, RPGs, and related items when they were young?

    It's a fascinating contrast, compared to Michelle Smith (Of Michelle Remembers), who has never recanted, never fessed up to the harm she did or the lies. It's shocking the mistreatment that was allowed to go on in schools in hindsight. I had my share of it, sadly. Of course, today bullying...
  20. Ralif Redhammer

    White Dwarf Reflections #9

    Totally! I could see it walking right into a Rodney Matthews art piece.
Top