Dragon Magazine #294

[Numion]

I didn't like Crouching Tiger very much either. Maybe I just didn't get it, but it seemed too "chick flick-y" to me.

Me neither; the plot was quite bad and some of the action scenes looked ridiculous (I almost laughed out loud during the movie, which would've been embarassing). But still I think it's a great basis for ELHB in terms of power level. The main characters were pretty 'out there' when compared to your average Ninja. Thats what I want from the ELHB. To give a clear distinction between 'mortals' and EPIC guys.

Then again, maybe I need to see that movie again ;-)

 

[Black Omega]

"A fistfull of dollars" was based on Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo," IIRC.

Indeed, and due to a careless mistake, I have two copies of Yojimbo. Erk. Sanjuro is just about as good, though more humor.

And really, CTHD was excellent, but movies are a matter of taste. I know many people who thought the Matrix was an all time great. I thought it was ok, but nothing I hadn't see before, just put into a very attractive package.

 

[Tsyr]

The other western based on a japanese flick is... oh heck, I forget the name since I don't much care for westerns, but it's based on "The Seven Samurai", and it has seven in the title...

 

[Wolfspider]

The Magnificent Seven.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hi Darkness mate!

Upper Krust, do you know how many of these gods will get stats? Only the 30 or so that are detailed in the FRCS, right? Or will the others get statted, too?

I'm sorry I don't know how many wil be statted.

However, I can speculate.

My guess is that all the deities are statted with at least 3 columns (as per Deities & Demigods), I do know that they have over 100 illustrations in the book. So 115 gods would encompass 172 pages. The main 30 deities are probably covered in slightly more depth (they also have 25 prestige classes in the book).

So if I had to bet I would say the whole 115 are detailed. This in turn nicely balances it with Deities & Demigods which I know has at least 90+.

 

[MonkeyBoy]

The other western based on a japanese flick is... oh heck, I forget the name since I don't much care for westerns, but it's based on "The Seven Samurai", and it has seven in the title...

The Magnificent Seven (The Dirty Dozen bears some comparison too, and Star Wars == Hidden Fortress so I hear...)

I'm firmly sat on the fence with a foot in each camp (and a phrase coined in each hand...)

I didn't like the action sequences in CTHD (the wire work was not, i'm afraid, very good - too weightless throughout - I have seen better in pantomime)

On the other hand... The cinematography was stunning, the screenplay was refreshingly well written (strong female characters without being man-hating feminists!) and the plot (away from the action sequence) was gently pleasant. I.e. A good film I didn't like that much

The Matrix, on the otherhand - almost the diametric opposite; excellent effects (mostly good wire work except for the somersault in the dojo - see that momentum stop!), predictable and derivative plot (see The Terminator for an earlier and yet more inventive take on the same plot...) and formulaic "big man win the day" characterisation.

I did (still do!) enjoy it a great deal though

But then; I like Johnny Mnemonic too

MonkeyBoy is a big fan of westerns, which my friends seem to find amusing for some reason...

 

[JacktheRabbit]

How utterly pathetic. Someone says something you don't like so you accuse them of being a troll.

Well, everyone has their own tastes, and far be it from me to say that someone's preferences are *wrong*...

But don't come to the movies with me. Or any of my friends. Or anyone I've spoken to about this movie... because all of us liked it. They at LEAST said it was good, if not AWESOME. You are in a very, very, small minority. And if your tastes in movies are so INCREDIBLY out of alignment with mine, then please tell me what OTHER movies you think sucked, so I can go out and rent them or see them in the theatre right away because they must be great.

You, sir, are a philistine.... and I mean that in the most respectful way possible.

Either that, or a troll.

Aha! That's it. I've been taken in... you don't ACTUALLY dislike it, you just said it to provoke a reaction... oh well... should I go erase everything I just wrote? Nah. I'll leave it there as a tribute to a pretty good troll. I give it an eight.

 

[Piratecat]

Another thread where I have to remind people not to be insulting?

Personally, I'm in no great rush for Deities and Demigods - but I'm very much looking forward to the Epic Level Book. PCs in my game regularly get skill checks in the mid-40's. They ought to be rewarded for that.

 

[MonkeyBoy]

I Want Both

Doggy-Paddling up a waterfall sticks in my craw a little, and without magic I'm not in the mood for spiderman, but still...

PirateCat;
"Personally, I'm in no great rush for Deities and Demigods - but I'm very much looking forward to the Epic Level Book. PCs in my game regularly get skill checks in the mid-40's. They ought to be rewarded for that."

I want the rules for advancement without the silly sounding stuff (swim up waterfall - there's epic, and then there's blatantly impossible...)

I like using RL mythology for the basis of my IC pantheons, so I'll find value in between and around the stats for Zeus

I know exactly what you mean about the skill checks; my PCs are 11th level, and they routinely hit 30-35, and 40 is not out of the question. There's a limit to how long "you do normal stuff, but look SO good doing it" will cut it.

I find open lock the worst; given the existance of Knock, how many people are going to spring for a lock that'd stop even a 7th level rogue? Yet rogue players WANT to occaisionally run into a lock that gives them a challenge (at least mine do), preferably wihtout the party mage waltzing forward to steal the limelight

 

[Moon_Goddess]

Re: I Want Both

I want the rules for advancement without the silly sounding stuff (swim up waterfall - there's epic, and then there's blatantly impossible...)

<snip>

I know exactly what you mean about the skill checks; my PCs are 11th level, and they routinely hit 30-35, and 40 is not out of the question. There's a limit to how long "you do normal stuff, but look SO good doing it" will cut it.

I find open lock the worst; given the existance of Knock, how many people are going to spring for a lock that'd stop even a 7th level rogue? Yet rogue players WANT to occaisionally run into a lock that gives them a challenge (at least mine do), preferably wihtout the party mage waltzing forward to steal the limelight

It's already possible for a 20th level ranger to track a housefly that passed across a stone floor then snow fell on it.

DND is about players doing the impossible. To go beyond that you have to get into dare I say, legendary actions. Becuase that's what the Epic levels are about. These are the skill checks poeple write legends about.



You seem to contradict yourself in your own post. You don't want anyone making a skill check to do anything a real human can't do without magic, yet, at the same time you don't like your spellcasters stealing the limelight.

As long as there is magic in the game, the none magical class are going to have to do spectacular things to compete.