Human Diplomat from House Justinian, played by John Freeman
Author: Ron McClung
21 Plots Too
21 Plots Too is a sequel to Gypsy Knights Games’ very creative and inspiring 21 Plots. In much the same way as 21 Plots presented you with plot ideas, 21 Plots Too does as well. The supplement presents several plots around patrons encountering a party with a starship. While 21 Plots had a few fairly eccentric and unconventional plot ideas, 21 Plots Too seems to have a few more.
Radiance Player’s Guide
I stumbled across this RPG in a discussion about a friend wanting to start a new campaign that wasn’t Pathfinder or D&D 4e. He asked for suggestions for other systems and someone suggested this one. It was described as a combination of all that was good about 3rd edition OGL mashed together with good bits of 4th edition as well as some Star Wars d20. I was intrigued. In a time when the market is dominated by what is considered the next generation of the 3rd edition rules – Pathfinder – I was interested in seeing someone else’s approach to update the 3rd edition rules.
B-Movie Inspirations: Dark Planet (1997)
Coming across this in my Netflix list, and I thought “how bad could it be with Michael York?” Come on! Logan from Logan’s Run? 1997 was a time when CGI sci-fi flicks were coming out a dime a dozen and many of them had halfway decent effects. Babylon 5 was at its peak. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was hot also. Putting all that in perspective, I really thought this movie had potential.
Boy, was I wrong.
B-Movie Inspiration: Outerworld (1987)
I have been trying to shorten my Netflix list this year and watch more of the lesser known movies to get them off my list. Some of those movies have been pretty bad and I can not believe I had them on my list for so long. Others had nuggets of coolness that got my mind thinking. Of course, my thoughts always go straight to gaming and what RPGs I can use these ideas in, but that’s just who I am.
21 Plots
John Watts and his group of friends are diehard Traveller fans and when Mongoose Publishing put out their edition of the classic version, Gypsy Knights Games arose from that group with a whole slew of material for the Traveller fan. 21 Plots is just one small part of the extensive product library.
Sci-fi One shot idea
Year 2604. After surviving a major global war, environmental collapse and an alien invasion, Earth is rule by aristocracy, at the top of which is the monarch King Thayone. Terran humans have returned to the stars using technology taken from their alien invaders, allowing them to build new interstellar capable exploratory ships. The HMS Icarus…
A moment of conflict
Ever since I have gotten back into Dark Conspiracy, I have felt conflicted about various things about the setting. One is the general dynamic of the game itself. It’s the “near future” where the whole economy has collapsed, corporations rule the day and governments are struggling to even exist. I get that. There is a…
B-Movies Inspirations: The Lost Continent (1968)
Part of the reason I wanted to do this series was because it was old movies like this that inspired my childhood imagination more than anything else. Yea, I know, reading probably should have too, but I spent most of my reading time in novels based on screenplays of the movies my parents would not let me go see. I have vivid memories, though, of watching old 50s and 60s sci-fi and horror on Saturday or Sunday, and I was fascinated by some of them. This was one that stuck out in my mind.
Mysticon 2013
In 2013, my wife and I picked a couple of cons to go to. First on the list was Mysticon in Roanoke, Virginia (February 22-24). This is a con with an interesting history. In the 80s, Mysticon existed for 3 years and I am not sure about the circumstances behind it’s collapse back then. It is now in its third year in its new incarnation. I remember working with some of their concom, helping them with advice when I worked in the fandom con business. They are good people, very smart about their approach to the business and I think they are going to see the fruits of that intelligence for years to come.