[Kinda Book Review] The Saracen Storm by JM Nunez

A random, impulse buy led me to check out this book on Amazon. I was not looking for anything in particular but I thought this covered a topic I did not know much about: The period of Post-Roman Spain.

This book is historical fiction in that it takes elements of the story we know and adds just enough to it to make it into something plausible.

Here, we have the story of Pelayo, bastard son of the Duke of Asturias. The plot weaves itself in a realistic way. One part that really felt forced was the women's escape from the Muslims, but it did not detract from the overall. It felt a little Hollywood-y, but fine.

I must say that I enjoyed this as what I see it: a gateway into doing some more research. The characters are interesting and realistic, with everyone seeing themselves as "the good guy."

The battle scenes are described well, from the perspective of a person who is present - so it is chaotic and unclear.

Now, having done some extra research, the events presented in the good as though they would happen within a few months-to-a-year took a decade. Small notch as a history nerd. However, not knowing that going in, I won't ding it.

How do I rate this? A 4 seems high but a three is definitely low. So I will settle on 3.5, which rounds out to 4/5. Generous but I can live with that.

[Kinda Book Review] The Empires of Ancient Persia

Or its full name: The Empires of Ancient Persia: The History and Legacy of the Achaemenids, Parthians, and Sassanids in Antiquity by Charles River Edition.

I was interested in reading more about the three major Persian dynasties: The Achaemenids, the Parthians, and the Sassanids. Having studied their opponents: The Greek/Macedonians, the Romans, and the Byzantines, it is always interesting to read more about what happened. Understand both sides of conflicts allows for a more complete picture of what happened.

It's not just the war, but the social and religious aspects clarify what happened.

Well... This book is a good primer. It presents all of the above.

So why am I not excited?

This book is dense, heavy and without headers. It is illustrated with Wikipedia images that are effective but their main goal is to break the blocks of text.

The topics are approached but only skimmed before moving forward.

It's just... dense. Very much like a paper designed to remind people who already knew about the topic. Or a school/ college paper.

How do I score this? ... How indeed. I was not bored but I was not excited reading it either. It was 2/5, I did not find what I was looking for. Had I have no idea about the topic, I might have scored it higher, but not much. So dense, heavy, and definitely not entertaining.

[Spoilerless Review] Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie

This past weekend, I took ActionMan to see the Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie. The previous one(s) were... unfulfilling. I had little expectations. The trailers looked interesting and of quality, I thought "this could have half a chance!"

Then the OGL situation... I mean really WotC? Did you wanted to tank the movie? (Yes).

I knew I wanted to go see the movie. I didn't want to boycott it, but instead, as a form of protest, I delayed my attendance until I could see it at our local second-chance cinema. You may say this is just arguing semantics, but it made me feel good and right.

Things I enjoyed in the movie:
- The form of the story: How the party comes together while the plot advances.
- The introduction: Quickly we get in the action, giving us the background of the story at a pretty fast pace.
- The characters: The main cast is definitely like many D&D parties I know and play with.
- The look: Things looked good. Neverwinter resembles the Neverwinter we see in games.
- The lore: It felt interesting and well-woven into the story. Elements of the red wizards are dropped at the moment we need them.
- "The Cameo": You know who I'm talking 'bout.
- The cast looked the part and were entertaining in their role.

Things I disliked
- The marketing: again instead of focusing on the good elements, they again went to score woke point with Twitter. Please stop doing that. 1- You can never please Twitter. 2- You piss off your paying fans. 3- It is NOT uniting.
- Okay I could nitpick a number of "the game is not like that" but the one thing that really irked me was that the bard had no abilities once combat started. Chris Pine's bard should've had some magic to something more than just be a scoundrel. Nitpicking. I enjoyed his portrayal.
- Another nitpick: no cleric? At no point do any of the heroes call for healing... A cleric could've served well. Don't want to have a healer, then have a war cleric or a shaman.

Okay, I really enjoyed this movie. Much more than I thought going in. Sure, I can go through a bunch of nitpicks, but I had a good time. I laughed. I worried. I anticipated.

In short, I was entertained and that was really all I wanted. They provided that to me at a time when most movies have me not bothering to go see them or wait until they come to "regular" TV.

I will give this movie a 4/5. It is not a great movie, but it did what I wanted: have someone tell of their D&D game and their characters for two hours. That and I liked it better than most 3s I have rated.

[Terrain Friday] Obelisks

These obelisks are much different. The first two are from the same source. I did two that floated, but one fell on so I chose to keep only the top section and stuck it to a simple base... Kept those simple.

The second set had two intact ones and one that is broken (on purpose, not due to my own clumsiness).

Rhym Certified Silver Bestseller

With the sad news of JD's passing earlier this month, I put all Rhym product on sale for 50% off until May 14th as a way to get out the word.

Well.. it seems JD was just a little too late to see Rhym get certified as a silver bestseller on DrivethruRPG.

Rhym is a great setting that is the most traditional of FOE's setting, thus it occupies a unique location in the FOEniverse. It is where you can encounter elves, dwarves, and orcs! However, they are given unique tweaks. The elves are reclusive. The mountain dwarves are seen as servants of the dragons. The dragons were beaten and exiled.

Congrats JD, you are a bestselling author!

Huntsville Comic and Pop Culture Expo After Action Report

Last weekend, ActionMan and I headed south to Huntsville Alabama for the Huntsville Comic and Pop Culture Expo (HCPCE). I picked him up at his school and we immediately headed south via I65. A nice enough drive, we arrived around 5pm, an hour before I had to run my first game.

Now... Downtown Huntsville has no fast food join and requires driving around. We settled on Taco Bell and headed to the Von Braun Convention Center (VBCC). Got in, parked, and headed inside where I set up my new banner and table. Lucky me, the room was exactly above the car!

YAY!

This weekend, I was doing premiere showcasing of FOE's new setting, Ozaka. I offered short, 2-hour introduction events. The adventure is named "Ghosts of Kurogawa" where the PCs go to investigate missing taxes in a small village.

Well... Just a single adventure because there were a number of other things I wanted to test, namely:

- The Iconics: Since they are all new, I wanted to iron out some of the issues: spell lists, typos, missing sections.

- My setting introduction: this is effectively my elevator pitch at the beginning of a game. Formulaic, but it allows me to really give important information without swamping the players with unused information.

- See if the setting and its specificities made sense to new players. In a sense, what I see if someone who had no idea about the setting could quickly get into the game.

- Help define my point of light. This is the location from where most adventures start. This is a place that begins with lose notes but that grows with each adventure. Those familiar with Olympia, will recognize that Mytenia was (and is) defined this way, by focusing on what is needed for adventure.

I had scheduled 3 games for Friday night: 6, 8, and 10pm. Of those 6 and 10 happened, big win! I received some invaluable feedback that was already addressed on the character sheets, setting book, and the adventure.

For the 8pm slot, I had no sign-ups, so ActionMan signed us up for to try some Alpha Strike, the latest version of Battletech. I played that game back in the early 90s and... well that should be a different post. I must say the first few rounds were very tentative but we quickly got the hang of it and pounded each other to smithereens. I got one of Actionman's mech and he blasted me out of the field... I just could not roll to save my life. LITTERALLY!

I will say I enjoyed this version of the game more than the original and that of the heroclix. So we had a great time. Even if my son kicked my butt.

Saturday

Saturday, ActionMan and I started our day at the Waffle House (the most southern of places). Meal was fine.

Problems started as we tried to make it into the VBCC. Now the center is really nice. However the parking situation... WHAT A PAIN. There are 2 entrances, close to each other. And if you cannot go in one, you have to go out and wait to go to the next entrance. Not cool.

Eventually, we managed to make it in. Parked and headed in. Just in time.

I had my final game of Ozaka from 10-noon. This table went off and it was a good one too. More feedback.

Meanwhile, ActionMan went to play some Call of Cthulhu, he got to play a professor dealing with disappearing books. He had a good time. He played solo, survived, and was happy to report he neither died nor went insane. He was somewhat surprise.

The afternoon, we played some 5e with 6th level characters exploring a lost temple. The plot made me think of a First One and scheme. I definitely plan on taking the idea and adding a FOE twist to it. I left that slot wringing my hands and cackling with ideas for a future adventure.

The evening was the highly-sought and limited-seating tournament.

I won't spoil it but it was a very fun event. Our table rolled with it and went through most of the place using easels, paintbrushes, and other random things we found as we explored. A fun and intriguing adventure that involved a touch of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Now I'm usually a fan of the Lovecraft Pantheon in D&D but this one was very well-done. Great atmosphere.

We did not win, but it didn't matter, both ActionMan and I had a great time.

That was the last game we had planned for the weekend. So we retired to our hotel and slept.

Conclusion

This was our first time in Alabama, and we really had a blast.

The people were great and there was a true feeling of excitement whenever I spoke about Ozaka and FOE's other settings. Next year, I definitely plan to return and run more events. I have no ideas what it will be, but the 2-hour game format really worked well for me.

I already given Kerry, the gaming organizer, my "I'm coming back if you'll have me/us" really looking forward to it.

Farewell JD Conrad

It is with a heavy heart that I learned of the passing of my friend JD Conrad. JD, you will remember was the mind behind Rhym.

I met JD at Imaginareum in late 2016, after a panel I gave called "How to get your stuff published" He approached me asking for clarifications. So we got to talking...

... and talking ...

Our first conversation ended with him telling me about the campaign world he created, wrote, and ran games in. I was intrigued and quite excited by the unique elements: the religion, the history.

We left each other with JD promising to send me what he had. I was excited but based on previous experience, I expected either getting nothing OR four pages of indecypherable material.

Oh how little I knew JD at that time...

A few weeks later, he sent me a zip file (which I still have) in mid-December (told you I still had the file).

Wow.

The material was more than just a few pages of scattered notes. It was a full-fledged setting 160+ pages of material. The years of games he put in showed, from 1e/2e to 5e. True, many elements in there were personal GM notes that were not useful for a book or product. So I sat down, went through it and gave it a rough round of editing and told him to distill the core of each nation and the history. A major rework to be fair, but one that would allow a prospective reader to get information needed to create a character or run an adventure.

Finally, Rhym came out in 2017.

I since published a few extra products to round out and add more as JD and I spoke about creating more material that was never completed.

I could talk more about our relation, the flow of idea, and our meetings at the Chinese restaurant he loved. We hadn't spoken as often these past few years with Covid but still I thought we would be doing more.

That hope will not be realized.

So it is with a heavy but grateful heart that I bid JD farewell as he travels on the Great Wheel and looks down upon us from the Bridge of Stars.

Farewell my friend. And thank you.

[Terrain Friday] Statues Gallore!

These three statues all come from different sources.

The first one is a dark elf witch elf, but she will be used for the many icons of ArchDespot Hellebora who keep popping up everywhere in my games... This is a really awesome sculpt with a definite anime-vibe but one I really liked from the moment I saw it on Thingiverse.

The bull's head made me think of something beastly or even an Olympian deity. I debated putting blood upon it, but my first attempts simply sucked and just did not look good. So I opted for the easier "clean" stone.

Finally, the woman statue is incomplete - it is only partially carved - which is why the base is rough stone. Still it makes for a great statue of one of the Olympian goddesses - Aphrodite, Artemis, or even Demeter...

First Ozaka Public Game this weekend!

This weekend, ActionMan and I are headed to Huntsville Alabama for the Huntsville Comic Book and Pop Culture Expo. It will be the first time either of us going to play some RPGs in Alabama. I am pretty excited by it.

To add to the excitement, not only will this be our first playing, but it will also be the first in-person game of Ozaka! After a first live game at Festival Draconis earlier this year, this time, I need to have my character sheet in physical form, physical miniatures, and yes, terrain! I worked to create a short (~2h) adventure that would allow me to use all of the above and showcase the setting.

One thing I learned years ago is that a physical display is good to draw people's attention and garner interest in the game. Let's see if my assumption works.

Here is a quick preview of the village of Kurogawa...

A small gift: The Poster Board

Last month, at the TEC center in Murfreesboro, a small group of new adventurers gathered for a Westmarches-inspired campaign. One main element of the campaign is the poster board with jobs offered.

Feeling inspired, I printed the board, painted it and added a few sheet of paper, mimicking the jobs that could be offered. I gave this to Kelly, our peerless organizer!

Thanks Kelly!

[Kinda Book Review] Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

I was wanting to read something non-comic and non-historical. I looked briefly through my daughter's YA collection but found nothing that drew my eye. So what did I do?

I headed to Amazon and tried to find something that could be interesting. The blurb sounded interesting so it made the way into my shopping cart.

The best way I can describe this book is the adventure of Gary Lou. Gary is the best at everything. He's only fourteen years old but leads a band of cutthroats and bandits. He is the most brutal and ruthless of them. He is the most learned and knowledgeable of them. He always knows where to go. He outsmarts everyone.

Gary Lou.

I got to laugh about it. Eventually, I started to guess how he would escape the traps and avoid the challenges. He just sucked.

There are a number of things that had a lot of potential in there, that could have been expanded and used to make it interesting.

First off, the setting has a lot of interesting things that were wasted by the presence of Gary.

- The story is set in a far-future where technology is now magic. There are strange AIs, insane computers, and a radioactivity mutating people.

- The cast around Gary is more interesting, but they are only present to show how good and awesome Gary is. I just cannot understand why all these grown men would just bow to this little bully killing them on a whim.

- The opponents seem to just wait for Gary to come before they do anything. They are always surprised because he shows up without them waiting for him.

So... What do I think about this book? It sucked. It was terrible and I could not wait to reach the end. Gary warrants a 1 but I was really interested in finding out more about the world and the cast. There is so much more to discover and explore there. And it seems FUN.

So ignoring Gary, I rated this book to a 2/5. However, I can easily say that I will NOT continue reading this series. I don't care how Gary will coast through the challenges.

Prediction: He wins.

[Friday Terrain] The City Gates

When I did the other gates, I kept this third one out of the picture. To this one, I added magnets to allow the door to open and close. The doors do not come with the arch and are something I decided to modify myself. I think it will be interesting to use in a game.

[Terrain Friday] Barrels, chests, crates, and barricades

I printed many "random bits" of boxes, crates, chests, and barrels from a variety of creators. Some were barricades and others singles I glued together.

They can serve a wide variety of uses across many games, time periods, and places. I did a simple paint job that really looks great when put together in large numbers. I really like the overall effect. Be prepared to see them on game tables soon...

Only the barrels stacked together had printing issues... I debated throwing them away but now after a coat of pain, they work well enough and the deformations aren't as obvious as they are from close up.

[Gencon 2023] FOE Program Part 4

It is time to start letting you know of the program for Gencon. This year will feature a number of premieres. First off, it will be the premiere of Ozaka (after a few public playtests). Second, this year, there be not one but two different adventures written and run by others.

Akhamet | Olympia | Ozaka | Specials

Specials

Now, the specials are unique events wherein multiple tables all play in the same adventure together, at the same time. They can be set in one setting, another, or... well... "something different."

As such, the best FOE "setting" to represent them are the First Ones found in Power is Fickle, the guide to the First Ones. Somehow it seems they get involved in the happenings year after year...

Legacies: Sinking of Bastis Bastis, the City of Cats is best known for its feasts and parties. Heroes from many worlds have been summoned by a powerful prince. A 3rd-level multi-table adventure set in Egypt-inspired Akhamet.
Thursday 7pm

Legacies: Ozakan Race Massive titans devastated the multiverse. When it is learned that a scholar in Ozaka may know how to stop them, the race is on. A 3rd-level multi-table adventure set in Japan-inspired Ozaka.
Friday 7pm

Legacies: Tearing Down the Wall If only the Titans were the only threat to the multiverse! Actions have consequences and past choices will come back to haunt you. A 3rd-level multi-table adventure set in Greece-inspired Olympia.
Friday 7pm

Legacies: Dousing Fire with Blood You float. No, you fall. All around you is a dull grey haze. Finding a way home won't be as simple a walking back. A 3rd-level multi-table adventure set Beyond the Mists.
Sunday 8am

[Gencon 2023] FOE Program Part 3

It is time to start letting you know of the program for Gencon. This year will feature a number of premieres. First off, it will be the premiere of Ozaka (after a few public playtests). Second, this year, there be not one but two different adventures written and run by others.

Akhamet | Olympia | Ozaka | Specials

Ozaka

The Ozaka Campaign setting will be released in time for Gencon. It uses the myths and folklore of ancient Japan.

Legacies: Lady Mijiko's Journey (Run by JP) Lord Asahi wants his daughter to visit her sister and you will escort her. A 3rd-level adventure set in Japan-inspired Ozaka.
Thursday 8am, 1pm; Friday 8am; Saturday 8am

[Gencon 2023] FOE Program Part 2

It is time to start letting you know of the program for Gencon. This year will feature a number of premieres. First off, it will be the premiere of Ozaka (after a few public playtests). Second, this year, there be not one but two different adventures written and run by others.

Akhamet | Olympia | Ozaka | Specials

Olympia

The Olympia Campaign setting uses Greek mythology to create new stories and legends.

Legacies: Deja vu all over again (Written by Bill-C) Titan-hunting is a task for heroes, they are immortal after all. Imagine how hard it becomes when the gods get involved. A 3rd-level adventure set in Greece-inspired Olympia.
Thursday 8am, 1pm; Friday 8am, 1pm; Saturday 8am, 1pm

Legacies: Wolves in the Fold Queen Kreomene of Mytenia needs heroes: the border with Lexos is quiet, too quiet. So much for smooth sailing of the queen's new reign. A 3rd-level adventure set in Greece-inspired Olympia.
Thursday 8am, 1pm; Friday 8am, 1pm; Saturday 1pm

[Gencon 2023] FOE Program Part 1

It is time to start letting you know of the program for Gencon. This year will feature a number of premieres. First off, it will be the premiere of Ozaka (after a few public playtests). Second, this year, there be not one but two different adventures written and run by others.

Akhamet | Olympia | Ozaka | Specials

Akhamet

The Akhamet Campaign Setting is inspired by Ancient Egypt. Wherein Pharaoh the God-Emperor, God of the Sun, God of Civilization, Forever may He reign, may be dying.

Legacies: The Canopic Resurection (Written by Matt-G) A dungeon crawl filled with traps, tricks, and treasure! Ressurect a long-dead magus to prevent the Pharoah's untimely demise. A 3rd-level adventure set in Egypt-inspired Akhamet.
Friday 8am, 1pm; Saturday 8am, 1pm

Legacies: Dangling Castle A strange castle appeared on a mountain! A mysterious fog. A lack of shambling dead. Exploring it may yield answers. Or more questions. A 3rd-level adventure set in Egypt-inspired Akhamet.
Thursday 8am, 1pm; Friday 1pm; Saturday 8am, 1pm

[Terrain Friday] (Start of) The Ozakan Village

These Japanese-style houses on stilts were printed and painted for use with Ozaka. They depict the "Rice" and "Food" kanjis.

The little bridge (of which another appeared previously) really adds to the overall look and makes it look like ancient Japan.

[Thor's Day Giants] More Fire Giants!

Giants... I really like them. These two fire giants are much different.

The male is the same model as the frost giants - the sculpt I really like. I made him much bigger.

The female is a different character, one for a product I had in my backpocket for years now but that I never was truly satisfied with - the Fire Witch. She is much smaller than regular fire giants but makes up for it through the use of magic and other means... Devious means...

The other set of creatures are scaled up Bloodhound of Khorne (The sculpt is very basic). They will serve as hell hounds in DND and in other games.

The big one can serve as a Cerberus proxy.

Wolves and Werewolves

A few short models... Three werewolves I painted up and a zombie dire wolf. Basic paint job.

[Demon] Mariliths and Vrocks

More demonic creatures...

The first set are marilith, these six-armed snake-women serve as generals for the demonic armies, leading from the front. However, they are intelligent and brutal.

The second set are the vrocks. These cruel vulture-chicken really took a level drop in 5th edition and they really became bland and boring... However, one of the things I liked best about them in 3e was their dance of ruin ability that allowed them to blast all non-demons around them. The only way to stop the dance was to destroy them until there were less than three. I plan to add something to make them fun again and perhaps will create another "Demonic Forces" book.

[Demon] Goristro and Hezrou

These demons are straight-up warriors, whose main use is to smash through enemies and break things. My players did not approve my use of three goristro after they witness what one did in Pikemaster...

If you look closely one of the hezrou has a bikini top... that one is a named character in my Monday night campaign. I expect the players will both cringe, shake, and laugh at the reveal (which is coming).

[Old Pro Tricks] NPC-on-NPC Dialogue

I responded to a post on Murfreesboro D&D Facebook Group earlier when another member, Stephanie-M said that she tried GMing and it wasn't for her.

What prompted this post was her comment about NPCs talking between them and have extended conversations...

So my first (and quick) response was: "Don't have complete conversations between NPCs." There is no point in having any of the details of such conversation. Yes, it showcases how you can have a chat with yourself but it rarely brings much to the story as players' eyes glaze over. Then they ask you "so what did he say that was important."

I've been guilty of this. A lot. I don't ever recall doing this for the purpose of showing off my prose skills (I still think they suck), no. Thinking back on some such discussions, I usually wanted the PCs to understand some element of the NPC's personality or motivations.

But all I succeeded was to glaze eyes over.

And burn through GM voices during weekends.

So how can a GM accomplish this without boring everyone else? Here are a few tricks and ideas I've used I believe make the encounters more dynamic.

First off, a few predicates.

- The players are the main characters of the campaign. They are to be involved in the most significant parts of the action. The focus is on them.

- Not every word spoken by the NPC deserved to be immortalized on stone tablets. Do not be attached to EVERYTHING they say. A few sentences at most...

- The intent is usually sufficient.

- Know what the scene should convey. What do you want the players to learn?

How to do it?

Instead of talking about a hypothetical, let's say you want the PCs to learn that the king's advisor is really a crooked guy. The players returned from their quest and are telling the king about the dragon they killed.

- Describe the situation, the king sits on his throne as the players describe what they saw. Every revelation, they give, the advisor whispers into the king's ear.

- PCs wanting to listen in may make checks to overhear words like "tavern," "mercenaries," or "exaggeration."

- They may try to read the King and discover that the longer the story goes, the less does he pay attention.

- The advisor only interacts with the players to highlight the most comical or fantastic part of the story.

- So there is no need for the advisor and the king to have a prolongued exchange.

- If the PCs are not there, have someone TELL them what the NPCs said and interact with THEM about the conversation.

So...

The best trick I can give you is: Try it.

Try it. Fail. Try again. Fail better.

[Terrain Friday] Huts and village

The following are a collection of huts and houses. The round ones are two different styles: one made of bricks and the other made of wood.

The two larger structures are the same model with tweaked dimensions.The simple paint job really came through beautifully. It really comes through. I gave them multiple brushings to give them that look.

[Thor's Day Giants] Another Frost Giant

Another frost giant warrior. This guy is also a storm giant painted and used as a frost giant.

[Terrain Friday] Runes stones and Sphinxes

These pieces are scatter terrain. The stones have magical runes over them, meaning they can be used for a variety of things. I decided to go with a whiter colored stone to break from the grey.

And as a personal painting challenge.

[Terrain Friday] Great Arches

These not-so-small pieces are massive archways as scatter terrain. There are so many uses for them. They were very large and a challenge to print on my small printer.

Thor's Day Frost Giants

For my current D&D game, I printed and painted up a number of giants. I used a dwarf model, a storm giant, a druid, and some anime character to create variety.

These giants are one of the major factions in my planar extravaganza. I painted up variety or models so they are not all the same. I have more on the painting desk... They will follow along later.