One-Shot Gaming Sessions #1: Kuro Preparation

Starting next Thursday, I'm going to be running some various RPGs through one adventure (usually 1-3 sessions, possibly 4) as a way of testing the systems I've got in my collection.  The first adventure is going to be Cubicle 7's Kuro.  So I am taking this opportunity to summarize the background of the setting of this Blade Runner meets Juon (The Grudge).

Rebuilding for the 5th Edition: Angwiel (Fighter)

This is a rebuild of a character I played in Neverwinter Nights 2, an Aasimar Fighter, Angwiel.

Rebuilding for the 5th Edition: Medora

Okay, I'll be taking a character that went up to 20th level this time.  My Disciple of Medusa: Medora.

Rebuilding for the 5th Edition: Teryna

Okay, this is probably one of the most mechanically easy characters I'll be doing.  Mechanically speaking, Teryna is a human rogue.  It's her backstory that's a bit weird.

Rebuilding for the 5th Edition: Jhessail Crackstone

Another rebuild.  This one is going to be a little difficult because her race doesn't actually exist as a player race: wererat.

Rebuilding for the 5th Edition: Kya'Rei L'Di'Shinabon

Going to try to rebuild some of my older characters for the 5th edition rules.  Starting with a flirty drow priestess.

Why we need fantasy.

There is a reason why we must have magic and fantasy in our stories. It has nothing to do with the sort of stories that can be told in fantasy. Rather, it is that desire for the fantastical that we must keep hold of. Whether or not you believe in faeries or magic or psychic powers or the like is pretty immaterial. But the desire for these things should not go away. And fantasy, whether it is dark and grim or childish and whimsical, drives and awakens that desire for the fantastical. The desire for the impossible.

What is Divine Blood?

Divine Blood is an urban fantasy setting set in an alternate history Earth.

The Academy by Zachary Rawlins

Stories written around the idea of a bunch of teenagers at a school for the supernaturally gifted have been around a long time. From the original X-Men to the Jedi Academy and onward toward Harry Potter, it has been a repeated theme and that is even discounting the number of times that the idea has been used in anime. Since Harry Potter, we've seen a large number of these come out, some with unique twists on the scenario and others being somewhat formulaic.

This certainly falls into the former category. It is clear that Mr. Rawlins takes a number of queues from anime and manga in his story telling, but the setting itself is a very dark work filled with grim, frightening people (many of the most frightening being the "good guys") and punctuated by occasional relaxing rays of normality.

The first novel takes you through two simultaneously developing and closely related storylines, focusing the majority of the time on the life of one Alex Warner while the subplot storyline occasionally gives peeks at the more brutal world surrounding where he finds himself.

The metaphysics and mythos of the piece are intriguing and seem well thought out. Definitely an engaging read.

http://www.amazon.com/Academy-Central-Book-1-ebook/dp/B005LIBM30

The Batman Issue

So, having recently watched the Batman vs Spiderman Death Battle and seeing the number of people complaining about how Spiderman shouldn't be able to beat Batman, a few thoughts came to mind.

Book Review: Faerie Tales: Revelations Trilogy

Faerie Tales is a fun piece of reading for anybody who finds Urban Fantasy an appealing subject. There are werecreatures, vampires, witches and, of course, the Fae.