Babe is a children's movie starring James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski, and the voices of Miriam Margoyles, Danny Mann, Christine Cavanaugh, Hugo Weaving, and Miriam Flynn.
Babe (Cavanaugh) is a little piggie born in a factory farm, but taken to a state fair to be a prize in a "guess your weight" kind of thing. Farmer Hoggett (Cromwell) correctly guesses the weight, and takes Babe home to his farm. This is a "the animals all speak animal-ese" kind of movie, a la Charlotte's Web (to which it owes much), so Babe winds up chatting with and falling in with a sheepdog named Fly (Margoyles). Her mate, Rex (Weaving) isn't so keen on animals not knowing their place, but that's easy for him to say - his place is a favored one by the farmer, getting to herd the sheep (who, in a nice bit of world-building, refer to all dogs as "wolves" and fear and hate them).
Babe goes through various misadventures involving the other animals, especially a duck called Ferdinand (Mann) who tries to be a rooster because he feels it will make him "indispensable" and therefore immune to being eaten. Babe learns to herd sheep, and the farmer enters him in a sheepdog competition, but then loses his shit when the cat (Russi Taylor) informs him that pigs, like ducks, serve one purpose on the farm: Food for the farmer.
Said farmer nurses Babe back to health, dancing and singing for him, even, and he goes on to win the sheepdogging competition! Hurrah!
It's a cute movie, and holy shit it got nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL. In fairness, it was a weak year (Braveheart won, FYI), except in Supporting Actor...anyway. I'm amazed that Babe got that many nominations. I mean, for the time, the visual effects were amazing, and it's credited with kicking off the "CGI talking animal" movie crazy (so, like, it's not all good news), but I have a hard time seeing it as a worthy Best Picture nom, let alone Screenplay.
Specifically, there's this kind of "so it goes" attitude about animals getting eaten that never quite gels. Like, Babe is told that his mother, father, and siblings were all turned to bacon, and that upsets him, but then the farmer does a little dance, and that makes it OK? We never see Babe come to grips with what that means; he is special, but it's because he can do something that other pigs can't.
George Miller (of Max Mad and Fury Road fame) wrote the screenplay and directed the sequel, which is just the cherry on the sundae of "huh" that is Babe. Me, I kinda think it's impressive for its time, but watching it 20 years after the fact, it's just cute.
My grade: B+
Rewatch value: Low
Next up: Jennifer's Body
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Character Creation: Covenant
Let's do this!
The Game: Covenant
The Publisher: Realms
Degree of Familiarity: None, really. I'm reading the PDF, which I got from the Haiti relief bundle years ago.
Books Required: Just the one.
The setting is deliberately loose; the schism is meant as a "kickstart" to provide some context for a game, but groups are advised to fill in whatever details they want. This book needs an editing pass, but I'm digging the core concept. Let's continue.
Ooh, so the first thing you do is define the conventions of the story, the cell's purpose (everyone is part of the same cell), and other backgroundy things. Well, you know I like that! You also know I don't have a group, so I'll be winging this.
Actually, there's a filled-out cell sheet in the book; maybe I'll use that? Oh, shit yeah. The motifs are "blood-spatted alleyways," "rotting urban slums," and "astrological motifs." I'm golden. The former purpose was "protect the society by expunging or reeducating people with deviant views." I like it.
OK, so now we actually get into character creation, so it's time to share our theme song, helpfully provided by Rob Wieland.
That's "Beast" by Nico Vega. It's a crunchy, angry, anti-establishment kind of song, I think, and that works.
In making a character, the first thing I do is come up with a concept, which includes a style and a focus. So I'm gonna choose "penitent manhunter." My guy was a bounty hunter pre-recruitment. He wound up tracking down an escaped member of the conspiracy who had jumped bail (trumped up charges; he was going to go public), but once he had the guy in custody, the cell found him and killed the traitor. Impressed at his skillz, the conspiracy recruited my dude, and he spent years tracking down "deviant thinkers" and, if necessary, taking part in the more brutal parts of reeducation.
But then Armageddon didn't happen, and it shattered everything he'd come to believe. All he knows now is that the conspiracy was the "deviant thinkers." And maybe that means they should be reeducated.
The sheet says these guys were based in Prague; I'm gonna fudge a little and say LA, because it works better with this concept.
Ooh, now I get three "truisms." These are kind of similar to Beliefs in Spark; they're things that, by saying them, I'm asking them to be challenged.
I'll pick:
"Everyone runs, no one gets away." (His experience has been that this is true; if someone really wants to find you, they will.)
"No one's clean." (He had to tell himself this while beating people up.)
"Deus vult." (This is part of God's plan. It goddamn well better be, at least.)
Now we add characters to the center of the sheet, arranged by what part of the character they're important to. This is called the "crucible." Kind of a neat mechanic. Let's see. I have to include someone from the cell playsheet, and another PC or someone from their crucible. I can't do that last one, of course, but let's see what else we got.
Well, the sheet includes a guy called "The Jailer," to whom folks needing reeducation are sent. I think I worked for him more than once, so he goes under Faction. Outside that box, I'm supposed to write my faction's agenda for me, dramatic and urgent. I think I've been tasked with tracking down three members (an overseer and her two assistants) who rabbited right after the schism. Let's call her "Luz."
And then over under Self, I'm supposed to add someone that I care about personally. I'll add a guy named Diaz, a guy I tracked down after he jumped bail. He gave up without a fight, and I eventually said that he turned himself in and smoothed things out for him as best I could. He did his time, went straight, and is continually struggling to get his life on track. He's a friend, and he challenges my belief that no one's clean.
Society section, I'm supposed to put someone in who's my superior, like an overseer or something. Sure. I'll call my superior William Norman. Bill views me as his "ghetto dog," I go into the parts of LA he's afraid to. Right now my orders are to round up everyone still loyal to the cell and make sure they're ready for a cleansing.
Ok, then! Now, edges. These quantify the relationships that benefit me and the shit I'm good at. I get six, three have to be descriptors and one a relationship, but the other two can be either. Relationships can be left open to add in play, which I like very much.
Well, let's do descriptors, first. We'll say "knows everyone in the barrio." My guy is very hooked into the Mexican community in LA, and is as trusted as you can be when you're a bounty hunter.
"Street fighter." I want him to be good in a brawl. He can use a gun if need be, but he's not a great shot and has never really been trained.
"Expert in surveillance." Duh. Good with bugs, tracking, etc.
And then a relationship: "Grew up with Detective Monica Velez, LAPD." He and Monica are from the same neighborhood and dated briefly. She's his contact in the department. He thought about trying to recruit her; now he's glad he didn't.
I'll leave the last two open.
Now I get a consequence. This can be something immediate or something long-term. I'll take "ready to burn it all down." He's done with these fuckers, frustrated, hurt, betrayed. His faith is guttering.
Oh, wait, I need one more person, someone to go between two areas of the crucible. Um. Let's say that there's a beat cop, Officer Stephen Marks, who I suspect is hooked into the conspiracy, but I don't know for sure. He's a friend and occasional gopher for Monica, so I'm concerned for her safety if he is hooked in, but I don't have a way to verify it, especially now.
And that's actually me done. I'll have to read the rest of this more carefully, it's pretty interesting.
Oh, wait! My guy's name is Osmundo Caraballos.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Movie #309: Jeepers Creepers 2
Jeepers Creepers 2 is, of course, the sequel to Jeepers Creepers, and is also directed by creepy-ass child molester Victor Salva. This one stars Ray Wise, Jonathan Breck, Gariyaki Mutambirwa, Eric Nenninger, Nicki Aycox, and Travis Schiffner. Justin Long makes a cameo as his doomed character from the first movie.
So, once every 23 years, for 23 days, it gets to feed, "it" being the titular Creeper (Breck). We pick up a few days after the events of Jeepers Creepers, with the Creeper snatching a young boy (Shaun Fleming) from his family's cornfield as his father, Jack Taggart (Wise) and older brother (Luke Edwards) look on in horror. And then there's this school bus full of football players, returning from a victory at a championship game or something. The Creeper flats their tires, they get back on the road, and then it gets dark and he flats their tire again, kills the coach and the bus drivers, and then starts terrorizing the kids.
This movie ends with Taggart rolling in to the rescue (I mean, for the people who haven't been eaten already) and pinning the thing to his barn. 23 years later, we get kids rolling in driving a car that looks old and out of date for now, asking to see "it", and there's old Taggart, sitting there with a shotgun, waiting for it to wake up.
Oy. So, the original movie is creepy, even if you don't know about Salva. It's nicely atmospheric and tense, and we learn just enough about the Creeper to make him scary. But we don't see much of him, and that's effective for the few moments we do get a good look. But this movie shows the Creeper in full light, again and again. And it's so damned repetitive. The Creeper yanks a coach off the ground and flies straight up, OK. That's kind of a cool shot. But then it happens two more times. The bus tire gets nailed with a throwing star made of human parts, OK, that's kind of cool and creepy. Then it happens again. Yawn.
And then there's the whole "man, a whole lotta shirtless dudes" and the fact that, with the exception of the bus driver (Diane Delano), no women are harmed. I know that women getting killed in horror movies is not something that the genre is short of, but in this particular instance, it's weird, because the Creeper is a scary guy in a long coat targeted young, cute, shirtless guys. Gah.
My Grade: D+
Rewatch value: Low
Next up: Jennifer's Body
So, once every 23 years, for 23 days, it gets to feed, "it" being the titular Creeper (Breck). We pick up a few days after the events of Jeepers Creepers, with the Creeper snatching a young boy (Shaun Fleming) from his family's cornfield as his father, Jack Taggart (Wise) and older brother (Luke Edwards) look on in horror. And then there's this school bus full of football players, returning from a victory at a championship game or something. The Creeper flats their tires, they get back on the road, and then it gets dark and he flats their tire again, kills the coach and the bus drivers, and then starts terrorizing the kids.
This movie ends with Taggart rolling in to the rescue (I mean, for the people who haven't been eaten already) and pinning the thing to his barn. 23 years later, we get kids rolling in driving a car that looks old and out of date for now, asking to see "it", and there's old Taggart, sitting there with a shotgun, waiting for it to wake up.
Oy. So, the original movie is creepy, even if you don't know about Salva. It's nicely atmospheric and tense, and we learn just enough about the Creeper to make him scary. But we don't see much of him, and that's effective for the few moments we do get a good look. But this movie shows the Creeper in full light, again and again. And it's so damned repetitive. The Creeper yanks a coach off the ground and flies straight up, OK. That's kind of a cool shot. But then it happens two more times. The bus tire gets nailed with a throwing star made of human parts, OK, that's kind of cool and creepy. Then it happens again. Yawn.
And then there's the whole "man, a whole lotta shirtless dudes" and the fact that, with the exception of the bus driver (Diane Delano), no women are harmed. I know that women getting killed in horror movies is not something that the genre is short of, but in this particular instance, it's weird, because the Creeper is a scary guy in a long coat targeted young, cute, shirtless guys. Gah.
My Grade: D+
Rewatch value: Low
Next up: Jennifer's Body
Monday, June 15, 2015
Night's Black Agents: To Vienna and Back Again
Saturday was Night's Black Agents, so I should do the update. Whee!
Last time, our ragtag group of freelancers tracked Wolfgang von Hanover to Austria, but weren't sure where exactly to look. Fuchs contacted his buddy at the German tax agency and had him look through some accounts and see if Hanover had any activity in Austria, and yes indeed, he'd emptied an account in Vienna. They found that the account had been closed out - looked like run money. Checking the area, though, they found the Liechtenstein Museum was nearby, and held a collection of Baroque art. Knowing that Hanover was an art lover, they decided to investigate further.
Parker used a cover as Jessie Stephens, a Montana oil baroness, and got herself a pass to see the artwork; Gambone went along as her bodyguard. While "Jessie" distracted the guides and staff with her inane Americanism, Gambone slipped off and chatted up a guard watching security, and planted a device to let them hack in.
Later, Fuchs and the others reviewed the feed, and found, a few days ago, Hanover meeting with another man. They hugged and were obviously familiar; the characters identified the man as Fritz von Hanover, Wolfgang's brother. Wolfgang was aware of the camera and shied away from it, but Fritz didn't have enough tradecraft to know, and so the characters were able to watch his expresion some - he seemed emotional and worried. They also reviewed the security logs from the day. Hanover had used an alias (Hans Brent) to get in (the characters didn't dig into the alias, but I'll note it for later).
Wolfgang handed his brother an envelope, probably full of cash, and Fritz handed back a key fob for a car. Fuchs used Traffic Analysis and identified the car leaving the lot, and tracked the sale of it from Fritz to Hans. The video footage showed the brothers embracing before they parted, and Fritz said something about "visiting you in Berlin."
(Cue some facepalms from the characters.)
They talked it over and decided that if Hanover had run to Berlin, they didn't have much of a trail to find him. Their best bet was Fritz, since Hanover obviously had some regard for his brother. Digging into Fritz a bit, they found he was an opera lover, and Die Fladermaus was playing that night in Vienna. Parker adopted her Jessie Stephens persona again, and Benbow created one of her own (Gemma Stephens, Jessie's British cousin). Gambone went along as security again, and Fuchs set up across the street to monitor their comms and lapel cameras.
The Stephens cousins met up with Fritz and charmed him, and they wound up in his box watching the opera. Fuchs, watching the feed, noticed three people watching Fritz, but Fritz didn't seem to be aware of them...apparently the characters weren't the only team after Fritz. Gambone struck up a conversation with one of them (in Russian, as the man didn't speak Italian or English, but answered initially in Croatian), and learned that they were going to be taking Fritz for a "meeting he doesn't know he's having." The man bribed Gambone to stay out of the way, and gave him a number to call if he was looking for work.
Realizing they had a good opportunity, the ladies went with Fritz to a cafe after the opera, and then told him of the danger. He didn't believe it until they mentioned his brother, at which point he got nervous. They got him into a cab (Fuchs following in his car), and as they got into a less populated area, a car with the three unknowns pulled up. Two men got out, smashed in the driver's and rear windows, and demanded Fritz get out.
Gambone, riding shotgun, stomped on the gas and floored it. Benbow shoved Fritz down to protect him, and Parker shot out the rear window and put a bullet in engine block of the pursing car. Fuchs pulled up and the characters loaded Fritz into the other car, and paid the cabbie to drive the other way, quickly.
They headed to the train station, and convinced Fritz that they needed to find Wolfgang quickly, before these other folks did. Shaken, he agreed, and they boarded a train.
Parker contacted Davor Klubocar, the guy who gave them this job (and who, incidentally, was also Croatian). He claimed to know nothing about the second team, but admitted it was possible the job had been double-booked. He told Parker to keep him updated.
They also analyzed the number that the Croatian agent had given Gambone. It was a burner, of course, but it had made calls to...Klobucar. He had known about the other team. So what was the angle? Why double-book the job and not inform folks?
The characters are heading back to Berlin. Next session, they get to meet Wolfgang.
Last time, our ragtag group of freelancers tracked Wolfgang von Hanover to Austria, but weren't sure where exactly to look. Fuchs contacted his buddy at the German tax agency and had him look through some accounts and see if Hanover had any activity in Austria, and yes indeed, he'd emptied an account in Vienna. They found that the account had been closed out - looked like run money. Checking the area, though, they found the Liechtenstein Museum was nearby, and held a collection of Baroque art. Knowing that Hanover was an art lover, they decided to investigate further.
Parker used a cover as Jessie Stephens, a Montana oil baroness, and got herself a pass to see the artwork; Gambone went along as her bodyguard. While "Jessie" distracted the guides and staff with her inane Americanism, Gambone slipped off and chatted up a guard watching security, and planted a device to let them hack in.
Later, Fuchs and the others reviewed the feed, and found, a few days ago, Hanover meeting with another man. They hugged and were obviously familiar; the characters identified the man as Fritz von Hanover, Wolfgang's brother. Wolfgang was aware of the camera and shied away from it, but Fritz didn't have enough tradecraft to know, and so the characters were able to watch his expresion some - he seemed emotional and worried. They also reviewed the security logs from the day. Hanover had used an alias (Hans Brent) to get in (the characters didn't dig into the alias, but I'll note it for later).
Wolfgang handed his brother an envelope, probably full of cash, and Fritz handed back a key fob for a car. Fuchs used Traffic Analysis and identified the car leaving the lot, and tracked the sale of it from Fritz to Hans. The video footage showed the brothers embracing before they parted, and Fritz said something about "visiting you in Berlin."
(Cue some facepalms from the characters.)
They talked it over and decided that if Hanover had run to Berlin, they didn't have much of a trail to find him. Their best bet was Fritz, since Hanover obviously had some regard for his brother. Digging into Fritz a bit, they found he was an opera lover, and Die Fladermaus was playing that night in Vienna. Parker adopted her Jessie Stephens persona again, and Benbow created one of her own (Gemma Stephens, Jessie's British cousin). Gambone went along as security again, and Fuchs set up across the street to monitor their comms and lapel cameras.
The Stephens cousins met up with Fritz and charmed him, and they wound up in his box watching the opera. Fuchs, watching the feed, noticed three people watching Fritz, but Fritz didn't seem to be aware of them...apparently the characters weren't the only team after Fritz. Gambone struck up a conversation with one of them (in Russian, as the man didn't speak Italian or English, but answered initially in Croatian), and learned that they were going to be taking Fritz for a "meeting he doesn't know he's having." The man bribed Gambone to stay out of the way, and gave him a number to call if he was looking for work.
Realizing they had a good opportunity, the ladies went with Fritz to a cafe after the opera, and then told him of the danger. He didn't believe it until they mentioned his brother, at which point he got nervous. They got him into a cab (Fuchs following in his car), and as they got into a less populated area, a car with the three unknowns pulled up. Two men got out, smashed in the driver's and rear windows, and demanded Fritz get out.
Gambone, riding shotgun, stomped on the gas and floored it. Benbow shoved Fritz down to protect him, and Parker shot out the rear window and put a bullet in engine block of the pursing car. Fuchs pulled up and the characters loaded Fritz into the other car, and paid the cabbie to drive the other way, quickly.
They headed to the train station, and convinced Fritz that they needed to find Wolfgang quickly, before these other folks did. Shaken, he agreed, and they boarded a train.
Parker contacted Davor Klubocar, the guy who gave them this job (and who, incidentally, was also Croatian). He claimed to know nothing about the second team, but admitted it was possible the job had been double-booked. He told Parker to keep him updated.
They also analyzed the number that the Croatian agent had given Gambone. It was a burner, of course, but it had made calls to...Klobucar. He had known about the other team. So what was the angle? Why double-book the job and not inform folks?
The characters are heading back to Berlin. Next session, they get to meet Wolfgang.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Origins 2015!
Origins! Woo!
Yeah, I know. GAMA doesn't do administrative stuff well, their software is weird, etc. Don't care. Still love this con, and attendance was up this year, so that's great to hear. Let's see some pictures!
This year was special because my son Kai was in attendance, and ran his first con game. So we picked him up from his last day of school on Wednesday and hit the road.
And Jerry in his booth...
But that night, after dinner, Michelle and I went to Games on Demand, and there was a crazy line of people to get in.
We wound up playing in a game of Feng Shui 2nd Edition, which was lots of fun. I was a magical cop named Stephen Wei, and lots of fun Jet Li-esque shenanigans were had. Michelle was a sorceress thrown forward in time to handle some Chi weirdness. We fight crime!
The games was really well-run, I think. There were a couple of moments were the GM paused to explain things for a bit too long, but it wasn't an ongoing problem, and the fight scenes (which are important to Feng Shui were evocative and quick-paced). This was run through Games on Demand, and they have yet to disappoint. My Grade: A
Then sleep! Then Friday!
Friday was the day that Kai was going to run his game of Cat. I was supposed to be free until 2 so I could be with him for his first hour of the game, but my GM got sick and lost her voice, so I had to run two Chill games back to back. Which was somewhat exhausting, but hey.
I segued directly into my second game of Chill, which also went well. That finished up about six, and we had some time to wander. Kai was supposed to be in a game of Mammoth Catan, but Origins fucked the schedule up, so that got cancelled.
And that was Sunday. Monday, we were still there. We got everything packed up, and got on the road to Baltimore for a little mini-vacation, leaving the ruins of the con behind...until next year.
Yeah, I know. GAMA doesn't do administrative stuff well, their software is weird, etc. Don't care. Still love this con, and attendance was up this year, so that's great to hear. Let's see some pictures!
This year was special because my son Kai was in attendance, and ran his first con game. So we picked him up from his last day of school on Wednesday and hit the road.
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| We stopped at Grandpa's Cheese Barn on the way, because obviously. |
We got to the con and unloaded the stuff for our booth, and then I went to go fight with registration about exhibitor badges.
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| Michelle doing booth assembly. |
See, here's the problem. If you want an exhibitor badge, you have to wait until those become open to register. Which is great...if you don't plan to sign up for any events. I do want to sign up for events. That meant I had have them cancel my badge, cancel my events, sign me up for a new badge, and then sign me up for my events real quick. It worked, it just took a long time. But we got it sorted and the folks at registration were really nice and patient.
Back to the booth, then: We couldn't get it entirely set up, because most of the flooring hadn't been delivered. See, funny story, UPS randomly decided to deliver half of our flooring to our house in Cleveland, rather than the hotel that we'd specified as the delivery address. So...huh? But, Amazon and UPS worked with us, and got stuff shipping down to us. So we set up as much booth as we could...
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| TRAVIS IS A MONSTER. |
...and fucked off to get dinner.
We got dinner at Bare Burger, a lovely little place across the street from the convention center that serves (you guessed it) burgers, many of them made from bison or wild boar. Very tasty food, though I think the staff isn't used to Origins. When I walked in, I just had Kai with me, and the host said, "two?" And I said, "no, eight, they're just not here yet. Actually, we're both four people." He just kind of blinked. I said, "dude, it's gonna get a lot weirder than me this weekend, best be ready."
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| Kai contemplates burgers. |
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| Tim & Travis. |
Anyway, dinner done, we went back over the convention center. I walked Kai around a bit so he knew the lay of the land, including the giant inflatable sheep.
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| You thought I was kidding? |
And then he had his first game, which was Are You a Werewolf? I wound up playing, too, because I had nothing else going on and why not? AYAW is an Origins staple; we also often play it at our holiday party, though there are some differences. The Origins folks have everyone pat their legs during the night so that you can't listen to movement and try and figure out the werewolves that way (not that it mattered, as loud as the room was). I always find that weird, because it's not like there's anything else to go on, not if you don't know the people and know their tells. Ah, well. It was fun, I got eaten by werewolves, and then we headed back to the room for rest.
Thursday!
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| Eee! |
So, first thing was finishing booth set-up before the hall opened. We got the flooring and got the booth completed, and I think it looked pretty nice.
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| Buy one of each! |
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| The booth from the other angle. |
Thursday I worked the booth, and then had an afternoon Chill game that didn't happen because I didn't get players. Bummer. So I wound up wandering the dealer's room a bit. Kai had a game earlier in the day...
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| I believe this would be the infamous "anime weird ninja school" game where they give out candy. |
I found Tim doing demos in the booth...
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| GHOST PIRATES. |
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| Sellin' books. |
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| Like a Cedar Point ride. |
We wound up playing in a game of Feng Shui 2nd Edition, which was lots of fun. I was a magical cop named Stephen Wei, and lots of fun Jet Li-esque shenanigans were had. Michelle was a sorceress thrown forward in time to handle some Chi weirdness. We fight crime!
The games was really well-run, I think. There were a couple of moments were the GM paused to explain things for a bit too long, but it wasn't an ongoing problem, and the fight scenes (which are important to Feng Shui were evocative and quick-paced). This was run through Games on Demand, and they have yet to disappoint. My Grade: A
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| The GM, some sheets, my pen. Very minimalist. |
Friday was the day that Kai was going to run his game of Cat. I was supposed to be free until 2 so I could be with him for his first hour of the game, but my GM got sick and lost her voice, so I had to run two Chill games back to back. Which was somewhat exhausting, but hey.
I segued directly into my second game of Chill, which also went well. That finished up about six, and we had some time to wander. Kai was supposed to be in a game of Mammoth Catan, but Origins fucked the schedule up, so that got cancelled.
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| Looks cool, though, dunnit? |
We saw a "rocket ship" made of balloons.
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| Sometimes, a balloon is just a balloon. |
We were supposed to play The One Ring that night, but that got cancelled, so we crashed out instead.
Saturday!
First thing: Kai and I played in a game of Barbarians of Lemuria retooled for Thundarr, the Barbarian!
Now, my dad used to watch Thundarr with me on Saturday mornings, and it was a show we liked. I didn't have time to show Kai much of it, but he got a sense of how it worked. He played Princess Ariel, I played Ookla the Mok, and we beat up a bunch of evil monsters and destroyed the Moon Men and saved the world. It was pretty awesome. The GM kept things moving and moved the spotlight appropriately, and, most important, he played off the 10-year-old at his table nicely; he didn't talk down to him or just tell him what to do (which is good, because Kai can have great ideas on his own if you give him a minute, but he'll go along with whatever folks suggest in a game otherwise). My Grade: A
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| Character tiles! |
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| Fightin' rat monsters! |
And then some lunch at North Market, and then I had a game of Chill to run, which went fine (got to see people I don't get to play with often, which is always neat).
And then more Chill! +Monica Valentinelli had asked me to run a game for her, so I gathered up some folks and we played a game of Chill in the Big Bar, at a Geek Chic table. I liked this game; it's quick and tense. I think maybe I will use it as a con game going forward. No PC deaths, though the monster used the Chill discipline at the end and threw everyone for a loop.
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| Captain America came to visit. |
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| Monica and Jerry review their mission. |
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| Bat Lord: Banished! Woo! |
And then sleep? Naw, and then we sat up chatting and drinking forever. And then sleep.
And then Sunday! Sunday morning at Origins means only one thing: Clay-o-Rama! It was weird this year, though. I had eight people signed up, but only four showed, so it went really quickly.
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| Preparing for battle. |
So that was quick, and then back into the dealer's room to wander around for a while before it was time for tear-down.
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| Chill book, tokens, dice, and a character sheet. You know you wanna buy it. |
And then tear-down!
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| Rawr! |
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| SMASH! |
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| Wait...I still...function... |
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Movie #308: Jeepers Creepers
Jeepers Creepers is a 2001 monster movie starring Justin Long, Gina Philips, Jonathan Breck, Eileen Brennan, and Patricia Belcher. It's directed by Victor Salva, and that's kinda the problem. I'll get to that.
Trish (Philips) and Darry (Long) are driving across what looks like Kansas on their way home from college. They pass and are nearly run off the road by a huge, tank-like truck, and later pass it at an abandoned church - where they see a man in a coat throat what looks like two bloodied bodies down a sewer pipe. The truck chases them again and runs them off the road, and they decide to go back and see if the bodies are, in fact, dead (they're in the middle of nowhere so just zipping down to the police isn't an easy option; Darry rightly points out that if someone is hurt or dying back there it would be irresponsible to leave them).
They find, however, carnage - hundreds of bodies affixed to the walls in the basement, artfully stitched together. They find a diner and call for help, and receive a phone call from a strange women who seems to know all about them. The police arrive, but they learn that the church is burning, making it hard to confirm their story...and then the man in the coat (Breck), attacks as they're on the road, killing the cops.
The Creeper chases them through the countryside, and they finally hook up with the woman on the phone, a psychic named Jezelle (Belcher). She tells them that one of them is going to die screaming in the dark, but she doesn't know which one. The Creeper attacks the police station, killing prisoners to eat their body parts and heal its wounds, and then grabs Darry, shows its wings, and flies off to claim its prize...his eyes.
So, here's the problematic bit: The director is a sex offender who served time for oral sex with a minor. (I know, ew.) If you watch the movie and you don't know that, it's this very tight, creepy monster movie with a tragic and evocative ending. If you do know that, it's a monster sniffing a teenage boy's underwear and chasing him while his shirt is torn open. The movie is creepy either way, but the context of who the director is makes the difference between "nicely creepy and scary" to "BRAIN BLEACH NOW."
I can separate the two and appreciate the movie even knowing what a creep Salva is, but it takes some work. I like that it's a monster movie that doesn't delve into the monster's origins too deeply, and I love that it takes place in the span of a few hours. Everything about the movie is tight and tense, and that's fun.
So...it's hard to recommend, based on not wanting to give Salva money (I bought this DVD before I knew), but, it's a good horror movie. So maybe borrow it from me if you want to see it?
My grade: A-, as dirty as that makes me feel
Rewatch value: Low
Next up: Jeepers Creeper 2
Trish (Philips) and Darry (Long) are driving across what looks like Kansas on their way home from college. They pass and are nearly run off the road by a huge, tank-like truck, and later pass it at an abandoned church - where they see a man in a coat throat what looks like two bloodied bodies down a sewer pipe. The truck chases them again and runs them off the road, and they decide to go back and see if the bodies are, in fact, dead (they're in the middle of nowhere so just zipping down to the police isn't an easy option; Darry rightly points out that if someone is hurt or dying back there it would be irresponsible to leave them).
They find, however, carnage - hundreds of bodies affixed to the walls in the basement, artfully stitched together. They find a diner and call for help, and receive a phone call from a strange women who seems to know all about them. The police arrive, but they learn that the church is burning, making it hard to confirm their story...and then the man in the coat (Breck), attacks as they're on the road, killing the cops.
The Creeper chases them through the countryside, and they finally hook up with the woman on the phone, a psychic named Jezelle (Belcher). She tells them that one of them is going to die screaming in the dark, but she doesn't know which one. The Creeper attacks the police station, killing prisoners to eat their body parts and heal its wounds, and then grabs Darry, shows its wings, and flies off to claim its prize...his eyes.
So, here's the problematic bit: The director is a sex offender who served time for oral sex with a minor. (I know, ew.) If you watch the movie and you don't know that, it's this very tight, creepy monster movie with a tragic and evocative ending. If you do know that, it's a monster sniffing a teenage boy's underwear and chasing him while his shirt is torn open. The movie is creepy either way, but the context of who the director is makes the difference between "nicely creepy and scary" to "BRAIN BLEACH NOW."
I can separate the two and appreciate the movie even knowing what a creep Salva is, but it takes some work. I like that it's a monster movie that doesn't delve into the monster's origins too deeply, and I love that it takes place in the span of a few hours. Everything about the movie is tight and tense, and that's fun.
So...it's hard to recommend, based on not wanting to give Salva money (I bought this DVD before I knew), but, it's a good horror movie. So maybe borrow it from me if you want to see it?
My grade: A-, as dirty as that makes me feel
Rewatch value: Low
Next up: Jeepers Creeper 2
Monday, June 1, 2015
Spark: Hellfire Empire Actual Play
Tonight we played Spark, using our Hellfire Empire setting. Since it's not terribly late, I think I'll do up the write-up.
We started off answering some PC and Faction related questions (oh, and Toasty named his character Adair Arkwright).
Amelia
We started off answering some PC and Faction related questions (oh, and Toasty named his character Adair Arkwright).
Amelia
- What favor did you do for another PC? I arranged to have an experimental piece of demonic tech stolen and delivered to Adair.
- Why do you trust a PC with your life? I trust Brigid because I have blackmail material on her - she's trying to break up Agamemnon and Queen Mona because he is a pacifist. I want her to get with Karakesh, Agamemnon's cousin.
- Why did you abandon a Faction? I abandoned the Artificer's Guild because I was sickened by their hypocrisy.
- How did a Faction help shape a Belief? The Backalley Runners taught me that even the most powerless have strength in numbers.
Brigid
- What common friend or foe do you share with a PC? Amelia Marx and I are both friendly with Garth Zelling.
- What do you hope to gain from a PC? Gaining Adair as a convert would be a coup.
- Why do you unfailingly obey a Faction? The Queen's Demons are my family.
- Why have I vowed to destroy a Faction? The Beelzebub Club hates me.
Adair
- How would you suffer if another PC came to harm? Brigid would be a martyr for her cause.
- What personal sacrifice did you make for another PC? Protected Brigid from the Beelzebub Club.
- How did a Faction help shape a Belief? Article from the Backalley Runners alerted me to the dangers of demon-tech.
- Why are you afraid of a Faction? I'm afraid of the Artificer's Guild because they wield too much influence and too many artifacts.
So with that done, we launch into the preludes. I gave them the Hellfire Engine as a Catalyst - the Engine is being used to power up a new intra-city train today, and Sally Graham (a dignitary) is taking a ride on it with her entourage. The characters do preludes: Brigid is with Sally on a dirigible, landing near the train station. Adair is leaping on rooftops toward said station, taking out guards with his steamtech. Amelia is the back alleys with the Runners, waiting to sabotage the train.
Scene 1
Platform: Rooftops, guards stationed on them, watching the train station.
Tilt: Ajax (a Queen's Demon lieutenant), is going rooftop to rooftop, checking in the with the guards.
Question: Can Ajax figure out who's plotting sabotage?
Adair attaches ziplines with steam bursts to guards and takes them out, but as he gets to the last rooftop, Ajax catches him. Meanwhile, Amelia dispatches a Runner to plant a transmitter on the train near the engine. On the roof, Ajax strikes at Adair with a hammer on a big chain, but Adair boosts himself backwards off the roof, to safety.
Answer: Ajax assumes that Adair is plotting to sabotage the train, when in fact it's Amelia.
Scene 2
Platform: The train station, in the heart of the city, lots of crowds and background noise.
Tilt: An honor guard from the Queen, but including members of the Beelzebub Club, try to get Sally and the other human entourage members on the train, but exclude the demons.
Question: Will the train depart with no further delay?
A guard tries to shunt Brigid off to a later car on the train, but she employs her Demonic Magic and mentally manipulates him, forcing him to let her and the others pass. Meanwhile, Adair creeps aboard the roof of the train unnoticed and Amelia runs ahead to St. James Park.
Answer: The train departs with no delay.
Scene 3
Platform: The train in motion, coming to St. James Park.
Tilt: The train approaches the point of sabotage!
Question: Can the receiver be removed in time to prevent the explosion?
Amelia lies in wait, and then channels her Angelic Magic toward the receiver. The mix of Angelic and Demonic magic causes an explosion, blowing the train over.
Answer: Nope.
Scene 4
Platform: St. James Park, immediately after the explosion.
Tilt: Guards, Queen's Demons, and the Beelzebub Club rush in, either to help or attack.
Question: Who died in the explosion?
As the train exploded, Brigid tries to absorb the blast and save Sally. She succeeds in saving herself, but Sally is stabbed by shrapnel and killed. Members of the Beelzebub Club attack any demons they find, and the Queen's Demons retaliate. Some of the Beelzebub Club attack Brigid, but she releases a massive blast of magic and vaporizes them. Father Liam of the Beelzebub Club releases a massive burst of light, reminiscent of sunlight, but although it harms the demons it does not drive them away. Ajax appears behind Adair (who was not seriously injured in the crash) and runs him through with a blade, killing him. The Beelzebub Club, following Liam's outburst, are declared enemies of the state and routed.
Answer: Sally Graham, Adair, and various other casualties.
Scene 5
Platform: The Royal Garden, the day after the explosion; a minister is reading a prepared statement.
Tilt: The Queen and Agamemnon are in attendance, but an unruly mob roils outside the gates.
Question: Who will win the PR war?
The minister tries his best to maintain order, but the people outside call on Queen Mona to reject the demons and truly lead her people. They shout "St. Adair!" and "Show us your Divine Right!" The hellfire torches fade, and the Queen and Agamemnon are forced inside.
Answer: The people.
Scene 6
Platform: A couple of days later, the protesters have not left the Park.
Tilt: The first manifestation of St. Adair; he comes back claiming to have seen the sun.
Question: How long will the protests remain peaceful?
The people continue to rattle the gates and scream for Mona to reject the demons. A ghostly manifestation of Adair appears, causing the hellfire lights to dim. He claims that he has seen the sun, but could not return it - it is up to the people to reclaim it. They storm the gates! Ajax steps out to confront them, but they drive him back and overpower him.
Answer: Not long.
Scene 7
Platform: Inside the castle; the Queen's audience chamber. The Queen, Agamemnon, and some of the Queen's Demons.
Tilt: The people teeter on the brink of open rebellion and regicide.
Question: Can the breach the walls?
Brigid wakes up the Royal Hospital, very confused. Amelia, outside with her people, again calls upon Mona to prove her Divine Right and cast out the demons. She does, telling Agamemnon to leave, and him being a pacifist, he doesn't resist. But his cousin, Karakesh, appears in a swirl of hellfire and throws black roses to the Queen, trying to court her. She resists, throws open the window, and publicly banishes the demons from her castle, and her ministers form a circle around her. The demons leave in disgrace, slinking back into the city, as the hellfire torches wink out.
Answer: No need - the Queen has heard her people.
Review on RPG.net coming soon!
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