Director George Romero passed away.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...716-story.html

Hard to believe he's gone. I've seen all of his movies. He's the man who made everyone know what a zombie is. Night of the Living Dead is still one of the best horror movies ever made. RIP.

It's hard to do horror in D&D

I love the Ravenloft setting, but I have to admit that it is really hard to pull off horror games with Dungeons & Dragons. The biggest issue is clerics. They can heal everyone, possibly resurrect the dead, and curb-stomp the undead. Even if clerics are heavily limited, mid to high level fighters and mages can handle the vast majority of monsters.

I can see why level-draining monsters were added to fight this, but I think that mechanic is very unfair (not to mention a terrible paperwork mess). In any case, I've done what I can to make it scary for the players, but oftentimes, it is not an easy sell. 

Life is Strange - best video game I've ever played

What a fantastic game. I'm still kind of in shock over everything that happened. If you like mysteries, where your choices actually matter and affect the outcome. I highly recommend it. Easily the best video game I've ever played. 10/10


SPOILERS AHEAD - DON'T CONTINUE IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILED


I feel really bad for Max. The whole time trip where Chloe was in the wheelchair was really rough. I think just that segment of the game made this a 10/10. It was so well done, but so hard on Max. It does show just how much a handicapped person is helped when one of their friends will come and visit them. If you know anyone who got into this situation, go visit them, even if it makes you uncomfortable. You are doing a world of good for that person.


There was no happy ending for Max, no matter what she did. If she saves Chloe, everyone else she knows in town dies. If she saves the town, Chloe dies. Even worse, Chloe dies never even knowing Max came back, or what happened to Rachel. Max is very aware of this, and will have to live with it the rest of her life.


I also really feel bad for Joyce and David. They also get screwed no matter what choice Max makes in the end. If Chloe is saved, Joyce dies (I'm pretty sure David will still be at the barn, but he may also be in town).


If Chloe dies, Joyce will have lost both her and her first husband within a 5 year span. In addition, David is the one who discovers Chloe's body in the bathroom with Nathan. He does love her, even if he doesn't show it. Finding that shitbag Nathan standing over her must kill him inside.


In the end, I saved the town, but damn, I felt bad about it. I actually had to stop the game and think for a while before I finally made my choice.
I really wish there was a way to get an actual happy ending, but I know it really wouldn't fit the story.

Fantasy AGE

I recently bought the Fantasy AGE rulebook from Green Ronin. I've mostly just skimmed it so far, but it seems like a really nice system. Roll 3d6 with stunts. Once I finally give it a good reading, I will hopefully get to run a game of it.

In any case, just on first impressions, this seems like a really good game.

RIP Carrie Fisher - Princess Leia has passed on

http://people.com/movies/carrie-fisher-dies/

I have been a huge Star Wars fan for almost all of my life. As a little kid, I had most of the Star Wars toys, and played with them every day. I have seen all of the movies (barring the current release, which I will see this weekend).

Carrie Fisher was just a huge part of all things Star Wars. She led a wild, crazy life, but accomplished so much. It's hard to believe she's gone.

RIP John Glenn - Astronaut and Senator

http://abc7ny.com/news/john-glenn-former-nasa-astronaut-and-us-senator-dies-at-the-age-of-95/1646337/

John Glenn was one of the last great heroes. He did so much, and had a long life, but he will be missed. I have so much respect for the man.

RIP Joe Dever - Lone Wolf author

When I was a kid, I played through a number of Lone Wolf books. Joe Dever wrote a great world, with fun adventures. RIP, you wonderful man.

Where I review some pens I have

I write a lot, mostly just notes for gaming, though also short stories and poetry. In any case, I use pens a lot. I have a strong fondness for gel pens. They tend to write the best, and don't require me to press real hard while writing. In any case, here are my own opinions on the pens I've been using lately.


Promate Grippy 1.0mm gel pen - Cheap pen, but it feels good in the hand. Writes well, if a little thick. Definitely wouldn't hold up to extended use. Rating: 2 out of 5.


Uniball Signo 207 0.7mm gel pen. Looks great. Feels nice in the hand. It skips for me, though. Not sure why. Maybe it's just the way I write. The lines are neat and look great, except when I write loops, where it skips. Rating: 3 out of 5.


Parker Jotter stainless steel ballpoint pen. Looks nice. Is a little too thin. Tends to clump on the roller, so that there's a splotch when I start using it after it's sat for a little while. Have to press fairly hard. Once it starts, it writes well. Rating: 2 out of 5. (I've ordered the Schmidt Easyflow 9000 refills for this pen. I really hope they improve it, as the included Parker ink kind of sucks).


Pilot G2 0.7mm gel pen. Works great. Feels great to hold. Perfect lines with no splotches or skips. Wish they made fancier versions that weren't plastic. Rating: 4 out of 5.

Fantasy Age from Green Ronin - any good?

Just wondering if anyone has played Fantasy Age from Green Ronin. It looks pretty interesting. I know it was based on the older Dragon Age game. I've read a couple reviews, but I'm not sure how well the game would work in regular play.

1st edition demons were scarier

Maybe it's just me, but the demons as presented in 1st edition were the scariest. Heck, a number of mid to high level spells were all about summoning and controlling them. Maybe it was just the artwork, or Gary's writing, but it seemed more dangerous than the editions that followed.

2e really did drop the ball by renaming everything, and 3e was just too numbers-heavy to give any feeling of dread. 4e was a joke, and I still haven't picked up 5e (so maybe 5e finally fixed them). In any case, I loved the whole set-up and feeling of danger created by the writing in the 1e books.

Also, the Demons boxed sets made my Mayfair Games were fantastic. I have both, and if you ever have a chance to grab them, do yourself a favor and do it. Not only do they add tons of cool demons, there are great examples of investigators going crazy, etc.