One Dice Down

Does anyone else play the rule where unpainted figures roll a die less for attack and damage?

Apollo's Curse

The Many Faces Of Skyrim

People around here are starting to get excited about Skyrim. As in one-week-til-release excited.
I was thinking today about how the game trailers have set up this character, with his distinctive helmet, who isn't actually part of the game. Sure, you could go out of your way to recreate the warrior from these clips but the reality is that he won't exist in most people's games.
Today's comic covers one possible scenario which would cause the helmet to be prevalent in lots of games. You either make the player start with that helmet; make it the ultimate item, so everyone wants to get it eventually; or you just leave a shit-ton of them lying about in the game world.
It's also interesting how much of a symbol that helmet has become. It's more recognizable than the actual game logo itself, title omitted. I remember seeing people wandering around PAX Prime wearing those helmets and thinking, "Oh sweet, there's a Skyrim booth somewhere."

On another note, Victor and I have been planning our characters. He's got a fully-armoured battle mage in mind, who wields a strange pairing of tower shield and offensive magic. I'm thinking of something along the lines of a swordmage. Using defensive magicks to bolster my deadly melee skills. Anyone else starting to plan their character out?

Recurring Nightmanres

It's an Invader Zim quote

Mur-lokemon

In case you haven't been keeping up, Blizzcon took place this past weekend. Plenty of choice information to feast your mind on if you're into their shit.
But the addition of a pet battling system to WoW? Really? Couldn't wait for Nintendo to get around to theirs?
I imagine the meetings went one of two ways.

Meet way the first:
"Hey boss!"
"What is it Jenkins?"
"You know those pets we have in the game? They should be able to fight!"
"But they're too small to have any effect on the epic monsters in our game."
"Well I guess we could make them fight each other..."
"Excellent idea Jenkins, lock it down."

Or more like this:
"Hey boss!"
"What is it Jenkins?"
"We should do Pokemon in WoW!"
"Excellent idea Jenkins, lock it down."

Good Times

Almost at the end of the Rugby World Cup insanity.
Soon I'll get my carpark back at work, although I'm not sure I'll use it. The train kinda appeals to me.

It's getting close to gaming season and I'm rather excited. I got my monthly copy of Game Informer in the mail the other day which is always fun. Every month I forget I have a subscription, so every month I'm pleasantly surprised.
Anyway we've got Skyrim and Assassin's Creed: Revelations coming out within a week of each other so I foresee some sleepless nights on the horizon. More on that when they're released though.

Til nek time.

Re: Tardis

Sergei's Exterminate Service, Part Two

Sergei's Exterminate Service, Part One

I'm not sure if it's something I ate, but my blood must taste bad. Almost everyone who has slept in my flat over the last week has walked away with bites. Somehow I remain untouched by the night-visitors, these tiny vampires.

Fomodemic

Humanity, It Comes And Goes

The People of Southreach

First things first. The comic is a little snippet of what happened at our weekly DnD session on Thursday night. One of our party members is away in Australia, picking up swords, so we couldn't really continue the main quest. I decided I'd move the plot sideways and get the guys to play out some events that are occurring parallel to what they're doing.

Each remaining party member was given a new profession at random and they took on the role of a resident of Southreach, a frontier town that sits on the edge of the desert. Then the undead began to show up in the town, rising up from the sands to the south.
Their objective was to find out what was creating the undead and on the way they had to develop the layout of the town. For example, when one player looked out the window of the saloon he saw a familiar building across the road, and it was up to him to decide what that building was.

It was a lot of fun, with the guys trying to track down improvised weaponry and make their way around town as all the zombies swarmed in. I think the best thing about playing out this event is that now the previously blank town of Southreach has some interesting NPCs and an exciting history. If the party ever ventures down that way they will be able to meet these characters they've set up themselves.

On a sadder note, my car has once again been broken into. The same window was smashed and luckily for me there was nothing of value to steal. The real problem stems from the fact that the thief seems to have tried to start the car using a screwdriver, which has royally fucked up my ignition.

But hey, there's no point getting down about it. Life goes on.
Enjoy the comic.

Convenient Plot Devices

Anime Gnomes And Plant Elves

He Only Tells The Truth

So we've created a new Flat game we have. It's called the five dollar challenge and it basically acts as a put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is enforcer. Long story short I spent most of my weekend forbidden from sleeping. But that was fine by me because I've got Bastion to play and play Bastion I did. There was even a point at about 9 am Saturday where the gamer spirit possessed my body and I hacked and slashed my way through three or four levels without a single lucid thought.

The Choice Is Yours

Only The Best At Trotters Independent Traders

So, last week during our DnD session the gang came across a familiar group of entrepreneurs. A couple of the characters from our other party showed up in a market place, peddling their wares. I thought it only fitting that Victor take the role of his old character. Boy was I wrong.
Now the party is freakin' rich! But we'll see how long that lasts...

Surrounded

It's Rugby World Cup mania around here. My office is right on the viaduct in Auckland, AKA Party Central, so every square foot of ground outside is covered in about three people. We had a couple of beers and watched the waka roll into the harbour from the elevation of the boss's office.
I'm not a big fan of rugby (which is a federal offense in NZ, so don't tell) but the clubs is gonna be off the chain this weekend. And maybe for a few to come.

Varying Degrees of Priority

Salt In The Wound

This is kind of a tribute to those who couldn't make it. You really missed out.
But there's always next year.