Some
Cool Stuff
As
many of you who are frequent readers of this site know,
sometimes I like to use this platform to just talk about
things I think are cool. Things I recommend. Things that
I like. It's been a while since I've done that, so without
further ado, here are some random things that I think
you should check out.
The
Tome of Horrors
Put on some music from the early eighties and spend an
hour or two with this book. Recall such classic monsters
as the dracolisk, the kamadan, and the ice troll. You'll
be whisked back to an earlier time. With no other product
has Necromancer Games managed to capture the "First
Edition Feel" more than with this book.
Reaper
Miniatures
Reaper's known for its vast array of character miniatures.
If you've got a character concept, Reaper probably has
your miniature. Even better (for my tastes, however),
they're doing more and more monsters. I don't know about
you, but I've got enough fighters and wizards, and, for
that matter, orcs and skeletons. But check out Reaper's
new owlbear, chimera, manticore, and other great monster
figs. These guys not only put out great miniatures, but
superior paint as well. I've tried a lot of companies'
paints, and I like Reaper's best.
The
Big Lebowski
The Dude abides, man. This wacky Coen brothers' movie
amuses me to no end. The plot is surprisingly complex,
but in the end, the plot doesn't matter. It's a character
study of a number of hilarious personality types.
24
I recommended this Fox TV show last year, and I'll happily
do it this year as well. If anything, the show is much
better, because the plot is less convoluted and the premise
is more straightforward. The performances and the writing
are still top notch.
Homestarrunner.com
I can't believe I haven't mentioned this website before.
This is a Flash animation cartoon site, and it's amazing.
Click on the "First Time Here?" button on the
front page when it loads. Then, prepare to waste the next
few hours (or days) exploring the site and watching all
the toons.
Lego
Space Ships
I recently started building the Lego Star Destroyer that
Sue got me for my birthday. It's got more than 3,000 pieces.
The finished ship will be well over 3 feet long. Now,
with my Arcana Unearthed
writing, I don't have a lot of time to work on it, so
it'll probably take me a couple more weeks to build. But
it'll be worth it -- I can't wait to see what this massive
craft will look like when finished. The level of detail
is amazing, particularly since there are few of those
weird, custom pieces (I sometimes think of them as "cheater
pieces") that you find in so many Lego sets lately.
And it's fun to build. But, best of all, my ultra-cool
wife doesn't mind that the dining room table has become
a starship yard during all this time.
Ral
Partha Classic Fantasy Miniatures
I still love these miniatures, even though they're hard
to find these days. This line produced a great variety
of cool monsters as well as PC races. Ral Partha, a company
I've always loved, has recently become a new company called
Ironwind Metals, and the line is back under the name "Ral
Partha Classic Fantasy." From a few sneak previews
I've seen, I expect we'll see a lot of great things from
them soon.
John
Barry
A couple of times, I've written DMs
Only columns about soundtracks that would be good
for your game. Recently, I've obtained the soundtracks
to the movies Robin
and Marian, The
Last Valley, and The
Lion in Winter. These John Barry compositions
are moving, exciting, emotional, and evocative -- everything
you'd want a soundtrack for a movie, or a roleplaying
game, to be.
